10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Posted On 5:54 AM // Leave a Comment


Learn More about BI Prime	View online

10 Things Before the Opening Bell

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

1. 'The crown jewel of data': Stocks slump as unemployment surge overpowers relief at Senate passing $2 trillion stimulus bill. "The first real measure of just how far and how fast the world's largest economy has contracted because of the coronavirus."

2. US jobless claims spike to a record 3.3 million as coronavirus triggers widespread unemployment. The previously weekly record was 700,000 in 1982.

3. 'Deep recession is inevitable': ex-ECB chief Mario Draghi calls for huge stimulus to prevent a coronavirus depression. "The challenge we face is how to act with sufficient strength and speed to prevent the recession from morphing into a prolonged depression."

4. BlackRock says 'rebalancing into risky assets' after $2 trillion US stimulus. Washington's efforts have "set the scene for an eventual economic recovery," the asset manager said.

5. Fed's Powell: US may be in recession, control of virus to dictate timing of economy reopening. "The first order of business will be to get the spread of the virus under control and then resume economic activity."

6. EU lawmakers to approve aid for coronavirus-hit economy in remote vote. The European Parliament will vote today on a 37-billion-euro fund to shore up the continent's economies.

7. US business groups warn 'Buy America' order would harm pandemic response. The US Chamber of Commerce and others warned the White House that the mandate would worsen shortages of medicines and delay discovery of a novel coronavirus vaccine.

8. Stocks are down. In Europe, Germany's DAX, Britain's FTSE 100, and the Euro Stoxx 50 fell about 2.3%. In Asia, China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.6%, Japan's Nikkei fell 4.5%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.7%. In the US, futures underlying the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq fell between 0.7% and 1%.

9. Key earnings are coming out. Lululemon is the highlight.

10. It's a huge day for data. Initial jobless claims of 3.28 million are the highlight.