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10 things you need to know before the opening bell
(Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan sat between Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner in New York on Thursday night.Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
Here is what you need to know.
China's red-hot housing market is still accelerating. Data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics showed new-home prices rose 11.2% year-over-year in September. Prices in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing — some of China’s largest cities — saw prices jump by 34.1%, 32.7% and 27.8%, respectively.
The euro hit a 7-month low. The single currency touched a seven-month low of 1.0878 on Friday, a day after Mario Draghi suggested the European Central Bank wouldn't taper policy anytime soon. The euro is now down 0.3% at 1.0894 against the dollar.
A successful Brexit could hinge on a single region of Belgium. The European Union has spent seven years negotiating a trade deal with Canada, and Wallonia, one of Belgium's six legislatures, has vetoed the deal, meaning Belgium's national government cannot give its approval unless something changes Friday. The failure or success of this trade deal could have similar consequences for Britain.
BAT wants to buy the remainder of Reynolds American. British American Tobacco has made a $47 billion offer to acquire the remaining 57.8% stake of Reynolds American that it doesn't already own, Reuters reports.
Qualcomm might finally put its cash to work. The tech giant is said to be in the final stages of talks to acquire NXP for $110 to $120 a share, or about $40 billion, according to Bloomberg. Qualcomm has about $30 billion in cash, most of which is overseas, so acquiring a foreign company is attractive.
AT&T and Time Warner are reportedly discussing a merger. The two sides held informal talks to discuss potential business opportunities, including a merger, Bloomberg reports.
Microsoft hit an all-time high after its earnings beat. Better-than-expected earnings and revenue ran shares of Microsoft up by more than 5% and to their first record-high print since December 1999.
Stock markets around the world trade mixed. Overnight, Japan's Nikkei (+0.3%) led while Hong Kong's Hang Seng (-0.3%) lagged. In Europe, Britain's FTSE (+0.2%) paces the advance. S&P 500 futures are down 5.00 points at 2,132.00.
Earnings reports flow ahead of the opening bell. General Electric, Honeywell, and McDonald's are among the names releasing their quarterly results before markets open.
US economic data is absent. Baker Hughes, however, will release its weekly rig count at 1 p.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is little changed at 1.75%.
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