1. Global market overview: The recovery rally continues.
European markets gained about 1% in early trading and Asian markets posted sizable gains. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shot up by 2%.
U.S. stock futures were also moving higher.
U.S. stocks have advanced in four consecutive trading sessions, recovering from a major drop last week. The Dow rose 1% on Wednesday, the S&P 500 added 1.3% and the Nasdaq gained 1.9%.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar continued to weaken on Thursday.
"The biggest single factor undermining the dollar this year has been the improvement in the global economy -- a more balanced economic recovery drags investment away from the U.S. and towards more interesting markets," said Kit Juckes, a market strategist at Societe Generale.
2. South Africa surge: South Africa's benchmark stock index surged 3.6% following the resignation of President Jacob Zuma.
A slew of corruption scandals had led the ruling African National Congress party to publicly demand Zuma's resignation.
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3. The Buffett effect: Shares in Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) added 8% in Tel Aviv after it was revealed that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) had taken a $358 million stake in the company.
The generic drug maker fills about one in six generic prescriptions in the U.S.
Berkshire Hathaway also dumped almost all its IBM (IBM) stock over the last three months. Buffett's company sold 35 million shares, leaving it with about 2 million.
4. Massive tech deal?: Qualcomm (QCOM) said in a statement on Wednesday that its leadership had met with execs from Broadcom (AVGO) to discuss their takeover offer.
If completed, the deal would tie up two complementary chipmaking behemoths.
5. Market movers -- TripAdvisor, Cisco, Airbus: Shares in TripAdvisor (TRIP) and Cisco Systems (CSCO) are set to rally after both companies reported well-received earnings after the bell on Wednesday.
Airbus (EADSF) stock is surging by about 10% in Europe after the airplane manufacturer reported its full-year results.
6. Earnings: The key companies reporting earnings on Thursday include CBS (CBS) and Shake Shack (SHAK). Both will report after the closing bell.
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7. Coming this week:
Thursday — CBS (CBS) earnings
Friday — Earnings from Coca-Cola (KO), Campbell Soup (CPB), Kraft Heinz (KHC), Smucker (SJM), Newell Brands (NWL) and Deere (DE)
