10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko

Servicemen of the Belarussian Interior Ministry’s special forces unit perform during Maslenitsa celebrations, a pagan holiday marking the end of winter celebrated with pancake eating and shows of strength, at their base in Minsk, Belarus.

Here is what you need to know.

European PMIs crush expectations.Markit’s composite PMI figure for the eurozone came in at 56.0 in February, well ahead of the 54.3 that economists were anticipating. German manufacturing (57.0) and French services (56.7) were especially impressive numbers.

Japanese manufacturing is booming. The Nikkei-IHS Markit flash manufacturing PMI rose to 53.5 in February, its highest level since March 2014. The Japanese yen is weaker by 0.6% at 113.72 per dollar.

Kraft Heinz is calling off its attempt to merge with Unilever. “Unilever and Kraft Heinz hereby announce that Kraft Heinz has amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal for a combination of the two companies,” the companies said in a statement on Sunday, just two days after Kraft Heinz made a $143 billion offer.

Snap’s roadshow is underway. The parent company of Snapchat kicked off its roadshow on Monday in London, hoping to draw lure investors despite their concerns over the unusual share structure that doesn’t give any voting rights.

HSBC’s pre-tax profit tanks. Europe’s biggest bank by assets saw pre-tax profit for 2016 fall to $7.1 billion from $18.87 billion the previous year. HSBC announced a new $1 billion share buyback program.

BHP Billiton reports a surge in profits. The world’s largest miner said profits surged seven-fold to $3.1 billion during the six months to December. The extra cash helped BHP boost its dividend and pay down debt.

Samsung’s reputation has crashed after its exploding Note 7 phone fiasco. In 2016, Harris Poll ranked Samsung as the seventh most viable company in the United States, in 2007, following its exploding phone fiasco, its ranking has dropped to 49.

Stock markets around the world are up. Japan’s Nikkei (+0.7%) paced the gains in Asia and Germany’s DAX (+0.5%) is out front in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open higher by 0.4% near 2,357.

Earnings reporting remains heavy. Home Depot, Macy’s and Walmart are among the companies reporting ahead of the opening bell while First Solar, Papa John’s, and Texas Roadhouse highlight the names releasing their quarterly results after markets close.

US economic data trickles out. Markit manufacturing and services data will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is higher by 4 basis points at 2.45%.

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