10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Sweeping regulatory reforms go live in Europe. Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) is expected to chop $4.4 billion of revenue from the European operations of investment banks.
The Nasdaq crosses 7,000 for the first time. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.5% on Tuesday to finish at 7,006.90.
Bitcoin's share of the crypto market hits a record low. Bitcoin's market capitalization as a percentage of the total crypto-market hit an all-time low below 36% on Tuesday, down from 65% at the start of December, CoinMarketCap.com data showed.
Peter Thiel is reportedly making a killing on his bitcoin investment. Thiel's venture capital firm Founders Fund has reportedly turned a $15 million to $20 million bitcoin investment into hundreds of millions of dollars, the Wall Street Journal says.
Amazon shipped more than 5 billion Prime items in 2017. The ecommerce giant says its Fire TV Stick and Echo Dot were the best-selling products on Prime.
MoneyGram and Ant Financial terminate their merger agreement. The termination of the deal comes as the two companies were unable to get approval for the deal from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), Reuters reports, citing a joint statement issued by the companies.
American and Southwest Airlines celebrate the GOP tax plan with bonuses for employees. American and Southwest Airlines announced they will join a slew of other companies in giving $1,000 bonuses to employees in celebration of the GOP tax plan President Donald Trump signed into law last month.
Movie attendance hits a 25-year low in the US. The total number of tickets sold at the domestic box office in 2017 fell 5.8% year-over-year to 1.239 billion, making for the lowest total since 1992, Box Office Mojo says.
Stock markets around the world are higher. China's Shanghai Composite (+1.24%) paced the advance in Asia and France's CAC (+0.36%) leads the way higher in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open little changed near 2,700.
US economic data is heavy. Construction spending and ISM Manufacturing will both be released at 10 a.m. ET before the latest FOMC minutes cross the wires at 2 p.m. ET. US auto and truck sales are due throughout the day.