Stock market news: Opening bell, August 21, 2018

U.S.
President Donald Trump answers a reporter’s question as eight
different phones and recording devices placed on his desk by
reporters and White House staff members record his words during
an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House
in Washington.
Reuters/Leah
Millis

Here is what you need to know. 

Trump doubles down on claims that China and the EU are currency
manipulators. “What they’re doing is making up
for the fact that they’re now paying… hundreds of millions of
dollars and in some cases billions of dollars into the United
States Treasury,” President Donald Trump told Reuters. “And so
they’re being accommodated and I’m not. And I’ll still win.”

Trump says he’s “not thrilled” about Fed rate hikes.
He added that he would keep criticizing the central bank if rate
hikes continued.

The dollar is falling. The US dollar index,
which measures the greenback against a basket of its peers,
trades down 0.34% at 95.57 after Trump’s comments.  

Bank of America names 2 sectors investors should be buying into
as the bull market makes history.  The bull
market is one day away from becoming the longest in
history, as measured by its rise from the trough hit in
March 2009, and Bank of America says it’s not ending anytime
soon, mainly because earnings growth is so strong.  

Elon Musk says Tesla could “maybe” make a $25,000
model. “I think in order for us to get up to…a
25,000 car, that’s something we can do,” the Tesla
told YouTube personality Marques Brownlee. “If we work
really hard, I think maybe we can do that in three years.”

BHP
Bilton announces a record dividend. The mining
giant said statutory profit fell 37% due to its fatal Brazil mine
disaster, but announced a record dividend of $0.63 a share. 

Nvidia announces its next generation of GeForce graphics
cards. The chip maker gained 1.23% on Monday after
announcing its new lineup of GeForce graphics cards, which give
everyday consumer access to ray-tracing technology for the first
time.

The world’s largest publicly traded marijuana company hits a
record high. Shares soared more than 11% on
Monday, hitting a record high of $37.65 apiece, just days after
Constellation Brands, the maker of Corona beer and Svedka vodka,
upped its stake to 38%.

Stock markets
around the world are higher. China’s Shanghai
Composite (+1.31%) led the gains in Asia and France’s CAC
(+0.74%) is out front in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open
up 0.23% near 2,864.

Earnings reports keep coming. Kohl’s, TJX, and
Toll Brothers report ahead of the opening bell.