10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Here's what you need to know before the markets open.
1. 'We're heading for recession': US futures plunge and oil plummets to 17-year low as coronavirus fears outweigh stimulus hopes. "It is not a question of if, but a matter of how bad and how long the coronavirus-induced recession will be."
2. 'Everybody needs $1,000 or we'll end up in the Great Depression': 'Dr. Doom' economist calls for huge fiscal stimulus to stop a historic recession. "What we can hope is if there's going to be the right stimulus - and it has to be at least 3% of GDP - this is going to be a very severe, but short recession."
3. Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke call on the Fed to avoid long-term economic damage from coronavirus pandemic. 'The economy may take a very long time to recover.' The pair indicated that the Fed's immediate reaction to coronavirus, a $700 billion package to buy US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and a 50-basis-point reduction to its short-term policy rate, might not be sufficient.
4. Samsung expects chip demand growth despite coronavirus turmoil. The South Korean technology titan expects higher demand for a limited supply of computer chips.
5. Coronavirus empties airlines' cash drawers, knocks $157 billion off share values. Global airlines are quickly running out of cash after cutting capacity by 90% or even grounding entire fleets due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions.
6. Goldman Sachs tells staff in Americas, EMEA to work from home after two coronavirus cases found. The banking giant made the call after two employees at one of its offices in Salt Lake City, Utah, tested positive for COVID-19.
7. Chairman of Santander's Portuguese unit dies from coronavirus. Antonio Vieira Monteiro, a top executive at Spain's largest bank, is Portugal's second casualty from the disease, Reuters reported.
8. Stocks are tumbling. In Europe, Germany's DAX fell 5.7%, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 5.3%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 fell 6.1%. In Asia, China's Shanghai Composite fell 1.8%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 4.2%, and Japan's Nikkei fell 1.7%. US stocks are set to open lower. Futures underlying the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq fell between 3.7% and 4.5%.
9. There are some big earnings out. General Mills, Inditex, and Tencent are highlights.
10. It's a big day for data. Investors will be looking for updates from the Federal Reserve.