5 things to know before the stock market opens Monday
1. Dow to make up some ground since Friday's plunge
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a bounce at Wall Street's open on Monday after last week's major sell-off on concerns about the widening coronavirus outbreak. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 603 points, or 2%, in its biggest single-session decline since August. The S&P 500's nearly 1.8% slide was the worst day since October. The Nasdaq lost almost 1.6% on Friday. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were all sharply lower for the week. After a strong start to 2020, the Dow and S&P 500 ended January in the red. However, the Nasdaq held on to nearly 2% gains for the month.
2. China stocks open after holiday down over 7%
China's Shanghai composite nosedived 7.7% of the first trading day there since the extended Lunar New Year holiday. Investors in China got their first chance to react to the widening the coronavirus outbreak. Confirmed cases in China rose to 17,205 with 361 deaths. On Monday, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced the city would suspend 10 of 13 border crossings with mainland China in an effort to curb the fast-spreading coronavirus.
3. Earnings flood continues, with Google-parent Alphabet after the bell
The pace of earnings reports picks up substantially over the next few days, with 86 of the S&P 500 companies scheduled to issue quarterly results. There's not much out before the bell Monday. But Google-parent Alphabet reports after the closing bell, its first since co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin announced in December they were stepping away from day-to-day management. Alphabet shares were caught up in Friday's downdraft, pushing the company's stock market value below $1 trillion.
4. Democratic presidential hopefuls jockey for delegates at Iowa caucuses
Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, ex-Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren all stand good chances of leaving with a chunk delegates from Monday's Iowa caucus, the first-in-the-nation 2020 Democratic presidential nominating contest. Billionaire former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who joined the race late, cracked into the top-four nationally, according to RealClearPolitics' polling average. He avoided early contests, including Iowa, and is putting his personal war chest toward a big splash on March 3's Super Tuesday. He has spent about $180 million since joining the Democratic race in late November.
5. Vote to convict or acquit at Trump's Senate impeachment trial delayed
Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate have reached an agreement to postpone the final vote in President Donald Trump's impeachment trial until Wednesday. The Senate vote, whether to convict or acquit Trump, will happen after Monday's Iowa caucuses and Tuesday's State of the Union address. Trump will deliver his address in the House chamber, where he was impeached in December. The GOP-controlled Senate, after successfully voting Friday to prevent witnesses, is unlikely to convict and remove Republican Trump from office.