Anything For You All: 10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Selasa, 03 September 2019


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10 Things Before the Opening Bell

Here is what you need to know.

1. The pound plunged to a 2-year low after Boris Johnson threatened a general election, fanning fears of more Brexit chaos. Sterling slumped 0.6% against the dollar to $1.1991, the first time it has dropped below $1.20 since 2017.

2. Stocks are diving as the US and China struggle to schedule trade talks after ramping up tariffs. Two of the sticking points are the parameters for the next round of negotiations, and the US ignoring China's request to delay tariffs over the weekend.

3. Nickel is surging after Indonesia said it will ban exports of the metal from January. The metal's price hit a five-year high of $18,785. That's bad news for China, one of the world's biggest buyers of nickel.

4. China is entering a period where it faces "concentrated risks" - economically, politically and diplomatically President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday. Xi added that the country must be able to fight and win against those who challenge China's bottom lines.

5. Models of superheroes and villains from Marvel's "Avengers" movies helped lift first-half sales at Lego. The Danish toymaker continued its turnaround drive with investments in China, India, the internet and new stores.

6. US presidential hopeful Cory Booker unveiled a $3 trillion plan to address climate change on Tuesday, vowing to reach a 100% clean energy economy by 2045 by sharply curbing fossil fuels while investing heavily in renewable energy sources. Booker's home of Newark, New Jersey, where he served as mayor for seven years, has been grappling with lead contamination in its water supply in recent weeks.

7. Vice President Mike Pence drew criticism from Democrats on Tuesday when he began a two-day visit to Ireland with meetings in the capital, Dublin, but stayed at a hotel owned by President Donald Trump almost 300 kilometers (180 miles) away. The hotel also hosted the Trump family during a short trip to Ireland by the president in June.

8. Global stocks are falling on China-US trade war news. US futures the S&P 500 (-0.8%) and the Nasdaq (-0.9%) both fell. In Europe, the Dax and Euro Stoxx 50 both slid (-0.4%) on open. Asia was mixed on close with the Nikkei flat, Shanghai composite (+0.2%) up and Hang Seng (-0.4%) dropping.

9. There are lots of European earnings out today. UK restaurant owner The Restaurant Group releases its Q2 earnings.

10. Today is an important day for American data. ISM manufacturing PMI is out – a good sign of how US manufacturing is progressing.