Dow Inc beat Wall Street estimates for profit in the third quarter as it cut costs to offset a sharp slowdown in demand for the chemicals it makes for plastics and other manufacturing, sending shares almost 2% higher.
Duetsche Bank downgraded Ford to hold from buy and lowered its price target to $11 from $12.
Hershey Co raised its full-year revenue forecast after posting third-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates on Thursday, driven by price increases and investments in snacking brands.
Tesla turned in an unexpectedly profitably third-quarter and better than anticipated progress on its Shanghai factory.
South Korea's Hyundai Motor pledged to boost sales of electric vehicles (EV) to over half a million by 2025 as part of a bid to focus on new technologies and catch up with rivals, but some analysts saw the target as conservative and warned of the costs.
Dow Inc's quarterly profit beat Wall Street estimates on Thursday, as it kept a tight lid on costs against the backdrop of lower prices for chemicals used in making plastics.
Southwest Airlines Co reported a 7.2% rise in third-quarter profit on Thursday, as strong travel demand and higher fares offset the hit from flight cancellations due to the grounding of its Boeing 737 MAX jets.
Oil slipped below $61 a barrel on Thursday as concern over the demand outlook offset a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories and the prospect of further action by OPEC and its allies to support the market.
Europe's traders were sending European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi off in style on Thursday, raising the region's stocks to their highest in more than a year and nudging the euro towards its best month since January 2018.
Nissan Motor Co Ltd is considering selling two of its European plants as the Japanese carmaker faces falling sales in the region and an industry shift toward electric cars, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Daimler reported a slight rise in third-quarter operating profit on Thursday boosted by sales of Mercedes-Benz cars, sending its shares higher, but announced cost cuts and warned legal provisions tied to diesel litigation could rise.
Asian shares pulled ahead on Thursday as corporate earnings and a ceasefire in northern Syria helped prop up sentiment, though the backdrop of trade and brexit uncertainties was enough to prevent a decisive shift towards riskier assets.
Oil prices slipped on Thursday amid persistent concerns about a weak demand outlook, after posting sharp gains in the previous session following a surprise crude inventory drawdown in the United States.
German sportswear group Puma cautioned on Thursday that it would take a hit from U.S. tariffs on China in the fourth quarter but still raised its sales forecast and narrowed its profit target after a strong third quarter in all regions.
Brembo's distinctive colored brakes stop many of the world's fastest cars but when it comes to the electric vehicles of the future it faces a problem - traditional brakes are noisy.