#PreMarket Primer: Tuesday, February 18: Big Merger Deal in the Works

Friday, the Dow ended the day 126.80 points higher to finish at 16,154.39. The S&P was up 0.5 percent, 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 ACTis said to be interested inForest Labs FRX The $25 billion deal could be announced as early as today. Forest is 23 percent 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 percent to close at 14,843.24 and the Hang Seng was up nearly 0.2 percent to finish at 22,587.72.

The Shanghai Composite closed 0.7 percent 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 percent lower at 9,646.70. Finally, the CAC is 0.5 percent lower at 4,313.66.

Commodities

Commodities are mixed. WTI is up about 0.6 percent at $100.92 while Brent is flat at $109.10. Natural gas is 4.7 percent higher at $5.46 as the rally continues.

Gold is down about 0.3 percent at $1,314.30 and silver is higher by about 0.2 percent at $21.38. Copper is unchanged at $3.26.

Currencies

The euro is 0.1 percent higher against the dollar at 1.372 and the dollar is about 0.4 percent higher against the yen at 102.38

The pound is 0.1 percent lower against the dollar at 1.669 and the Aussie dollar is at 0.902 against the dollar—up about 0.1 percent.

Pre-Market Movers

Prana Biotechnology PRAN is up 26 percent while 21^st Century Fox FOXA and Blackberry BBRY is up four percent this morning. Livedeal LIVE is down nine percent while Seadrill SDRL is down three percent.

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 (NYSE: KO) is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.46 per share on revenue of $11.31 billion.

CF Industries Holdings (NYSE: CF) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $4.52 per share on revenue of $1.24 billion.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.95 per share on revenue of $6.32 billion.

To read today’s full earnings calendar, click here.

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.