The Market In 5 Minutes: Thursday, March 31, 2016

Below is a tool used by the Benzinga News Desk each trading day -- it's a look at everything happening in the market, in five minutes. Apply for daily AM access by clicking here or email minutes@benzinga.com.

Macro News

Thursday marks the end of the first quarter of 2016, and it has certainly been eventful. The S&P 500 index is higher by around 1 percent since the start of the new year, while the Dow Jones index is higher by more than 1.50 percent. However, the NASDAQ Composite index is lower by nearly 3 percent.

At least 14 people are dead in Kolkata, India, following an overpass collapse. According to NBC News, an overpass under construction in Kolkata collapsed on to moving traffic. At least 150 people were also said to be trapped under the collapsed overpass.

Oil prices were highly volatile on Thursday, as commodity investors and traders' focus turned to an upcoming meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC producing nations. According to the Wall Street Journal, a dozen countries have confirmed their attendance for an April 17 meeting to discuss an output freeze and other options to boost oil prices.

Standard & Poor's slashed China's credit rating outlook on Thursday to negative from stable as the country's economic rebalancing is expected to proceed at a slower than previously expected pace.

BZ Newsdesk Focus

Medivation MDVN was trading sharply higher amid word of a new report from Bloomberg, saying the company is working with bankers to defend itself against preliminary interest of a takeover.

Tesla's TSLA Model 3 will be unveiled tonight at 11:30 p.m. ET. Will it move the stock?

Blackberry BBRY will release its latest earnings report on Friday morning.

Sell-Side Themes

The latest solar installation numbers indicate that 2016 could be a rough year for U.S. solar companies. Axiom's Gordon Johnson reported early PV pricing trends and installation rates are way off industry projections for the full year.

The Street was a bit bearish on Micron MU following its earnings report.

Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls

Valeant VRX announced it had started a process for an amendment and waiver to its existing credit facility. Rodman & Renshaw's Raghuram Selvaraju reiterated a Buy rating on the company, with a price target of $118.

Following the aggressive hiring and estimated data acquisitions worth $5 billion, International Business Machines IBM appears all set to benefit from the revenue monetization of Watson.

Given the significant pressures from e-commerce being faced by Target TGT in its general merchandise category, the company’s margin expansion and comp store sales growth targets could prove too optimistic. Barclays downgraded its rating from Overweight to Underweight, while lowering the price target from $90 to $70.

BTIG downgraded Square SQ from Buy to Neutral, and removed the price target of $15, saying that shares had already reached the price target.

Deal Talk

Mallinckrodt MNK has hired advisers to explore a potential sale of its nuclear imaging division. Bloomberg reported Mallinckrodt's division could fetch between $800 million and $1 billion in a potential deal. The publication added the company has identified buyers that may be interested in acquiring the unit.

JD.com JD, one of China's largest eCommerce platforms, announced it has entered into an agreement with Japan-based Kao Group, a large Japanese consumer products group.

What's Up In The News?

If Donald Trump secures the Republican presidential nomination, he would start the general election campaign as the least-popular candidate to represent either party in modern times.

"There has been a general perception over the past few years that millennials are abandoning Facebook FB in search of greener, less parent-friendly pastures like Snapchat and Instagram," re/code says. However, that's not even close.

After racking up a historic NBA season, Golden State Warriors' owners — most of them from Silicon Valley — think their management style deserves some of the credit. New York Times asks, "Are they right?"

Academia

MediciNova MNOV announced the medical journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence published an article detailing positive findings from the company's completed Phase 1b clinical trial of MN-166 in methamphetamine dependence.

"Due to polar meltdown the sea level rise by the end of the 21st century could be twice that of the current estimates," i4u says. "Climatologists are looking closely into the “situation normal absolutely fouled up” as regards sea level rise due to global warming. The most recent guesstimates about sea level rise by the end of this century will probably be surpassed by 100% if mankind is not careful."

Blogosphere

Luxury hotels, a gay dating app and a stock exchange: What U.S. assets are these rabid Chinese buyers after? Here is a sample of what Chinese money is buying.

$102 billion. Anheuser Busch Inbev's BUD offer to buy rival brewer SABMiller has increased in value since it was unveiled in November. Oddly, that might be a problem, says Gadfly.

WallStreetBets is not a "day trading" sub. They are, according to this Reddit thread, volatility traders, pump and dump traders and options traders.

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