10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Here is what you need to know.

1. The Dow soars into the record books. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,086 points on Wednesday, posting its biggest point gain on record.
2. But the gains don't look like they will hold. The Dow is set to fall more than 300 points at the open, giving back nearly a third of Wednesday's advance.
3. The US and China are set for face-to-face trade talks. The two sides are scheduled to hold talks next month, Reuters says, citing China's commerce ministry.
4. A fund manager who beat 99% of his peers this year shares his top picks for 2019. Chris Smith, who oversees more than $500 million as the founding portfolio manager of the Artisan Thematic Fund, says his theme for 2019 is data monetization and names two companies that support it.
5. 2 major US markets are out of whack. There's a disconnect between the S&P 500's performance and the 10-year yield, according to Torsten Sløk, Deutsche Bank's chief international economist.
6. The clock is about to strike midnight on a $1 million bitcoin bet. The crypto hedge fund BlockTower Capital needs bitcoin to reach $50,000 a coin by Friday's expiration, or its $1 million bet on bitcoin will be worthless.
7. Amazon reports a 'record-breaking' holiday season. Amazon soared 9.44% Wednesday after announcing a "record-breaking" holiday season that saw more items ordered worldwide than ever before.
8. JCPenney breaks the buck. Shares of the retailer touched $0.99 on Wednesday, falling below $1 for the first time.
9. Millennials liked these 9 stocks in 2018. Business Insider sifted through the data from the no-fee trading app Robinhood, and found the nine stocks that millennials liked most this year.
10. US economic data flows. Initial claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET before FHFA home prices and consumer confidence cross the wires at 9:45 a.m. ET and 10 a.m. ET respectively.

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