On Friday the Dow ended the day 126.80 points higher, finishing at 16,154.39. The S&P was up 0.5%, or about 9 points, to 1,838.63, and the Nasdaq was nearly flat to close at 4,244.02.
This morning, U.S. markets are nearly flat. The Dow is indicated up about 6 points while the S&P is one point lower. The Nasdaq is trending down about two points.
Top Stories
- Actavis (ACT) is said to be interested in Forest Labs (FRX) The $25 billion deal could be announced as early as today. Forest is 23% higher in pre market trading on the news.
- Online streaming service Spotify is hiring U.S. filing experts for a possible IPO.
- Well-known microfinance site Kickstarter was hacked over the weekend. No credit card information was stolen in the attack.
Asian Markets
The Bank of Japan left monetary policy steady causing the market to rally. The Nikkei was up about 3.1% to close at 14,843.24 and the Hang Seng was up nearly 0.2% to finish at 22,587.72.
The Shanghai Composite closed 0.7% lower at 2,119.06 and the Kospi was flat closing at 1,946.91.
European Markets
Europe is off its lows this morning and now mostly around the flat line. The FTSE is flat at 6,732.35 and the DAX is 0.1% lower at 9,646.70. Finally, the CAC is 0.5% lower at 4,313.66.
Commodities
Commodities are mixed. WTI is up about 0.6% at $100.92 while Brent is flat at $109.10. Natural gas is 4.7% higher at $5.46 as the rally continues.
Gold is down about 0.3% at $1,314.30 and silver is higher by about 0.2% at $21.38. Copper is unchanged at $3.26.
Currencies
The euro is 0.1% higher against the dollar at 1.372 and the dollar is about 0.4% higher against the yen at 102.38
The pound is 0.1% lower against the dollar at 1.669 and the Aussie dollar is at 0.902 against the dollar—up about 0.1%.
Pre-Market Movers
Prana Biotechnology (PRAN) is up 26% while 21st Century Fox (FOXA) and Blackberry (BBRY) are up four% this morning. Livedeal (LIVE) is down nine% while Seadrill (SDRL) is down three%.
Notable Earnings
Earnings reports from Friday:
- V.F. Corporation (VFC) reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.82, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84. Revenue of $3.29 billion missed the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion.
- J.M. Smucker (SJM) reported third quarter EPS of $1.66, missing the consensus estimate of $1.68. Revenue of $1.47 billion missed the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion.
- TRW Automotive (TRW) reported fourth quarter EPS of $1.84, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66. Revenue of $4.5 billion beat the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion.
- Campbell Soup (CPB) reported second quarter EPS of $0.76, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71. Revenue of $2.28 billion beat the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion.
The following companies will report today:
- Herbalife (HLF) is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $1.24 per share on revenue of $1.25 billion.
- The Coca-Cola Company (KO) is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.46 per share on revenue of $11.31 billion.
- CF Industries Holdings (CF) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $4.52 per share on revenue of $1.24 billion.
- Duke Energy (DUK) is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.95 per share on revenue of $6.32 billion.
Economics
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey reaches the market at 8:30 AM ET and E-Commerce Retail Sales is released at 10:00 AM ET.