10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Separatists won a majority in the Catalonia election. "Catalans have voted yes to independence," acting Catalan regional government head Artur Mas announced. Secessionists parties secured 72 of the 135 seats, with the main secessionist party Junts pel Sí winning 62 seats and the far-left separatist CUP party taking 10 seats. Reuters reports that Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says he will block the separatist movement in court. Spain's 10-year yield is down 10 basis points at 1.93%.
China's industrial profits fell the most on record. China's National Bureau of Statistics announced that industrial profits fell 8.8% year-over-year, or 156.6 billion yuan, their steepest drop since record keeping began in 2011. The NBS reports that 31 sectors have experienced growth over the first eight months of the year while just 10 have seen losses. China's yuan ended stronger by 0.1% at 6.3689 per dollar.
Glencore is crashing. The commodities giant is down more than 25% on Monday, making for its biggest drop on record. The stock has come under pressure after analysts at Investec suggested shares might be worth nothing. "If major commodity prices remain at current levels, our analysis implies that, in the absence of substantial restructuring, nearly all the equity value of both Glencore and Anglo American could evaporate," Investec said. Last week, Goldman Sachs said Glencore was likely to lose its BBB credit rating, giving it junk status.
Alcoa is splitting in 2. The aluminum giant is dividing itself into an Upstream company and a Value-Add company. The Upstream company will be responsible for pulling the element out of the ground, while the Value-Add company will focus on creating usable products. "In the last few years, we have successfully transformed Alcoa to create two strong value engines that are now ready to pursue their own distinctive strategic directions," CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said.
Comcast bought a majority stake in Universal Studios Japan. Reuters reports, Comcast is buying a 51% stake in Universal Studios Japan for $1.5 billion. Once completed, the deal will mark Comcast's largest overseas acquisition ever. The deal gives USJ a $6.2 billion enterprise value, according to Comcast.
Shell is ending its search for offshore oil in Alaska. The oil giant Shell has called off its offshore exploration in Alaska. Reuters reports that Shell was unable to find sufficient amounts of oil and gas from a well in the Chukchi Sea. The company said it would take a charge off from the well, according to Reuters.
Trump is set to reveal his tax plan. Republican front-runner Donald Trump has called an 11 a.m. ET news conference to unveil his tax plan. Trump says his plan will offer "a major tax reduction for almost all citizens and corporations, in particular, those in the middle and lower income classes." According to Trump, while appearing on CBS' "60 Minutes," a "large segment" of taxpayers would have a zero tax rate. Trump also said he didn't want to have "certain people on Wall Street getting away with paying no tax."
Global stock markets are mostly lower. China's Shanghai Composite (+0.3%) outperformed in Asia as Hong Kong's Hang Seng was closed for holiday. France's CAC (-1.8%) leads markets lower in Europe. S&P 500 futures are lower by 13.25 points at 1,906.00.
US economic data flows. Personal income and spending and core PCE prices are all due out at 8:30 a.m. ET, and pending home sales will cross the wires at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 3 basis points at 2.14%.
Earnings reports are light. Vail Resorts reports ahead of the opening bell, and Synnex will release its quarterly results after markets close.