10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell

Matthew Boesler

Nov. 6, 2012

AP Images

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

• Asian markets were lower in overnight trading, with the Nikkei and the Shanghai Composite both down about 0.4 percent. European markets are higher across the board this morning, with France trading up 0.8 percent. In the United States, Dow futures are up 40 points and S&P 500 futures are up 4 points.

• American voters head to the polls today to decide on the next president of the United States. Final pre-election polling in swing states gave Barack Obama a slight edge, and statistician Nate Silver gives Obama a 92 percent chance of winning.

• Hundreds of thousands of Greeks began a massive two-day strike today, disrupting transportation among other services in Athens and elsewhere. The protests come a day before a critical austerity vote in the Greek parliament Wednesday.

• German factory orders plunged 3.3 percent, well below expectations of a 0.4 percent decline. The number marks the biggest drop in orders in a year.

• British manufacturing output rose 0.1 percent, short of expectations of a 0.3 percent gain. Industrial production fell 1.7 percent, which was also worse than estimates.

• Russian president Vladimir Putin publicly dismissed his defense minister for his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal. The leadership of the defense ministry, a powerful position in Russia, was given to a longtime Putin ally.

• BMW reported a 14 percent rise in quarterly profits, bolstered by strong China sales numbers. The gains in China helped the world's biggest luxury car maker to offset weakening conditions in Europe.

• Apple's new iPhone 5 has sold out in India. The device is selling much better than its predecessors, and analysts expect iPhone shipments to India to continue to increase.

• Suzuki announced it will exit the U.S. car market, where the Japanese manufacturer has not been able to develop a profitable operation. The Suzuki move comes after nearly 30 years of selling cars in the United States.

• The ISM New York Report on Business is out at 9:45 AM ET; last month, the index stood at 52.9. At 10 AM, JOLTS job openings are released; 3561 openings were recorded last month.