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 markets open.

1. Stocks are sinking on fears of the deadly virus in China — 'Markets are worried about this spreading to more cities.' Investors are bracing for a wider outbreak of the mysterious coronavirus as hundreds of millions of people travel across Asia to celebrate Chinese New Year this weekend.

2. Trump blasts Paul Krugman for predicting his election would spark a global recession. The president pointed to stocks at record highs as evidence that the economist was wrong to predict his election would devastate the global economy.

3. 6 people have now been killed by a mysterious virus in China, with authorities saying that almost 300 people are infected. The coronavirus was first detected in the city of Wuhan, central China, at the end of 2018.

4. Halliburton takes $2.2 billion charge on fracking, swings to loss. The oilfield-services giant took the charge due to weaker demand in North America, fuelling a total net loss of $1.7 billion last quarter.

5. Central banks announce cooperation on digital currencies. The central banks of Britain, the eurozone, Japan, Sweden, and Switzerland will look at potential cases for issuing their own digital currencies.

6. North Korea says it won't be bound by nuclear testing pledge. The dictatorship said the US ignored its year-end deadline for nuclear talks, and therefore it's not obligated to abide by commitments to halt nuclear testing and firing of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

7. The Iranian government is turning on its military after it lied about the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane. Iran initially insisted that the plane crashed because of technical issues, but days later it said its Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down the Boeing 737-800 by mistake.

8. Global stocks have dropped. Fears of an escalating virus outbreak pushed China's Shanghai Composite index down 1.4%, Britain's FTSE 100 down 0.9%, and S&P 500 futures down 0.3%.

9. It's a quiet day for data. Redbook Index figures and Treasury bill auction details are coming out.

10. Some major earnings are out today. Netflix and IBM are on the list.