10 things you need to know before the opening bell

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10 Things Before the Opening Bell

Here is what you need to know.

1. France is Trump's new target as he broadens the scope of his global trade war once again. The US has set the stage to retaliate against a French tax on Facebook, Google, Amazon, and other American technology giants by implementing punishing tariffs.

2. Stocks are dropping as traders worry about the US-China trade war, Iran tensions, and weak earnings. "We have a long way to go as far as tariffs where China is concerned," President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, adding his administration was willing to extend tariffs to another $325 billion worth of Chinese goods.

3. Netflix is set to lose $17 billion off its market cap after suffering a rare decline in US subscribers. Shares in Netflix tanked by 11% in pre-market trading on Thursday after it reported its first decline in US subscribers since 2011.

4.The EU Commission has fined Qualcomm for second time over market abuse. Qualcomm, the world's number one chipmaker, was fined 242 million euros ($272 million) on Thursday for blocking a rival from the market about a decade ago, its second EU antitrust penalty.

5. Russia is joining forces with Europe to rescue the Iran nuclear deal that Trump abandoned. Russia signaled it wants to join an EU payments channel designed to go around Trump's sanctions on Iran and boost oil exports.

6. Leaked Barclays memo warned of a crackdown on traders using cell phones on the trading floor. It is unclear what prompted the memo urging employees to abstain from using personal devices on trading floors, saying they "will now be treated as "Restricted Areas."

7. Beyond Meat is just the beginning — dairy alternative firms are set to boom to a $38 billion market. Dairy-free cheese sales rose 20% in the year to April to $160 million in the US, and yogurt sales grew almost double that, by 39% to $230 million.

8. Stock markets around the world today are sliding. US futures fell, with the S&P 500 down (-0.1%) as was the Nasdaq (-0.3%). In Europe, Germany's Dax dropped (-0.9%) as did Euro Stoxx 50 (-0.6%). Asian markets closed lower, with the Nikkei 225 (-2.0%), the Hang Seng (-0.5%) and Shanghai Composite (-0.1%) all down.

9. Another big day for earnings. Microsoft, UnitedHealth and Morgan Stanley have their earnings out later.

10. In the docket today, there is US jobless claims data as well as Philadelphia's Fed manufacturing survey.

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