5 Things You Must Know Before the Market Opens Thursday

Updated from 5:45 a.m. ET

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Here are five things you must know for Thursday, July 20:

1. -- U.S. stock futures were higher on Thursday, July 20, while global shares traded in the green as strong corporate earnings fueled gains.

European stocks rose on Thursday ahead of a meeting from the European Central Bank where policymakers are expected to keep rates unchanged but could issue an update on its bond buying.

Stocks in Asia were higher after the Bank of Japan kept its monetary stimulus plans intact and downgraded its outlook for inflation.

As for the U.S. on Thursday, the economic calendar includes weekly Jobless Claims at 8:30 a.m. ET, and the Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey for July at 8:30 a.m.

Stocks in the U.S. on Wednesday, July 19, posted record closings following better-than-expected earnings from Morgan Stanley ( MS) . The S&P 500 added 0.53% to close at a record 2,473, and the Nasdaq increased 0.64% to a record 6,385. The Dow gained 0.31% to a new record of 21,640.

2. -- U.S. Sen. John McCain has been diagnosed with an aggressive type of brain tumor.

McCain, the 80-year-old Arizona lawmaker, has glioblastoma, according to doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, where McCain had a blood clot removed from above his left eye last Friday. He and his family are considering further treatment, including chemotherapy and radiation.

Several GOP senators acknowledged Wednesday night that if McCain remains absent it could complicate their push to pass healthcare legislation.

"Obviously I think more people are worried about his health, and not thinking about the math, but, you know, you understand the math, so obviously it makes things difficult," said Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the Hill reported.

McCain's surgery forced Senate Republicans to delay a vote on their healthcare plan, which was initially expected this week, until next week.

3. -- Qualcomm Inc. ( QCOM) fell 2.3% in premarket trading on Thursday after the chip giant issued a downbeat forecast for its fiscal fourth quarter, largely because of its ongoing legal dispute with Apple Inc. ( AAPL) .

For the fourth quarter, Qualcomm said it expects to report sales of between $5.4 billion and $6.2 billion, compared to Wall Street's projected $5.5 billion. Qualcomm forecast GAAP earnings of between 55 cents and 65 cents a share.

Qualcomm's licensing business continues to be impacted by its legal battle with Apple. The QTL licensing segment saw its sales fall quarter over quarter to $1.17 billion, which was below analysts' estimates of $1.47 billion.

Qualcomm has been ensnared in a legal dispute with Apple since January, when the tech giant sued the chipmaker for $1 billion, claiming that it collected royalties for technologies it wasn't involved with, including Touch ID and cameras. Apple has said it will withhold future royalty payments until the dispute is resolved, forcing Qualcomm to slash its revenue forecast for the third quarter.

The company said its guidance assumes no royalty payments on 3G/4G device sales from either Apple or another unnamed major licensee it is at odds with.

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4. -- Shares of T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) were rising 2.9% in premarket trading on Thursday after the wireless giant posted second-quarter earnings that far surpassed Wall Street estimates and said it added 1.3 million total net subscribers during the period.

Profit in the quarter was 67 cents a share, easily topping forecasts of 38 cents. Revenue of $10.2 billion also topped expectations of $9.8 billion.

T-Mobile said the subscriber additions in the quarter marked the 17th consecutive quarter it added more than 1 million customers. The carrier also gained 786,000 in net branded postpaid phone subscriptions, topping forecasts of 596,000.

The company said it plans to open 1,500 T-Mobile stores and 1,500 MetroPCS stores this year.

"We could be the fastest growing retailer in America," CEO John Legere said.

5. -- Earnings are expected Thursday from Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) , Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) , Visa Inc. (V) , eBay Inc. (EBAY) , Snap Inc. (SNAP) , Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) , Abbott Laboratories (ABT) , AthenaHealth Inc. (ATHN) , Danaher Corp. (DHR) and Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) .

Abbott Labs and Danaher are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells ABT or DHR? Learn more now .