Wall Street set to open sharply higher after Dow breaks four-session losing streak

BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. stock futures were stronger this morning after the Dow on Monday broke its four-session losing streak. Boeing (BA), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Caterpillar (CAT) were the big Dow stock winners. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both logged their second straight day of gains. (CNBC)

Futures got even stronger after South Korea reported that North Korea said there's no need to keep its nuclear program as long as there's no military threat against it. South Korea also said that Pyongyang is open to talking with the U.S. regarding denuclearization and normalizing ties. (Reuters)

Shares of Target (TGT) were under pressure in premarket trading this morning after the retailer reported quarterly earnings short of estimates. However, revenue was better than expected. (CNBC)

The economic calendar is rather sparse today, with the government releasing January factory orders at 10 a.m. ET. New York Fed President William Dudley, Fed Governor Lael Brainard, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan all speak before the bell. Kaplan also joins CNBC for an interview at 8 a.m. ET. (CNBC)

The world's growing appetite for oil will leave plenty of room for both Saudi Arabia and the U.S to ratchet up production, Amin Nasser, CEO of energy giant Saudi Aramco, told CNBC. Meanwhile, Nasser said Saudi Arabia is looking to Alphabet (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) to build a tech hub. (CNBC)

Blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies, is "one of the most overhyped technologies ever," according to noted economist Nouriel Roubini. Meanwhile, a Harvard economist said bitcoin in 10 years is more likely to be $100 than $100,000 (CNBC)

* Ripple jumps as traders speculate that Coinbase may add the cryptocurrency to its platform (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

President Donald Trump, facing an angry chorus of protests from leaders of his own party, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, insisted he would not back down from his plan to impose broad tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. (NY Times)

* Europe is reportedly going after US steel and other goods in retaliation to Trump's tariffs (Bloomberg)
* Harley-Davidson: Retaliatory tariffs to have 'significant impact' on sales (Reuters)
* European carmakers urge Trump to rethink retaliatory tariff on car exports (CNBC)

In a reversal, Sam Nunberg, a former aide to Donald Trump, said he would likely cooperate with Russian election investigation special counsel Robert Mueller after all. In earlier interviews, he said he would not comply with Mueller's subpoena but would instead risk arrest. (CNBC)

* Nunberg questioned about intoxication: 'I have smelled alcohol on your breath' (USA Today)
* Former Russian double agent critically ill in Britain after exposure to unidentified substance (Reuters)

Sen. Thad Cochran, citing poor health, announced he will resign April 1 from the Senate. The 80-year-old Mississippi Republican, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, has been ill since at least last year with urological problems. (CNBC)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and a bipartisan group of 21 other senators announced support for a school safety bill in response to the Valentine's Day mass shooting at a Florida high school. (USA Today)

* 20-year-old sues Dick's, Walmart over new gun policies (USA Today)
* NRA faces a new kind of opponent: Kids who understand social media (CNBC)

In a major political role reversal, Texas Republicans are approaching today's primaries concerned they'll be outvoted by Democrats, and Democrats are daring to hope the sky-high turnout by their party in early voting presages big gains in November. (USA Today)

* Trump's election fraud guru to defend his claims of illegal voting in court (NBC News)

Former ESPN host and legal analyst Adrienne Lawrence sued the network in federal court, claiming the company is "rife with misogyny." ESPN said it's conducted a "thorough investigation" and found Lawrence's allegations to be "entirely without merit." (NBC News)

Former Alphabet executive Eric Schmidt said he doesn't fully buy into the vision of artificial intelligence replacing doctors, unlike some of his Silicon Valley counterparts. (CNBC)

Elon Musk's SpaceX today launched its largest satellite ever into space. The satellite is nearly the size of a bus. The launch marked the 50th time the company has flown one of its signature Falcon 9 rockets. (CNBC)

McDonald's (MCD) said it's already brought fresh beef Quarter Pounder patties to about 3,500 domestic restaurants so far and plans to reach some 14,000 U.S. locations by early May. (CNBC)

STOCKS TO WATCH

Amazon (AMZN) is expanding its delivery partnership with Whole Foods by rolling out free delivery from the grocery chain to Prime members in San Francisco and Atlanta.

The special committee advising Nordstrom's board said it's rejected an initial proposal from the Nordstrom family to take the retailer private for $50 per share as too low.

Michael Roman will replace Inge Thulin as CEO of 3M (MMM). Roman, a 3M veteran, will takeover for Thulin effective July 1. Thulin will be appointed to a newly created position, executive chairman of the board.

WATERCOOLER

Lego's sales fell last year for the first time since 2004 as the Danish toymaker cleared excess inventories and struggled with tough retail markets in Europe and North America. (Reuters)