U.S. MARKETS:

* S&P 500 futures up 0.2% to 2,771.75
* Brent Futures up 0.6% to $80.29/bbl
* Gold spot down 0.3% to $1,223.23
* U.S. Dollar Index down 0.03% to 95.68

GLOBAL NEWS:

Earnings. Scheduled earnings include Kimberly-Clark, Halliburton, TD and Ameritrade.

FCA sells Magneti Marelli. Fiat Chrysler has accepted KKR's offer to acquire its equipment manufacturer Magneti Marelli, as part of a €6.2 billion transaction.

Brent trades near $80 as Saudis talk down crude supply risk. Brent steadied near $80 a barrel as Saudi Arabia dismissed using its oil wealth as a political tool following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Philips drops as profit disappoints and trade war impact looms. Royal Philips NV shares fell to the lowest level in seven years after missing earnings expectations and warning trade wars and Brexit will weigh on its business.

Air France is breaking the deadlock. Air France KLM has obtained a majority agreement with Air France employees on a salary increase. General increases of 2% were decided for the current year, retroactive to 1 January, and again 2% in 2019.

ArcelorMittal is making progress in India. The steelmaker will start discussions after being selected as the highest bidder by the Indian authorities as part of the takeover of Essar Steel. The show is not finished but it takes a positive turn for ArcelorMittal.

New indication. The U.S. Drug Agency has authorized Sanofi's Dupixent for maintenance in moderate to severe asthma. The European and Japanese agencies are still under review.
Good news for Crédit Agricole. The French Bank reports that its investment arm CA CIB has fulfilled all its obligations towards the American authorities, who have stopped their investigation (on prohibited financing in dollars).

Total and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation are strengthening their ties. The French and Chinese companies signed an amendment to their LNG sales and purchase contract to increase volumes and duration. Total secures the supply over 20 years.

Good health. S&P upgraded the credit ratings of Natixis (from "A" to "A+") and Crédit Agricole (from "A" to "A+") by one notch, acknowledging the increased financial strength of both institutions.

Success for Roche. The laboratory obtained positive results with Tecentriq and entrectinib. Roche, like its counterparts, is taking advantage of ESMO to produce data in oncology.

Siemens and GE in Iraq. Siemens and General Electric will participate in the rehabilitation of the Iraqi energy grid. We are talking about some 13 billion euros in potential spending.

Dia in trouble. S&P put Dia's debt in speculative grade. The Spanish distributor warned again about his results last week.

Universal tax for GAFAs? Germany advocates a global minimum tax for Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and others, from which no one could escape.