10 things you need to know before the opening bell (SPY, SPX, QQQ, DIA, AAPL, MSFT, BBT, STI, CMG)

Jonathan Garber

February 7, 2019 12:44 PM

Here is what you need to know.

Lunar New Year

American business leaders reveal the things they are most worried about this year . UBS surveyed 500 CEOs and CFOs of American companies and found that rising costs were top of mind.
Germany is drawing closer to a recession . Industrial output unexpectedly fell 0.4% in December, according to the federal statistics authority Destatis, short of the 0.3% increase that was expected.
New Zealand's unemployment spikes sharply . The unemployment rate jumped to 4.3% in the December quarter, from an upwardly revised 4% in the prior three months, data released Thursday by Statistics New Zealand showed.
A $280 billion investment chief explains how low inflation will help set up the next stock-market spike . Katie Nixon, the chief investment officer for Northern Trust Wealth Management, says factors including technology and aging populations are keeping inflation tame and will prevent the Federal Reserve from creating a recession with its interest-rate hikes.
BB&T and SunTrust are joining forces . The $66 billion merger will give SunTrust shareholders 1.295 BB&T shares for each SunTrust share they own.
Apple reclaims the crown as world's most valuable publicly traded company . The tech giant finished Wednesday's session with a market capitalization of $821 billion, surpassing Microsoft ($813 billion).
Higher prices boost Chipotle . The burrito chain said same-store sale jumped 6.1% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, aided by a 3.3% benefit from higher menu prices.
Stock markets around the world were lower . Japan's Nikkei (-0.59%) led the losses in Asia, and Germany's DAX (-1.08%) trailed in Europe. The S&P 500 was set to open down 0.61% near 2,715.
Earnings reports keep coming . Fiat Chrysler, T-Mobile, and Twitter report ahead of the opening bell.
US economic data is light . Initial claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET and consumer credit cross the wires at 3 p.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 2.5 basis points at 2.67%.