10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Here is what you need to know.
1. WeWork might slash its valuation below $20 billion, or even postpone its IPO, the Wall Street Journal reported. Investors are worried about the office space provider's path to profitability and CEO Adam Neumann's grip on the company.
2. Chinese exports to the US tanked in August as Trump's trade-war tariffs hit demand. Goods flowing into the US fell 16% in August as Donald Trump's tariffs sapped demand for Chinese goods in their biggest foreign market.
3. Alibaba is set for 'big challenge' as flamboyant chairman Ma departs on Tuesday. Ma will be leaving his handpicked successor a daunting task of steering the $460 billion juggernaut at a time when the market for its core e-commerce business has slowed sharply.
4. Impossible Foods CEO said that China is its top priority when it comes to overseas markets. The firm has already launched its products in Hong Kong and Macau and now ships to 450 restaurants in Asia, but it wants to boost its presence in the Chinese mainland.
5. China has piled up nearly 100 tons of gold reserves to help buffer against the blows of Trump's trade war. Gold's rise is a major sign that investors are worried about the state of the economy.
6. Leo Varadkar tells Boris Johnson that Ireland and the UK might not remain allies and friends after Brexit. Speaking at a joint press conference in Dublin, the Taoiseach told the UK prime minister that while "we do want to be your friend and your ally," he said that "the manner in which you leave the EU will determine whether that's possible."
7. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday will detail a multi-state antitrust probe of potentially anticompetitive practices at major US technology companies, which is expected to focus on Alphabet's Google. Google has faced accusations that its web search service, which has become so dominant that it is now a verb, leads consumers to its own products at the cost of competitors.
8. Stocks are edging higher today. US futures are up, both the S&P (+0.3%) and the Nasdaq (+0.3%) rose marginally. In Europe, Germany's DAX ( +0.4%) pushed up while the Euro Stoxx 50 (+0.2%) also rose. Asian stocks were mixed on close, with the Nikkei (+0.6%) and Shanghai Composite (+0.8%) up but Hang Seng is flat.
9. There are some interesting earnings out this week. Today's highlight is the biotech company Abcam's full-year earnings.
10. Data out today: Includes consumer credit change is the main piece of data out Monday.