10 things you need to know before the opening bell (spy, spx, qqq, dia, jwn)

Reuters/Daniel Becerril

Here is what you need to know.

China reportedly raised the reserve requirement ratio for some banks. The People's Bank of China has reportedly hiked the amount of money some banks are required to hold in reserves, according to Bloomberg. This report has surfaced just days after Beijing announced Chinese banks extended 2.51 trillion yuan ($390 billion) worth of new loans in January, the largest on record. While no specific details have been announced, the increase is reportedly for banks that lent too quickly during the month.

UK retail sales surged. Retail sales in the UK jumped 2.3% month-over-month in January, easily surpassing the 0.7% gain that was expected by the Bloomberg consensus. The reading was the strongest since January 2014, and it was helped by retailers cutting costs to clear out inventories, according to the Office for National Statistics. The British pound is weaker by 0.3% at 1.4288.

The oil crash is crushing the world's largest sovereign wealth fund. Norway's sovereign wealth fund is expected to see outflows for the first time since 2000 as the country's oil-reliant economy reels from the oil glut. According to Bloomberg, the Norwegian government is expected to withdraw up to 80 billion kroner ($10 billion) from its wealth fund throughout 2016. The number marks a huge increase from the government's announcement in October that it planned to spend about 4.9 billion kroner ($570 million) this year to support the economy. In his annual speech Thursday, the governor of Norway's central bank Oeystein Olsen said, "The fall in oil prices will reduce Norway's national wealth" and "increased spending is not a viable path to follow."

Venezuela released its 2015 GDP and inflation data. The Central Bank of Venezuela says the Venezuelan economy contracted 5.7% in 2015 and inflation hit 180.9%. The release comes just a day after the government announced a 6,200% increase in the price of gasoline.

Nordstrom gave an ugly outlook. The retailer announced adjusted earnings of $1.17 a share, missing the $1.21 that was expected. Revenue climbed 5.2% to $4.19 billion, a bit shy of the $4.21 billion that was anticipated by the Bloomberg consensus. The worst part of the report, however, was the company's full-year EPS forecast of $3.10 to $3.35, which was well short of the $3.55 that analysts were hoping for. Shares of Nordstrom were down more than 7% in after-hours trade.

Citigroup's CEO got a big raise. Michael Corbat, Citigroup's chief executive officer, received a 27% raise for his work in 2015. The $16.5 million pay package was broken down into $9 million of stock compensation, $6 million in cash, and $1.5 million in salary. Corbat received a 10% pay cut in 2014.

The largest tech IPO in Chinese history is on the way. People close to the deal told Reuters that the online Chinese insurer Zhong An was planning a $2 billion initial public offering. The IPO would be the largest on the mainland since Guotai Junan Securities raised $4.8 billion in June. Last year, Zhong An raised $931 million in a deal that valued the company at $8 billion.

Stocks everywhere are lower. Japan's Nikkei (-1.4%) paced the decline in Asia, and Spain's IBEX (-1.4%) leads the losses in Europe. S&P 500 futures are lower by 9.00 points at 1,907.50.

Earnings reports flow ahead of the opening bell. Ameren, John Deere, Fannie Mae, and VF Corp. are among the names releasing their quarterly reports before markets open.

US economic data is light. CPI will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 2 basis points at 1.72%.

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