Advertisement

Here's what's going on. 

1. China's economy grew at the slowest pace in nearly 30 years as Trump's trade war bites. The drop from 6.6% growth in 2018 reflected a raft of challenges. China's birth rate and manufacturing investment also dropped to record lows.

2. A Goldman Sachs client poll finds 87% expect Trump to win the next election. The banking titan also polled clients on when they expect the next US recession, and their predictions for US stocks and Fed rate cuts.

3. Trump lavished praise on Giuliani, then hinted he may throw him under the bus by denying any knowledge of a letter his attorney sent Ukraine's president. "I didn't know about a specific letter," he said, after impeachment investigators released a letter concerning Giuliani's quest for Biden dirt.

4. WeWork signed just 4 new leases last quarter as SoftBank scrambles to turn it around. The troubled coworking startup added about 184,000 square feet of new space, a 93% drop from its average in the past four quarters, CBRE data showed.

5. The UK is preparing to ignore Trump's threats and strike a deal with Huawei as Boris Johnson is told to 'call their bluff'. Boris Johnson's administration is distancing itself from Trump amid repeated threats from the president to the United States' closest ally.

6. Fiat Chrysler and Foxconn plan Chinese electric vehicle joint venture. Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and the parent of iPhone assembler Foxconn plan to set up a joint venture to build electric cars and develop internet-connected vehicles, the two groups said.

7. German population at record high, but growth slowest since 2012. Germany's population reached a record high of 83.2 million people last year thanks to migration but it grew at the slowest pace since 2012, the statistics office said on Friday as Europe's largest economy experiences a chronic birth deficit.

8. Stocks are rallying. US stocks are likely to gain, with futures underlying the Dow and S&P 500 indexes up at least 0.2%. European stocks are climbing. Germany's DAX and the Euro Stoxx 50 are up at least 0.6%, while Britain's FTSE 100 is increasing 1%. Asian indexes are mixed. The Shanghai Composite was flat, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.6%, and Japan's Nikkei was up 0.5%.

9. On the data docket today: The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index is the highlight.

10. On the earnings calendar today: State Street Corp is a highlight.