London (CNN Business) 1. Fed boosts markets: Global markets were higher Thursday, following a surge on Wall Street late Wednesday. The optimism was fueled by the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates on hold because of risks to global growth.

Fed policy makers agreed the strategy unanimously at their first meeting of 2019.

Sentiment got another lift after markets closed whenrevealed a record $6.9 billion profit for the final three months of 2018, despite its seemingly endless PR crises. That was a jump of 61% from the same period a year earlier and well ahead of Wall Street estimates. Its shares were up more than 10% in extended trading.

The positive trend was set to continue Thursday. US stock futures were pointing higher early in the day. Stocks in Europe and Asia also posted gains.

Following the Fed move, the next cue for markets could be the outcome of trade talks later Thursday between China and the United States

"The other hurdle [for global markets] is of course the US-China trade negotiation, which is much more challenging," said Tai Hui, chief market strategist, Asia Pacific, at JP Morgan Asset Management.

2. GE's great expectations: General Electric GE shares climbed 8% in premarket trading following its earnings report.

The company announced it has agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle the Justice Department's investigation into WMC Mortgage, the subprime lender that was shut down a decade ago. GE previously set aside that amount.

But GE's adjusted profit declined more than Wall Street analysts had anticipated because of an an $872 million loss at its turbine division.

3. Tesla slumps: Tesla TSLA shares were set to open as much as 5% lower after the company reported profit that fell short of expectations after the markets closed Wednesday.

Tesla also revealed that its chief financial officer was leaving — the latest senior executive to exit the electric car company. The company was shaken last year by a series of departures by top managers, including a chief accounting officer who left after less than a month.

Earlier this month, Tesla announced layoffs impacting about 7% of its full-time workforce. Musk said the layoffs were necessary to allow Tesla to sell variants of the Model 3 at lower prices.

4. Europe's mixed bag: A bunch of major European companies reported earnings on Thursday.

Unilever UL disappointed analysts with 2018 sales growth of 3.1%. New CEO Alan Jope warned the company anticipates "market conditions to remain challenging" in 2019. Unilever shares fell 2.4%.

H&M HMRZF said 2018 had been "a challenging year for H&M group and the industry." Its shares dropped 1.5%.

And shares in Swatch slumped as much as 6% in Switzerland after the watch making group said business had slowed in the last three months of the year.

Royal Dutch Shell RDSA delivered a more positive story. The company reported stronger than expected results, after getting a boost from higher oil and gas prices. Annual profits jumped 80% last year to $23.4 billion from $13 billion in 2017. Investors pushed Shell stock up 5%.

Diageo DEO , the maker of Johnnie Walker, Ketel One and Guinness, also reported strong earnings. It said sales in Asia were particularly strong. Its stock climbed 4.6%.

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The Census Bureau plans to release its New Home Sales report for November at 10 a.m. ET.