10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Here is what you need to know.

1. We just got the first concrete sign that the trade truce between Trump and Xi is working. China followed through on its promise to start buying US soybeans again, purchasing more than 500,000 tons of the legume, according to Reuters.
2. China escalates the Huawei fight. The Chinese government has detained a second Canadian citizen, escalating a dipolmatic spat that began with Canada detaining Huawei CFO Meng Wenzhou.
3. 'You can't tariff your way out out of a trade deficit.' Here's why China's exports have held up in the face of President Donald Trump's trade war.
4. We spoke with Wall Street's 8 best-performing fund managers of 2018. Business Insider spoke to the top-eight fund managers in 2018 about how they crushed the market this year and what they're looking for in 2019.
5. The stock market's 'death cross' is particularly bad news this time around. The "death cross" that just happened in the S&P 500 has a downward sloping 200-day moving average, meaning its effect will be amplified, according to a team of technical analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
6. Apple is splurging on a huge new campus in Austin, Texas. The tech giant will spend $1 billion on the campus which is initially expected to house 5,000 employees, with the potential to expand to 15,000.
7. Under Armour plunges on investor day. Shares of the athletic-apparel maker fell more than 10% Wednesday after the company's outlook underwhelmed.
8. Stock markets around the world are gaining ground. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+1.61%) posted strong overnight gains and Germany's DAX (+0.29%) is out front in Euorpe. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.11% near 2,654.
9. Earnings reporting is light. Adobe Systems and Costco report after markets close.
10. US economic data keeps coming. Import and export prices and initial claims will all be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 2.90%.

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