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

Jumat, 28 Februari 2020

10 things you need to know before the opening bell


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10 Things Before the Opening Bell

Here's what you need to know before the markets open.

1. 'The panic mode is full on': Stocks plunge again as fears mount of a coronavirus pandemic. Global stock markets are on track for their steepest weekly loss since the financial crisis.

2. Warren Buffett compared fear and greed to 'super-contagious diseases' and 'epidemics.' Investors are quoting him to keep calm as coronavirus ravages markets. Google searches and tweets about his famous quote, "Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful," have spiked.

3. Tim Cook says he's optimistic that China is getting the coronavirus under control and says Apple has reopened factories. "If you look at the numbers, they're coming down day by day by day," the Apple CEO said.

4. OPEC is leaning towards larger oil cuts as virus hits prices and demand. Saudi Arabia and some other members are considering an output cut of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) for the second quarter of 2020, exceeding the initial proposed cut of 600,000 bpd, four sources told Reuters.

5. Saudi Aramco secures unconditional EU okay for $69 billion SABIC deal. The world's biggest oil producer got the green light from EU antitrust officials to take a 70% stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

6. Lion Air puts $500 million IPO on hold as global equity markets tumble. The Indonesian airline has deferred plans to go public due to a sharp fall in global stock markets, people close to the matter told Reuters.

7. Airlines are at the center of storm as coronavirus spreads. British Airways-owner IAG, Finnair, and easyJet stepped up their warnings over the outbreak on Friday.

8. Stocks are tanking. In Europe, Germany's DAX fell 3.4%, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 3.2%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 fell 3.1%. In Asia, China's Shanghai Composite fell 3.7%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 2.4%, Japan's Nikkei fell 3.7%, and South Korea's KOSPI fell 3.3%. US stocks are set to open lower with futures underlying the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 down 1.3%, and Nasdaq futures down 1.5%.

9. Earnings season continues. Wayfair and Foot Locker are two of the highlights.

10. Some interesting data is on the docket. Look out for personal consumption figures.