Macro Focus
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 13 points to 19,733.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 4 points to 2,262.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 10 points to 5,048.25.
Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures dropped 0.79 percent to trade at $55.05 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 1.11 percent to trade at $52.63 a barrel.
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The Treasury is set to auction 3-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Bz News Desk Focus
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Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) Q4 EPS $0.04 vs $0.02 Est, Revenue $4.02B vs $4.09B Est
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McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) Reports Q4 EPS $1.44 vs. Est. $1.41, Rev. $6.03B vs. Est. $5.99B; Q4 Global Comps Up 2.7%
We are in the heart of Q4 earnings season, and more than a third of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average components are expected to share their results this week. Wall Street consensus forecasts call for mixed results from most of these companies, but a few stand out. Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) are expected to post solid growth on both the top and bottom lines. Note that these results are for the period in which oil supermajor sold some geothermal assets and announced a nearly $20 billion capital and exploratory budget, while the health care giant pursed an acquisition of Actelion and it was a Barron's pick for its growth potential.
Among the many companies on deck to share their latest results this week are Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) and E I Du Pont (NYSE: DD). These two are in the process of merging to form the world's largest agrochemical entity, which reportedly will later be split into three separate companies. Note that these results are for the period in which there were questions about how the incoming administration might influence the merger and what part Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway might play, and also DuPont faced more than $10 million in damages in a lawsuit. Also note that Citigroup upgraded both stocks to Buy at the beginning of the quarter, citing potential shareholder value unlocked by the merger/split plan.
Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls
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Nomura downgraded Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) to Neutral.
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Goldman Sachs downgraded Cenovus Energy (NYSE: CVE) to Sell.
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Morgan Stanley upgraded Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH) to Overweight.
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BMO Capital upgraded CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) to Outperform.
Deal Talk
Walgreens’ (NASDAQ: WBA) plan to receive U.S. antitrust clearance for its takeover of Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) hasn’t gone far enough to preserve competition, according to sources as reported by Bloomberg on Friday. FTC lawyers aren't satisfied with Walgreen's plan to sell 865 drugstores to Fred's (NASDAQL: FRED), sources said. Rite Aid closed Friday at $7.46, down 13.26 percent.