Hello friends and Fortune readers.
Wall Street stock futures are lower again this morning, again under pressure from a bearish Chinese market whose declines were only partly stopped by intervention from the country’s central bank and stock market regulator. Crude oil futures are flat as the market calms down after the flare-up between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Today’s must-read story is by Fortune’s Stephen Gandel on what yesterday’s stock market plunge reveal about the rest of 2016. The silver lining: it’s not time to panic, yet.
Here’s what else you need to know today.
1. China stocks end volatile session down
China’s central bank and the Chinese stock market regulator both intervened during the day to stop selling that basically continued Monday’s bloodbath, but stocks still ended the day down, albeit by a much smaller amount than yesterday. The regulator said it was looking at tweaking its new ‘circuit-breaker’ rules, while over 10 companies said their owners would voluntarily hold back from further share sales.
2. Chinese billionaire closes in Legendary Entertainment
Dalian Wanda, the Chinese conglomerate owned by the country’s richest man Wang Jianlin, is close to buying Legendary Entertainment, the movie production company that made, among others, Jurassic World. It’s the biggest show of China’s ambitions in Hollywood yet.
3. December car sales.
U.S. automakers release December sales numbers today. Analysts will be holding their breath to see if 2015 takes the all-time sales record, surpassing the former high of 17.5 million cars and trucks sold in 2000. December auto sales are anticipated to hit 1.7 million units for a total of 17.5 million for the year, according to estimates from Kelley Blue Book and TrueCar. Analysts will be on the lookout for how year-end holiday promotions helped boost sales in the final month.
4. An update on American energy.
The American Petroleum Institute kicks off its “State of American Energy” event this morning in Washington, where API President Jack Gerard will provide the keynote address. The group released its 2016 annual report of the same name recently, which chronicles the economic, job creation, energy security, and leadership opportunities produced by the U.S. energy industry.
5. Eli Lilly’s annual outlook.
The U.S. drugmaker will update investors tomorrow on its expectations for 2016. Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) is expected to reveal a moderately higher revenue and earnings outlook, thanks to new medicines like diabetes treatment Jardiance and lung cancer drug Cyramza. The update will stream live on the company’s website.
Additional reporting contributed by Reuters.
