1. USD crashes to 8-week lows

The USD sank to the lowest level in nearly eight weeks on Thursday, after minutes of the Federal Reserve's July policy meeting showed committee members remained divided on the timing of the next rate hike.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell to 94.31, the lowest since June 24. It was last at 94.42 by 09:50GMT, down 0.3%.

Fed funds futures are currently pricing in just a 9% chance of a rate hike by September, compared to 15% the day before. December odds were at around 46%, down from 53% a day earlier.

Against the yen, the dollar slumped to 99.65, coming close to 99.55 set on Tuesday, the lowest level since the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union in late June. It was last at 100.27, mostly flat on the day.

The euro, meanwhile, climbed to an eight-week peak of 1.1332 against the dollar before falling back to 1.1312, up 0.2%.

2. Post-Brexit U.K. retail sales rise

Retail sales in the U.K. posted a larger increase than expected in July, suggesting that British consumers were taking the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union in stride, official data showed on Thursday.

The Office for National Statistics said that retail sales rose 1.4% in June, the biggest jump since January and blowing past expectations for a 0.2% increase. Year-on-year, retail sales climbed 5.9%. Consensus had forecast a 4.2% rise.

The upbeat data followed better than expected readings on employment and inflation earlier this week, easing concerns over post-Brexit growth prospects.

Sterling spiked to a two-week high of 1.3172 against the dollar before falling back to 1.3165, up 1% on the day.

Earlier this week, the pound had threatened to test a 31-year low of 1.2798 set in July, amid concerns that forthcoming U.K. data could provide the first proof of economic damage from the Brexit vote in June.

3. Global stock market overview

Stocks are looking pretty solid right now.

US stock futures are holding steady and not moving much from where they left off on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are just slightly below the all-time highs set on Monday.

European markets are all inching up in early trading, while Asian markets are closing with mixed results.

4. Retail earning

A number of major retailers are reporting earnings Thursday, including Walmart (WMT).

The industry giant will release quarterly earnings ahead of the open, giving investors a look at how it's faring against e-commerce firms and traditional bricks-and-mortar competitors. The results come just after the firm agreed to spend $3.3 billion to acquire upstart e-commerce competitor Jet.com.

Meanwhile, retailers Gap (GPS) and Ross Stores (ROST) will post results after the close.

Shares in Victoria's Secret parent company L Brands (LB) are set for a strong open after the company posted better-than-expected earnings on Wednesday.

In the U.K., retail sales for July showed that consumers continued to spend in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit referendum. Spending grew by 1.4% in July compared to June, with online sales performing particularly well. The data was much better than economists had expected.