Top 5 Things to Know in The Market on Tuesday

Here are the top 5 things you need to know in the market on Tuesday, April 9th.

1. Trump's New Front in Trade War

President Donald Trump has opened a new front in the U.S.’s trade war with the rest of the world.

The administration is threatening tariffs on $11 billion on imports from the European Union to compensate the U.S. for alleged damage done to Boeing (NYSE:BA) by what the U.S. sees as unfair subsidies to its rival Airbus (PA:AIR).

The move is the latest development in a dispute over subsidies to the two aircraft makers going back 14 years.

2. Wall Street Set to Open Flat to Lower

U.S. stock markets are set for a slightly lower opening, in response to the discouraging news of further trade conflicts.

At 06:00 AM ET, the S&P 500 futures contract was down 2.4 points or 0.1%, the Dow futures contract was unchanged, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 contract was down 7.9 points, or 0.1%.

In Europe, markets were also mostly lower ahead of a key day for Brexit, with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May set to meet her French and German counterparts ahead of an EU summit on Wednesday.

Read More: Trump's Controversial Appointments Escalate Fed Clash; Markets On His Side

3. Oil Hits New Highs

Oil prices continued to climb as fighting in Libya intensified, raising the threat to the country’s crude exports. The price for the benchmark WTI Futures contract hit $64.78 overnight, its highest level in over five months.

Rising prices have emboldened investors to place over $85 billion in bids for oil company Saudi Aramco’s debut bond, which will be priced later today – probably at a yield below that of its owner, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Not all the signs are bullish though. Bloomberg reported earlier Tuesday that Venezuela had restarted one of four upgrading facilities it uses to process its crude for export, while Reuters said Russia will want to raise its output when its current deal with OPEC on supply cuts expires in June.

At 4.30 PM ET (2030 GMT), the American Petroleum Institute is due to present its weekly report on crude stocks. The consensus forecast for the official government estimate of crude stocks is for a 2.51 million-barrel increase last week. The government's numbers come out Wednesday.

4. Alcon Returns

Eye-care giant Alcon returns to public markets under its own name today, 11 years after being bought by Swiss healthcare giant Novartis (SIX:NOVN).

The $50 billion acquisition was notorious for its poor timing, only months before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Novartis is spinning the unit off on the New York and Zurich exchanges with a market value of barely half that amount.

5. Wynn Bids $7.1 Billion for Crown

Entertainment and gambling stocks will be in focus after Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) offered to buy Australian-based Crown Resorts (OTC:CWLDY) for $7.1 billion.

The deal is a sign of accelerating consolidation in the traditional gambling industry, which faces disruption from online players. Crown’s board is yet to consider the proposal.

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