10 things you need to know before opening bell

Here is what you need to know.

1. Boris Johnson had a disastrous day on the campaign trail which supporters fear could cost him the election. A clip of Boris Johnson refusing to look at a photo of a sick 4-year-old boy went viral on Monday triggering a day of mistakes by the Tory campaign. Britain votes on Thursday. 

2. Morgan Stanley is cutting 1,500 jobs mostly in technology and operations. Bloomberg reported that most of the cuts are in tech and operations. “Other firms will likely announce cuts as planning for 2020 continues,” CNBC wrote.

3. Barclays just announced 56 new managing directors in its corporate and investment bank. The bank named new MDs across banking, corporate banking, markets, and research.

4. Citigroup just announced 137 new managing directors in its trading and dealmaking unit. Managing director is a coveted distinction at Citigroup and the highest title at the firm. The 137 promotions are an increase from 125 last year.

5. SoftBank is selling back its stake in embattled dog-walking startup Wag, amid the company’s ‘painful’ layoffs.SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son seemed to express concern about Vision Fund’s near-50% stake in the dog-walking startup in his latest investor presentation.

6. Trade questions slow investment, squeeze profits across US. From a denim plant in rural Georgia to a St. Paul, Minneapolis loudspeaker maker, nagging uncertainty over when President Donald Trump’s trade wars might end, if ever, is confounding many US manufacturers.

7. BlackRock Investment Institute ‘modestly positive’ on risk assets for 2020. BlackRock was turning neutral on US equities, was modestly underweight European equities and underweight European government bonds, said the firm at a media briefing.

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8. Stocks are dropping on Tuesday. US futures underlying the Dow (-0.4%), S&P 500 (-0.3%) and the Nasdaq (-0.4%) are falling. In Europe, the DAX (-1.4%) and the Euro Stoxx 50 (-1.1%) are down considerably. Asian stocks closed mixed, with the Nikkei (-0.1%) and Hang Seng (-0.2%) falling but the Shanghai Composite (+0.1%) rose marginally.

9. There are no notable earnings from the US today. In the UK, Mothercare reports earnings.

10. There is a stack of data on the docket today. Nonfarm productivity is the standout figure.