10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Here's what you need to know before the markets open.

1. RBS profits plunge 59% as it sets aside $788 million to defend itself from the coronavirus pandemic. Royal Bank of Scotland became the latest major lender to issue a coronavirus stricken set of first quarter results Friday, reporting a 59% fall in profits compared to the same time last year.

2. America's billionaires added $282 billion to their total wealth in 23 days during the coronavirus crisis, a report claims. The US' richest people continue to get richer even as the coronavirus pushes millions of American workers into unemployment and a deep recession looms large over the economy, according to a report.

3. A closely-watched indicator of global economic health crashed 24% in April, the biggest drop since the global financial crisis. South Korean exports in April dropped at their sharpest rate since the financial crisis with outbound shipments to all regions falling as the coronavirus pandemic cripples trade and causes an immense blow to demand for goods.

4. The number of oil rigs in operation worldwide plunged in April, falling 22%. At the end of March there were 1964 rigs operating, Baker Hughes' closely watched rig count showed Friday. By the end of April there were just 1514.

5. Bill Gates thinks there are eight to 10 promising coronavirus vaccine candidates and one could be ready in as little as nine months. There are more than a hundred coronavirus vaccines in the works, and of those eight to ten have caught the eye of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

6. Ryanair is in advanced talks over possible new Boeing order. Ryanair is in advanced talks about a potential new plane order with Boeing, but possible price cuts or cancellations of its existing 737 MAX order are also part of the discussions, chief executive Michael O'Leary said on Friday.

7. U.S. tech company Vonage bets on digital health care in Uganda. U.S. cloud services company Vonage is partnering with social enterprise CTI Africa to pioneer video-linked healthcare in Uganda, where good hospitals and qualified medical personnel are scarce.

8. Most global markets are shut for a May 1 Labor Public holiday. In Europe, the FTSE 100 is down 1.92%. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 is down 2.84%. Futures underlying the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.9%, the S&P 500 fell 2%, and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 2.5%.

9. First-quarter earnings coming in. Chevron and ExxonMobil are coming in.

10. Economic data releases today. USA construction spending data and USA total vehicle sales are due for release Friday.