10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell

Mamta Badkar

 Nov. 21, 2012

Mark Baker/AP Images

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

• Asian markets were up in overnight trading with the Shanghai Composite rising 1.07 percent on speculation that the central bank would cut reserve requirement ratio to shore up investor confidence. Europe is mixed and U.S. futures are flat as the U.S. prepares for Thanksgiving.

• After 11-hours of talks, European finance ministers failed to agree on a debt-reduction deal for Athens. Germany was among the creditors that refused to hand over more money to support Greece. The ministers will meet again on November 26.

• Japanese exports fell 6.5 percent in October, worse than expectations of a 4.9 percent decline. Imports fell 1.6 percent. Exports to China fell 11.6 percent as the Sino-Japanese dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands continues, and exports to Europe fell 23.5 percent.

• Despite calls for peace, the conflict between Israel and Hamas shows no signs of letting up. Two people were reportedly involved in the bombing of a bus in Tel Aviv, meanwhile, Israel bombed a football stadium in Gaza. The death toll from the 11-day conflict has now risen to 134 Palestinians and five Israelis.

• Initial claims will be out at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by Markit PMI manufacturing for November at 8:58 a.m. ET. Consensus is for initial claims to fall to 415K, and for manufacturing PMI to fall to 51. 

• Farm equipment maker Deere & Co. reported fourth quarter earnings of $1.75 per share, on revenue of $9.79 billion. The company beat expectations on revenue. 

• Consumer sentiment data for November will be released at 9:55 a.m. ET. Analysts polled by Bloomberg expect consumer sentiment to decline to 84. 

• Hostess Brands, maker of Twinkies, and the baker's union failed to agree on a deal during mediation. 18,500 jobs are at stake, and 5,000 of those jobs belong to members of the union. The company is scheduled for a hearing at 11 am ET before the US bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York.

• UK's budget deficit unexpectedly rose to £8.6 billion in October, from £5.9 billion a year ago. Spending surged 7.4 percent, while tax income climbed 1.8 percent.

• India hanged Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab on Wednesday. Kasab was the lone survivor of the deadly Mumbai Terror attack in 2008 and was executed days before the fourth anniversary of the attack.