10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Here is what you need to know.
1. 'This is neither healthy nor normal' - recession and trade-war fears are gripping investors. European and Asian stocks dropped on Wednesday as traders reacted to fresh evidence of a looming recession and braced for another round of tariffs in the US-China trade war. US futures signaled a flattish open.
2. A key part of the yield curve, a closely followed recession indicator, inverted further on Wednesday while 30-year Treasury yields fell to a new record low. The premium on two-year Treasury yields over 10-year yields was at 6.2 basis points, a level not seen since 2007.
3. Peloton, the fitness startup with a cultlike following, could go public at an $8 billion valuation. Insiders reveal why its business seems set to explode.
4. Brazil's president said he would accept $20 million from the G7 to tackle the Amazon fires, but only if French President Emmanuel Macron apologizes for calling him 'extraordinarily rude'. Macron's comment came after Bolsonaro appeared to endorse a Facebook post mocking the 25-year age gap between Macron and his wife Brigitte.
5. Boris Johnson has asked the Queen to suspend Parliament just days after it returns from summer recess next week in order to force through a no-deal Brexit. The prime minister on Wednesday morning asked the monarch to suspend Parliament on September 9, just days after MPs return from their summer break, until October 14.
6. Google is shifting its Pixel smartphone production to Vietnam from China starting this year as it builds a cheap supply chain in Southeast Asia. The move comes as labor costs are rising in China along with added pressure from spiraling tariffs due to the ongoing China-US trade tensions.
7. OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, are offering to settle more than 2,000 lawsuits against the company for $10 billion to $12 billion. The lawsuits have accused the Stamford, Connecticut-based company of aggressively marketing prescription opioids while misleading prescribers and consumers about risks from their prolonged use.
8. Stocks are mixed on Wednesday. US futures are up as the S&P 500 (+0.2%) and the Nasdaq (+0.1%) were rising. In Europe, the DAX (-0.8%) and Euro Stoxx 50 (-0.6%) both slipped on open. In Asia, stocks broadly fell with the Shanghai Composite (-0.3%) and Hang Seng (-0.2%) dropping but the Nikkei (+0.1%) rose marginally.
9. There are some interesting earnings out on Wednesday. Software company Workday and Hewlett-Packard both release earnings.
10. Today's a quieter day for data. MBA mortgage applications is the highlight.