Big earnings day is coming.
Here are 4 tips for today's trading. This will help you decide where you should invest and what to look for:
1. Flood of earnings
A number of important earnings are coming through this morning from 3M (MMM), Caterpillar (CAT), Dunkin' Brands (DNKN), McDonald's (MCD) and Southwest Airlines (LUV).
United Continental (UAL) is also reporting this morning. These are the first results since the new interim CEO took over after CEO Oscar Munoz suffered a heart attack and took a medical leave of absence.
After the closing bell, AT&T (T, Tech30) will post its first results since merging with DirecTV. Google will issue its first results as Alphabet (GOOG). And the markets will hear from Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) and Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30).
In Europe, the parent company for Mercedes-Benz cars -- Daimler (DDAIY) -- reported record sales in the third quarter and strong growth in China. Many other automakers have experienced slower sales in China as the economy slows and the government cracks down on officials who make lavish purchases.