Courtesy of Benzinga.
Macro Focus
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 63 points to 19,081.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures dropped 7 points to 2,204.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 11.25 points to 4,857.25.
Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.42 percent to trade at $47.04 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 0.46 percent to trade at $45.85 a barrel.
- The Dallas Fed general activity index for November will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.
- The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.
BZ News Desk Focus
“Since 1987 the Dow has posted gains from Black Friday close until year end 22 out of 28 times.”
That means the year-end trade has worked more than 78 percent of the time for nearly three decades. Benzinga took a closer look at the numbers over the past 10 years.
Sell-Side Themes
Jefferies changed its tune on a few financial stocks. Among others, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and Citigroup (NYSE: C) were downgraded to Hold, while Comerica (NYSE: CMA) and US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) were upgraded to Buy.
Sell-Side’s Most Noteworthy Calls
- Wedbush downgraded Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA) to neutral.
- FBR Capital downgraded MetLife (NYSE: MET) to Market Perform.
- Goldman Sachs upgraded ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) to Buy.
- Evercore ISI upgraded Fiat Chrysler (NYSE: FCAU) to Buy.
- Rodman & Renshaw started Imprimis Pharma (NASDAQ: IMMY) at Buy.
- Deutsche Bank started Callon Petroleum (NYSE: CPE) at Buy.
Deal Talk
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) confirmed Friday it’s engaged in preliminary discussions regarding a potential takeover of Actelion (OTC: ALIOF). Actelion confirmed the talks earlier in the day.
Shares of Syngenta (ADR) (NYSE: SYT) traded higher Friday, following a report from WSJ that China is putting tighter restrictions on Chinese companies seeking to invest overseas. Foreign acquisitions of greater than $10 billion are among the deals facing scrutiny. ChemChina agreed to purchase the Swiss pesticide and seed company in February for $43 billion. Earlier this month, ChemChina extended the tender offer for Syngenta until January 5, 2017.
In The News
Fidel Castro, the fiery apostle of revolution who brought the Cold War to the Western Hemisphere in 1959 and then defied the US for nearly half a century as Cuba’s maximum leader, and briefly pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war, died on Friday. He was 90.
In an unprecedented allegation by a president-elect, Donald Trump on Sunday Tweeted: “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.”
Blogosphere
“When consumers the world over started chasing Pokemon characters this summer, driving up shares of Nintendo, hedge funds were quick to hunt down short-selling opportunities,” writes Gadfly’s Tim Culpan. “Those who timed it right were handsomely rewarded with a 26 percent drop in the stock over two weeks, more than enough to justify their two and 20.Now that Nintendo has rallied as much as 27 percent since its Nov. 9 intraday low, the shorts don’t seem so eager to bet against it.”
Trending
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The results of Week 13 have shuffled the top of the AP #Top25. While Alabama Crimson Tide and Ohio State Buckeyes held at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, there’s a new No. 3 and No. 4 with Clemson Tigers and Washington Huskies moving into those slots.
Michigan fell two spots after losing 30-27 in a double-overtime thriller to Ohio State.
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