10 things you need to know before the opening bell (SPY, SPX, QQQ, DIA, HLF, AAPL, CRM, WMY, GOOG, AMZN)

Trump threatens to shut down the government over border-wall funding. "The obstructionist Democrats would like us not to do it, but believe me, if we have to close down our government, we're building that wall," President Donald Trump said Wednesday at a rally in Arizona.

UK business confidence is falling ahead of Brexit. A survey of 601 businesses conducted by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation found 31% of employers expected the UK economy to worsen, compared with 28% expecting it to improve.

A typhoon shut down markets in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's stock exchange was closed Wednesday as Typhoon Hato caused authorities to raise the storm warning to its highest level for the first time in five years.

Google and Walmart are joining forces to take on Amazon. Starting in September, Google's e-commerce platform, Google Express, will count Walmart among its list of vendors.

Apple scales back its car ambitions. Apple has all but abandoned its plan to build a car in its own factories and is shifting focus to building self-driving systems for other vehicles, according to The New York Times' Daisuke Wakabayashi.

Herbalife has a plan that could squeeze Bill Ackman. The multilevel marketer has decided to execute a "modified Dutch auction" through which it plans to buy back $600 million worth of stock at $60 to $68 a share.

Salesforce beats on the top and bottom lines. The application-software provider earned an adjusted $0.33 a share on revenue of $2.56 billion in the second quarter and guided both third-quarter numbers ahead of Wall Street estimates.

Stock markets around the world are mixed. Japan's Nikkei (+0.26%) led the gains in Asia, and France's CAC (-0.09%) slips in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open down 0.24% near 2,447.

Earnings reports trickle out. American Eagle and Lowe's report ahead of the opening bell, while HP releases its quarterly results after markets close.

US economic data flows. Markit US manufacturing and services PMIs will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, and new-home sales will cross the wires at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is up 1 basis point at 2.22%.