New York equity index futures were little changed ahead of Monday’s open as investors await a fresh batch of quarterly corporate earnings, in the light of last week’s stronger-than-expected jobs and manufacturing data, which continue to support the underlying strength and solid growth of the North American economy.
These moves in pre-market follow suit to Friday’s session where Wall Street stocks were leveraged higher by blockbuster earnings from oil majors Exxon Mobil (XOM: +3.6%) and Chevron (CVX: +3.24%), closing an eventful week of solid gains (SPY, Perf Week: +1.61%) marked by a dovish tone from the Federal Reserve, paired with the S&P chalking up its best January since 1987, which cheered investors.
The S&P 500 rose +0.05% on Friday, swayed positive chiefly by the Energy sector, positive +1.74%.
The Dow Jones and Nasdaq Composite, however saw changes of +0.14% and -0.42% respectively.
In today’s data front, investors are likely to Factory Orders figures for November at 10am EST.
In corporate news; SYY, ALXN, CLX, EMR, CFX and JHG are expected to report before the opening bell.
While; GOOGL, STX, GILD, AIV, VSM, WAGE and QGEN will post their latest financial results after the close.
TODAY’S TOP HEADLINES:
Politics: Trump Threatens to Bust Border Deal as Shutdown Deadline Nears. (Bloomberg)
Congress has only a few days left to come up with an agreement on border security spending to prevent a government shutdown and may yet see the process upended once President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
ECONOMIC CALENDAR:
Today’s Economical Announcements
10:00AM – ★★☆ – Cap Goods Non Defence (MoM) (Previous: -0.1%)
10:00AM – ★★☆ – Factory Orders (MoM) (Nov) (Previous: -2.1%)
STOCKS IN THE SPOTLIGHT:
Pre-Market Movers & News Related Stocks
Ultimate Software (ULTI): [NEWS] Will be bought by an investor group led by private-equity firm Hellman & Friedman for $331.50 per share in cash, a total of $11 billion.
Papa John’s Pizza (PZZA): [NEWS] Activist investor Starboard Value has taken a $200 million stake in the pizza chain, and Starboard CEO Jeffrey Smith will be named chairman.
Match Group (MTCH): [RATING] Was rated “sell” in new coverage at Goldman Sachs, with a price target of $45 per share. The firm said while the Tinder parent’s long-term outlook is promising, its valuation is high relative to its growth prospects.
Clorox (CLX): [EARINGS] Earned $1.40 per share for its fiscal second quarter, 10 cents a share above estimates. Revenue matched forecasts, with its bottom line getting a boost from a jump in profit margins.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of $2.14 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 a share. Revenue beat forecasts.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY): [NEWS] Starboard Value has taken a stake in the drug maker, according to a Bloomberg report which added that Starboard’s intentions could not be learned.
Yelp (YELP): [RATING] Goldman began new coverage of the online review site with a “buy” rating.
ConocoPhillips (COP): [UPGRADE] Upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” at Goldman Sachs, which notes the energy giant’s improvement in free cash flow.
Goldman Sachs (GS): [NEWS] Goldman Sachs may withhold millions of dollars in compensation for former CEO Lloyd Blankfein and his successor David Solomon because of the 1MDB scandal.
General Motors (GM): [NEWS] Is in talks to possibly invest $2.7 billion in Brazil from 2020 to 2024. GM said it is currently examining the feasibility of such an investment, with the automaker having warned last month that new investments would depend on a return to profit. Separately, GM will begin the process of laying off about 4,250 workers today.
Spotify (SPOT): [NEWS] Is in talks to buy podcasting specialist Gimlet Media, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW): [NEWS] Is in talks to buy US-Israeli information security firm Demisto, according to Israel’s Calcalist financial daily.
MOMENTUM STOCKS:
GAINERS: SE, SEND, LPLA, COUP
LOSERS: PZZA, CNX
TODAY’S IPOs:
None.