10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Here is what you need to know.
1. Robert Mugabe, the former leader of Zimbabwe, dies at 95. Mugabe was forced to resign as Zimbabwe's president in 2017, after a 37-year rule colored by economic turmoil, disputed elections, and human-rights violations.
2. Stocks are whipsawing as traders await a key US jobs report and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech. Nonfarm payrolls are expected to show the US economy added 160,000 jobs in August, in line with the number added in July.
3. Economists are warning that nonfarm payroll figures are hiding economic slowdowns later this year. Nonfarm payrolls will be released at 8:30 am EST.
4. Citigroup doubles down on credit cards even as the US economy softens. For a small fee, customers can move debt from a rival card onto Citi's plastic and pay no interest for 21 months. That is currently the longest 0% deal in the industry, according to consumer finance company Bankrate LLC.
5. US congressional investigators have identified possible failures in Deutsche Bank's money-laundering controls in its dealings with Russian oligarchs. The lender has handed over a trove of transaction records, emails and other documents, three people familiar with the matter said.
6. US farmers are refusing to stomach policies favoring the oil industry at their expense, US ambassador to China Terry Branstad told Donald Trump. The administration's actions are undermining Trump's support in the battleground states of Iowa and Wisconsin, he said.
7. Oil producers and their suppliers are cutting budgets, staff, and production goals amid a growing consensus that oil and gas prices will stay low for several years. The US has 904 working rigs, down 14% from a year ago.
8. Stocks are mixed going into a big day for economic data. US futures have risen with the S&P 500 (+0.3%) and Nasdaq (+0.2%) both up. In Europe, the DAX (+0.4%) was up and the Euro Stoxx 50 (+0.1%) inched higher. In Asia, the Nikkei (+0.5%), Shanghai Composite (+0.5%), and Hang Seng (+0.7%) all rose.
9. There are lots of earnings out later. Fruit-and-drink supplier Del Monte has its first-quarter earnings among others.
10. Today is a big day for data. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is speaking in Zurich later and August's nonfarm payrolls will be released.