10 things you need to know before the opening bell (SPY, SPX, QQQ, DIA, ADP, TOT, SRE)

pulse

August 21, 2017 11:42 AM

This is what traders are talking about.

A man practicing Kung Fu at Beihai Park in Beijing.

Here is what you need to know:

The US fires the first shot in a trade war with China. Late Friday, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer announced an investigation into China's theft of US intellectual property using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

The 10-year threatens a 2-month low. The benchmark yield is down 1 basis point at 2.18% and hovering near its lowest level since June 27.

Bitcoin cash explodes over the weekend. The cryptocurrency threatened its record high on Saturday, hitting $734 a coin. It has since fallen well off that level, trading at $640 on Monday morning.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has been outbid for Oncor. Sempra Energy has agreed to buy Oncor for $9.45 billion after Energy Future Holdings abandoned its deal with Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Reuters says.

Total is buying Maersk. The French oil giant Total will pay Moller Maersk $4.95 billion and assume $2.5 billion of debt in a $7.5 billion deal for its Maersk Oil division, Reuters reports.

There's a new favorite to become Uber's CEO. Former GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt is at the top of the list to become Uber's CEO, according to Recode's Kara Swisher, citing "numerous" sources.

ADP rejects Bill Ackman's board nominees. ADP's board of directors voted unanimously to not nominate any of Pershing Square's three candidates to its board, the company said in a press release Monday.

Stock markets around the world are mostly lower. Japan's Nikkei (-0.40%) lagged in Asia, and France's CAC (-0.66%) trails in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open little changed near 2,427.

Earnings reporting is light. Nordson releases its quarterly results after markets close.

US economic data trickles out. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

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