10 things you need to know before the opening bell

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Here's what you need to know before markets open.

1. Global stocks struggle for direction after S&P 500 hits an all-time high, and traders eye US-China tensions. Global stocks were mixed on Wednesday, taking a breather from the rally that took the S&P 500 to an all-time high Tuesday, with Asian stocks under particular pressure amid rising US-China tensions.

2. Warren Buffett's $113 billion Apple stake and $147 billion cash pile now account for over half of Berkshire Hathaway's entire market value. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owned about $260 billion in cash and Apple stock at the last count, representing an astounding 52% of its $499 billion market capitalization.

3. Maersk, the world's biggest shipping company, reported a surprise 25% increase in profits. Shipping demand has been crushed by the coronavirus pandemic, but the Danish giant was able to take advantage of lower fuel prices and reported a $1.7 billion profit in the second quarter.

4. Warren Buffett disciple Joel Greenblatt averaged 50% annual returns over 10 years. He shares an investor's approach to solving some of America's most glaring problems right now — from education and immigration to social security. America has long been known as the land of opportunity: a place where any person — regardless of social stature or background — can prosper with enough resolve, endurance, and vigor.

5. MORGAN STANLEY: A historic shift is taking place under the market's surface. Here are 5 reasons it could redefine the investing landscape as we know it. After they plunged from their pre-pandemic levels of 1.8% to as low as 0.5%, yields for 10-year Treasury notes have started to climb again in recent days toward 0.8%.

6. Michael Venuto's firm provides unique ETFs that have returned as much as 60% for investors this year. He breaks down his process — and shares the 'anomaly' investors need to watch today. Michael Venuto was living through any fund manager's worst nightmare: One of his biggest investments was plunging and nobody could figure out why.

7. Trump supports a TikTok acquisition by Oracle, whose chairman is a major supporter. President Trump has backed Oracle's bid to buy TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned video app that must sell its US business within months or face a ban in the country.

8. OPEC+ meets to review compliance with oil cuts. OPEC oil producers and allies such as Russia, a grouping dubbed OPEC+, meets on Wednesday to review compliance with oil cuts meant to support oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic.

9. Earnings coming in. NVIDIA Q2 2021 and Xiaomi Q2 20 earnings are coming in.

10. On the economic front. US FOMC minutes and EIA Crude Oil Stocks Change are due.