10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Reuters/Amir Cohen
Here is what you need to know.
Big changes could be coming to Obamacare. The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have proposed numerous changes aimed at getting younger people to sign up and making it less risky for insurers in the marketplace to take on sick patients.
Japan's unemployment rate is at a 21-year low. Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed Japan's unemployment rate slid to a seasonally adjusted 3.0% in July, its lowest since 1995. The Japanese yen is weaker by 0.5% at 102.40.
Brexit is having a big impact on the UK mortgage market. The number of new mortgages given out in the UK in July was 60,912, making for the lowest total in 18 months as uncertainty took hold following the June 23 vote for a British exit from the European Union. The British pound is lower by 0.2% at 1.3085.
Saudi Arabia is bleeding reserves. The kingdom's foreign-exchange reserves fell by $6 billion in July and are at their lowest level since February 2012, Reuters reports.
Gold is doing something it's only done twice in the past decade. The price of the precious metal has historically moved in tandem with the rate of central bank balance-sheet expansions, but it is not keeping up right now. Gold is down 0.3% near $1,319.50 an ounce.
Mondelez says it won't pursue Hershey anymore. Mondelez says it does not see a path forward for its $23 billion takeover attempt of the chocolate giant because of "recent shareholder developments at Hershey."
Europe hit Apple with a 13-billion-euro ($14.5 billion) fine. The European Commission has ordered Ireland to claw back the money after concluding it had granted the company illegal tax benefits. Apple is down about 2% ahead of the opening bell.
Stock markets around the world are mostly higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+0.9%) led the advance in Asia, and Germany's DAX (+1.0%) paces the charge in Europe. S&P 500 futures are down 1.75 points at 2,177.50.
Earnings reporting is light. Abercrombie & Fitch and G-III Apparel report ahead of the opening bell while H&R Block releases its quarterly results after markets close.
US economic data trickles out. Consumer confidence will cross the wires at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is higher by 2 basis points at 1.58%.