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Here's what you need to know before the markets open. 1. Big tech stocks lost more than $200 billion in market value in a day from coronavirus fears. Apple, Google-parent Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook all saw their stocks tumble at least 4% on Monday as investors braced for coronavirus to escalate into a global pandemic. 2. Warren Buffett says he would vote for Mike Bloomberg over Bernie Sanders, but doubts his endorsement would help the billionaire. "I don't think another billionaire supporting him would be the best thing to announce," the famed investor said. 3. Facebook has been investigating 'suspicious' pro-Sanders content, but hasn't found any evidence it's inauthentic. Officials have told Sanders that his campaign may be benefiting from Russian interference, and President Donald Trump has called for Democrats to investigate. 4. Washington pledges $1 billion for coronavirus vaccine as pandemic risks grow. The White House is seeking a total of $2.5 billion from Congress to develop a vaccine, invest in therapeutics, and stockpile masks. 5. Trump says stock markets will crash if he loses election. "If I don't win you're going to see a crash like you've never seen before," the president said in India this week. 6. China's main manufacturing hubs reboot after virus shutdown. Hubs in east and south China are seeing hundreds of thousands of migrant workers returning to work and more traffic on the roads during rush hours. 7. Grab is raising $706 million from MUFG to roll out financial services. The Southeast Asian ride-hailing group is topping up its cash pile as it seeks to expand aggressively into financial services. 8. Stocks are in flux. European equities fell with Germany's DAX down 0.3%, Britain's FTSE 100 down 0.6%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 down 0.4%. Asian indexes were mixed with China's Shanghai Composite down 0.6% and Japan's Nikkei down 3.3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.3%. US stocks are poised to open higher. Futures underlying the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose 0.4%, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.7%. 9. It's a bumper day for earnings. Home Depot and Salesforce are the highlights. 10. Some interesting data is coming out. Look out for housing prices and consumer confidence figures. |