10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Some new names have emerged for Treasury Secretary. Blackstone's Jon Grey, Bridgewater's David McCormick, and billionaire Wilbur Ross join Trump campaign finance manager Steven Mnuchin as possible nominees for Treasury Secretary, Bloomberg reports.
Nicolas Sarkozy is out of the running in the French election. Ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy's bid for a return to politics has ended as Francois Fillon and Alain Juppe emerged from the first round of voting. A run off between the two candidates will take place on Sunday, setting the stage for a likely showdown with far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in April.
Japan's exports fell for a 13th straight month. Japanese exports fell 10.3.% year-over-year in October as the stronger yen and weak overseas demand weighed. The Japanese yen is up 0.3% at 110.66 per dollar.
Africa's largest economy is stuck in recession. Nigeria's economy shrank 2.24% in the third quarter, making for a third straight quarterly contraction, as the fallout from the oil crash has yet to work its way through the system.
Oil shooting higher. Oil prices are climbing on Monday amid hopes OPEC producers can agree to a production cut at the November 30 meeting in Vienna. West Texas Intermediate crude oil is higher by 2.8% at $47.37 per barrel.
Symantec is buying LifeLock. The deal pays LifeLock shareholders $2.3 billion, or $24 per share.
Facebook is buying back stock. The social media giant announced a $6 billion share buyback program that will begin in the first quarter of 2017 and is consistent with its strategy of "capital allocation strategy of prioritizing investment to grow the business over the long term."
Analysts are starting to worry about Apple's future profitability. Apple's gross margin on the iPhone has slid from 57.7% in 2009 to 41% today, and is expected to fall to 39% in 2018, according to Toni Sacconaghi at Bernstein Research.
Stock markets around the world are higher. China's Shanghai Composite (+0.8%) hit a 10-month high and Britain's FTSE (+0.7%) paces the gains in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open higher by 0.3% near 2,187.
Earnings reporting is light. Tyson Foods reports ahead of the opening bell and Weibo releases its quarterly results after markets close.