Stock market news: Opening bell, October 18, 2018

A
sign advertises the available cannabis products at the Thomas H.
Clarke Distribution retail store as Canada legalizes recreational
marijuana, in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, Newfoundland and
Labrador, Canada.
Reuters/Chris
Wattie

Here is what you need to know.

Chinese stocks plunge to 4-year lows. China’s
Shanghai Composite tumbled nearly 3% Thursday to its weakest
level since November 2014, with trade war fears, slowing growth,
and the impact of forced selling all being blamed. Meanwhile,
European markets cling to small gains while the S&P 500 is
set to open little changed.

The Chinese yuan hits its weakest level in almost 2
years. The onshore Chinese yuan touched 6.9452 per
US dollar Thursday, its weakest since January 4, 2017. The fresh
low comes one day after the Treasury Department declined to name
China a currency manipulator.

Oil dives below $70. West Texas Intermediate
crude oil plunged more than 3% to below $70 a barrel on Wednesday
after the Energy Information Agency reported a fourth
straight week of an inventory buildup in the US. WTI was trading
down nearly 1% at $69.13 a barrel early Thursday. 

The world’s most accurate economic forecaster pinpoints the
biggest risks investors will face in
2019. Christophe Barraud, the Paris-based chief
economist of Market Securities who has been ranked by Bloomberg
as the most accurate forecaster of the US economy every year
since 2012, gives Business Insider his 2019 outlook for US
economic growth, the bond market, and why he favors US equities
over Europe.

Saudi Arabia reportedly scraps its planned deal with Virgin
Hyperloop. The Financial Times reports Saudi
Arabia is pulling the plug on its deal with Virgin Hyperloop,
which included a feasibility study, after Virgin Group Chairman
Richard Branson said he would suspend working with the
kingdom in the wake of the disappearance of the journalist Jamal
Khashoggi.

The New York Attorney General is investigating MoviePass’ owner
for allegedly misleading investors. The
attorney general’s office is investigating whether Helios and
Matheson — the parent company of MoviePass — “misled the
investment community regarding the company’s financials,”
according to a CNBC report, citing a source familiar with the
matter.

One of Canada’s largest marijuana growers reveals plans to go
public in the US. Aurora Cannabis on Wednesday
revealed plans to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange
before the end of October. They will trade under the ticker
“ACB.” 

A tiny Chinese manufacturer of eco-friendly building products
explodes by 950% after pivoting to gemstones. Yulong
Eco-Materials soared as much as 950% Wednesday after the company
announced it had completed its $50 million acquisition of the
Millennium Sapphire gemstone — which its says recently appraised
for $60 million to $90 million — and that it was pivoting its
business to gemstones. Shares finished up 571%. 

Earnings reports keep coming. Philip Morris
International reports ahead of the opening bell while American
Express and PayPal release their quarterly results after markets
close.

US economic data flows. Philly Fed manufacturing and
initial claims will both be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US
10-year yield is up 1 basis point at 3.22%.