Stock market news: Opening bell, September 12, 2018

U.S.
President Donald Trump speaks during an Oval Office meeting on
hurricane preparations for Hurricane Florence at the White House
in Washington.
Reuters/Leah
Millis

Here is what you need to know. 

Hurricane Florence is due to make landfall on
Saturday. The category 4 hurricane, which is
now expected to make landfall in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,
could produce 40 inches of rain and a 13-foot storm surge. 

Insurance and construction stocks have taken a beating ahead of
Hurricane Florence. Over the past three trading
sessions, Travelers has fallen 3.5% and Summit Materials lost
9.4% as traders position themselves ahead of Florence’s
landfall. 

Trump’s trade war has Chinese stocks taking a beating while the
US market soars. The Shanghai Composite has lost
about 20% of its value in the six months since President Donald
Trump kicked off his trade war with China while the Nasdaq has
gained more than 15%.

New York overtakes London as world’s top financial
center. New York topped the list as the world’s
most attractive financial center, according to the Z/Yen
global financial centers index. It was followed by London and
Hong Kong. 

Tech employees may be the big winners of the ETF
explosion. Tech employees — who often times receive
a large portion of their compensation in stock options — are the
big winners of the exchange-traded fund market’s $5 trillion
explosion, according to a new study from Vincent Deluard of
INTL FCStone. 

Ethereum tumbles to a 16-month low. The
cryptocurrency fell more than 8% early Wednesday to $169.12 a
coin, and has lost more than 30% of its value over the past seven
days. 

Apple’s iPhone event is here. The tech giant is
expected to unveil three new iPhones and a slew of other products
that may include a new Apple Watch and refreshed Air Pods at an
event in Cupertino, California on Wednesday. 

Stock markets
around the world are mixed. China’s Shanghai
Composite (-0.33%) lagged in Asia and France’s CAC (+0.53%) leads
in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open little changed near
2,891.

Earnings reports trickle out. Pivotal Software
will report after markets close.

US economic data flows. PPI will be released at
8:30 a.m. ET and the Fed’s Beige Book will cross the wires at 2
p.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 2 basis points at
2.96%.