10 things you need to know before the opening bell

10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Here is what you need to know.

1. Trump's trade war is sending the S&P 500 towards its worst December in 16 years. The S&P 500 has fallen 4.6% so far in December, and is on track for its worst closing month of the year since 2002.

2. China warns of 'grave consequences' if Huawei's CFO isn't released. China summoned US ambassador Terry Branstad to Beijing to protest Canada's detention of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou and warned that it will take further steps based on the US's response, the AP reports.

3. The UK can unilaterally reverse Brexit.The European Court of Justice, the EU's highest court, ruled Monday that the UK can reverse Brexit by revoking Article 50 - the mechanism that outlines the steps a country needs to take to exit the bloc.

4. Japan's economy just went sharply into reverse.Japan's economy contracted 2.5% in the third quarter - more than double the preliminary reading of a 1.2% drop - according to government data released Monday.

5. A bubble in the stock market is bursting - and its demise marks a significant regime change for investors.The low-volatility bubble is bursting and Bank of America explains why market turbulence is about to become the norm.

6. Nissan and its ousted CEO have reportedly been indicted. Nissan Motors and former CEO Carlos Ghosn have been indicted for falsifying financial statements, according to reports from Japanese media.

7. Softbank prices its IPO. The initial public offering, which will be one of the largest of all time, priced at 1,500 Japanese yen per share and will raise 2.65 trillion yen ($US23.5 billion), Reuters reports, citing a regulatory filing.

8. Elon Musk says he does 'not respect the SEC.' Tesla's CEO told 60 Minutes that he does not respect the Securities and Exchange Commission and that no one has reviewed any of his tweets since his settlement with the agency.

9. Stock markets around the world are lower. Japan's Nikkei (-2.12%) led the losses in Europe and Germany's DAX (-0.43%) trails in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open down 0.18% near 2,628.

10. US economic data trickles out. JOLTS Job Openings will cross the wires at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is up two basis points at 2.86%.