Stocks: 4 things to know before the open

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Oh boy! It's going to be an exciting day.

Shares in German automaker Volkswagen (VLKAY) are dropping by about 21% and the Greek election results have come through.

Here are the four things you need to know before the opening bell rings in New York:

1. Volkswagen veers off course: Shares in Volkswagen are dropping sharply in Europe after American regulators accused the automaker of cheating on emission control tests.

Volkswagen's CEO Martin Winterkorn issued a statement Sunday that stopped short of admitting guilt, but said he was "deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public."

Federal and California regulators say emission controls in some Volkswagen and Audi models were programed only to turn on when the car was being tested.

The software is installed in nearly 500,000 Volkswagen cars on U.S. roads.

VW said it had stopped selling the vehicles at issue.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

2. Greece in the spotlight: Alexis Tsipras has declared victory in Greece's snap elections Sunday.

Tsipras became prime minister in January 2015 and helped negotiate a new bailout for the country.

"The result is a government that is likely to be exactly the same as the last government, although Prime Minister Tsipras was not the anti-establishment candidate this time," said Paul Donovan, a senior economist at UBS.

Investors seem to have shrugged off the results, with the Greek index moving between positive and negative territory in early trading.

3. Market moves: U.S. stock futures are pushing higher after being in the red earlier this morning.

Pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) is rising in extended trading while Chesapeake Energy (CHK) shares are drooping.

European markets are mixed in early trading, while Asian markets ended with broadly negative results. However, the main indexes in China closed with gains.

The Shenzhen index rallied by 3.6% and the Shanghai Composite jumped by nearly 2% over the course of the trading day.

Related: Is the stock market holding Janet Yellen hostage?

4. Friday market recap: Friday was a negative day in the markets. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 1.7%, while the S&P 500 shed 1.6% and the Nasdaq lost 1.4%.

The turmoil came one day after the U.S. Fed announced that it was leaving its benchmark interest rate near 0%.

Fed chief Janet Yellen said in explanation: "The outlook abroad appears to have become more uncertain."

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