10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell

MIKE BIRD

OCT. 14, 2014

KCNA/Reuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has resurfaced.

Good morning! Here are 10 of the biggest stories already making an impact on financial markets Tuesday.

Germany Investor Sentiment Is Negative And Europe’s Industry Is Crashing.Eurozone industrial production dropped 1.9% in the year to August and the ZEW index of German investors fell into negative territory for the first time since 2012.

Greek Equities Are Getting Hit Hard. Another poll shows far-left radicals Syriza in the lead and likely to win the country’s next general election, and the Athens stock exchange is not liking it. 

Markets Are In The Red. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE is down 0.5%, France’s CAC is down 0.9%, and Germany’s DAX is down 0.7%. Asia closed down with Japan’s Nikkei plunging 2.4%. US futures are modestly higher.

Turkey Is Bombing Kurdish Fighters In Northern Syria. Turkish warplanes attacked Kurdish fighters in the first significant air operation against the militants since the launch of a peace process two years ago. 

Daimler Earnings Are Up Solidly. German car and truck maker Daimler reported a 29-percent jump in quarterly core earnings at Mercedes-Benz Cars, its biggest business.

Russia And China Just Signed Dozens Of Political Deals.Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev oversaw the signing of 38 agreements on currencies, energy and other issues.

Small Business Optimism Is Coming. The NFIB’s index of small business optimism is out at 7.30 a.m. ET, and should give a signal of how firms are faring. Last month, the index came in at 96.1.

Kim Jong Un Is Back. The North Korean leader has been identified at a public event again, after an absence of more than a month. Kim’s appearances are monitors for signs of tension among the North Korean leadership.

JP Morgan Had Its Earnings Leaked. The bank reported a third-quarter profit, moving past the huge legal claims that caused it to book a rare loss in the same quarter last year, according to an apparently authentic document posted on website shareholder.com.

Oil And Gas Explorer Afren Sacked Its CEO For Misconduct. Afren’s CEO and two other directors are out after a review found evidence of “gross misconduct.”