10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Here is what you need to know.

A new round of trade talks between the US and China is coming. "I guarantee nothing," Larry Kudlow, who heads the White House Economic Council, told reports, Reuters says.

Hurricane Florence weakens, but 'life-threatening' storm surges and flooding remain likely. Hurricane Florence was downgrade to a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of up to 110 miles per hour; however, storm surge of between nine and 15 feet is still expected along parts of the Carolina coast.

The Turkish lira dives after Erdogan calls for lower interest rates. The lira fell as much as 3% to 6.5225 per dollar Thursday after Turkish President Recep Erdogan said interest rates are a "tool of exploitation" and called for low interest rates. The Turkish central bank is set to make its latest rate decision later on Thursday.

A fund manager who's crushing nearly all of her peers breaks down 3 under-the-radar stocks driving her strong performance. Amy Zhang, who manages The Alger Small Cap Focus Fund which has gained 47% this year, outperforming its benchmark and all except one US fund tracked by Morningstar, tells Business Insider why small-cap stocks are a "fertile ground for active management."

Apple unveils its new iPhones. At an event in Cupertino, California, on Wednesday, the tech giant unveiled three new iPhones, the XS, XS Max, and XR, and a next generation Apple Watch Series 4.

Tobacco stocks surge after the FDA threatens to pull flavored e-cigarettes. Altria and British American Tobacco both gained more than 6% on Wednesday after the US Food and Drug Administration threatened to pull flavored electronic cigarettes off the market if the industry fails to combat the epidemic of youth e-cigarette use.

The Tesla of China fails to raise the $1.8 billion it targeted in its US IPO. Nio, backed by Chinese tech giant Tencent, raised $1 billion during Wednesday's initial public offering.

Stock markets around the world are higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+2.54%) paced the advance in Asia and the Euro Stoxx 50 (+0.15%) clings to gains in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open little changed near 2,889.

Earnings reports trickle out. Kroger reports ahead of the opening bell and Adobe releases its quarterly results after markets close.

US economic data keeps coming. CPI and initial claims will both be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is up 1 basis point at 2.97%.