Stock market news: Opening bell, August 13, 2018

A
man looks to a display board of a currency exchange office in
Istanbul, Turkey.
Reuters/Osman
Orsal

Here is what you need to know. 

Turkey’s central bank promises ‘all necessary measures’ to save
its financial system. “The Central Bank will
closely monitor the market depth and price formations, and take
all necessary measures to maintain financial stability, if deemed
necessary,” the Central Bank of the Republic of
Turkey said Monday. The Turkish lira is down 7% versus the
dollar on Monday and has lost 40% of its value in August.

North and South Korea are getting together for another
summit. The two Koreas have agreed to meet
in  the truce village of Panmunjom, in the demilitarized
zone, in September to hold more talks about ending North Korea’s
nuclear weapons program, Reuters reports.  

The cargo ship that’s been drifiting off the coast of China with
$20 million of soybeans has finally docked. Peak
Pegasus docked in Dalian, China on Sunday with 70,000 tonnes of
US soybeans on board, making its cargo one of the first shipments
to incur the new tariffs, Reuters says. 

Russia says it will continue to trim its holding of US
securities. Russian Finance Minister Anton
Siluanov said his country will rely more on other currencies,
including the euro, in response to new sanctions on Moscow, RIA
state news agency reports. 

There’s a $1 trillion question hanging over stocks right
now. There have been $1 trillion in stock
buybacks authorized this year, and they could ultimately
determine the fate of the bull market, according to Goldman Sachs
strategist David Kostin. 

Saudi Arabia is reportedly looking to invest big in
Tesla. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund,
Public Investment Fund, has built a 5% stake in the electric-car
maker and is looking to become a significant investor, Bloomberg
says. 

Trump backs a boycott of Harley-Davidson if it moves production
overseas. “Many @harleydavidson owners plan to
boycott the company if manufacturing moves overseas,” President
Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday. “Great! Most other companies are
coming in our direction, including Harley competitors. A really
bad move! U.S. will soon have a level playing field, or better”

Bayer is
getting whacked after the Monsanto
ruling. Shares of Bayer were down more than 12%
in Germany following a California jury verdict on Friday that
ordered its Monsanto subsidiary to pay $289 million in damages
after a lawsuit alleged its Roundup weedkiller caused
cancer.  

Markets are under pressure as Turkey’s lira crisis
spreads. Japan’s Nikkei (-1.98%) was hit hard
in Asia and Germany’s DAX (-0.69%) trails in Europe. The S&P
500 is set to open down 0.19% near 2,829.

Earnings
reports trickle out. Sysco reports ahead of the
opening bell.