10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Here's what's going on.
1. Iran is doubling down in calling allegations that it shot down Flight 752 a 'big lie,' and claimed the US is carrying out a 'psychological operation' to discredit its story. Both the US and Canada say their intelligence indicates that an Iranian missile shot the Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 down on Wednesday.
2. 'Too much wealth is in too few hands' - Michael Bloomberg slams Trump's tax cuts as a gift to the rich. "Nearly all the money goes to people like me, who don't need it," the billionaire and Democratic presidential candidate said.
3. Walmart and Kroger are reportedly interested in buying Grubhub - but the struggling food-delivery startup denies it's for sale. "We felt it was important to clarify that there is unequivocally no process in place to sell the company and there are currently no plans to do so."
4. This airplane is designed by clowns': Damning Boeing emails reveal internal complaints made about 737 Max safety and information being covered up. Hundreds of emails, which Boeing provided to Congress and the FAA in December, were obtained by both Reuters and The New York Times on Thursday.
5. We asked 9 of the most prominent VC investors in European tech to pick out fintech startups they think will blow up in 2020. Here are the 15 they chose. Insurtech is one of the biggest verticals in this list with a number of companies looking to disrupt parts of what is still a traditional industry.
6. Jaguar Land Rover's sales dip in 2019 but signs of recovery in December. Jaguar Land Rover posted a 6% fall in full-year sales on Friday after a challenging year in which its performance was hit by the weakening Chinese autos market and falling demand for diesel vehicles in Europe.
7. US dollar to dominate in directionless forex market. The dollar, which has dominated currency market trading for the last two years, looks set to do so again in 2020, according to the latest Reuters poll of foreign exchange strategists.
8. Stocks are muted before US nonfarm payrolls data. US futures underlying the Dow, the Nasdaq, and the S&P 500 are up at least +0.2%, pointing to soft gains at the open. European stocks are also increasing. The DAX is up (+0.2%), and the Euro Stoxx 50 is up (+0.1%). Asian stocks were mixed. The Shanghai Composite lost (-0.1%), and the Nikkei added (+0.5%), while the Hang Seng rose (+0.3%).
9. There are no major earnings on the calendar today.
10. On the data docket today: All eyes will be on US nonfarm payrolls data for December, due today.