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. Oil prices slide as coronavirus spread beyond China raises demand worries. Traders bid down crude prices after South Korean authorities confirmed 52 new coronavirus infections.

2. Tesla's next Gigafactory is back on track after a German court threw out an environmental challenge. A judge removed an injunction preventing Elon Musk's electric-car startup from clearing forest to build its massive assembly plant.

3. As demand plummets due to the coronavirus, airlines project that this could be their worst year since the global financial crisis. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects global air-traffic demand this year to be 4.7% lower than it previously predicted.

4. India set to dazzle Trump with pomp and circumstance as trade rows fester. The US president will receive the biggest public reception for any foreign leader in years next week, which could help paper over trade frictions.

5. Daimler warns of "significant adverse effects" of virus outbreak. The German auto giant said the epidemic could hurt sales and hamper its production, procurement, and supply chain.

6. China firms are rushing to sell $10 billion worth of shares as funding rules have been eased amid virus worries. More than 50 listed Chinese companies have published fresh or revised plans to raise as much as 73 billion yuan ($10.4 billion) through private placements, Reuters calculated.

7. John Deere reports unexpected rise in quarterly profits. The farm-equipment titan posted a 4% rise in net income as the US farm sector showed early signs of stabilizing.

8. Stocks are mostly down. In Europe, Germany's DAX fell 0.1%, Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.2%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 slid 0.1%. In Asia, China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.3%, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.4%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.1%. US stocks are set to open lower with futures underlying the Dow Jones and S&P 500 down 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures down 0.5%.

9. Earnings season rolls on. AIA, Allianz, and John Deere are some of the highlights.

10. Interesting data is coming out. Keep an eye out for Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) figures and a raft of Fed speeches.