10 things you need to know before the opening bell
The US is planning a move that may escalate a long-running trade dispute with Canada. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced on Monday that his agency will impose a duty averaging 20% on Canadian softwood lumber imports, Reuters says.
The euro is holding onto the bulk of its post-French election gains. The single currency gained about 2% as markets opened on Sunday following the results of the French election and finished Monday's session with a gain of 1.3%. On Tuesday, the euro trades up 0.1% near 1.0880.
One of the biggest middlemen in the drug industry is losing its biggest customer. Express Scripts, one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the US, says that Anthem, who is responsible for about 18% of its revenue, will not renew its contract with the company. Express Scripts shares are down about 15% ahead of the opening bell.
LVMH is gaining control of Dior. LVMH will pay billionaire Bernard Arnault 172 euros in cash and 0.192 Hermes shares, in which Arnault also has a stake, to buy the Christian Dior shares it does not already own, Reuters says.
Netflix enters a licensing deal in China. The streaming video giant is teaming up with Baidu's iQiyi to bring its content to mainland China, the Hollywood Reporter says.
Marissa Mayer will have a lot of Yahoo stock when Verizon buys the company. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer will have $186 million worth of Yahoo stock, stock options, and restricted stock units that will be fully vested by the time the Verizon deal closes, the New York Times says. Mayer will step down as CEO once the deal is complete.
A full merger between Nissan and Mitsubishi is off the table. "Full merger is not on the table," Carlos Ghosn, chairman of both firms said while opening a new Mitsubishi factory in Indonesia on Tuesday, Reuters says. "We want Mitsubishi to reform itself."
Stock markets around the world are up. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+1.3%) led the gains in Asia and Britain's FTSE (+0.3%) paces the advance in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.2% near 2,378.
Earnings reporting heats up. 3M, Caterpillar, Coca-Cola, Lockheed Martin, and McDonald's are among the companies reporting ahead of the opening bell while AT&T, Chipotle, Texas Instruments, and Wynn Resorts highlight the names releasing their quarterly results after markets close.
US economic data picks up. Case-Shiller home prices will be released at 9 a.m. ET before new home sales and confidence are due out at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is higher by 3 basis points at 2.31%.