The Market In 5 Minutes: Tesla In China, GE Downgrades

IN THE NEWS

Benzinga

Ever wonder what Gene Munster’s favorite AI play is? Or the coffee flavor that fueled his famous Apple Inc. AAPL coverage? Now’s your chance to ask #AskGene: Link

The "Cult of personality" companies have taken a hit in 2017: Link

The stock market is soaring, with the S&P 500 having gained roughly 14 percent in the year-to-date period. The major indexes are hitting fresh highs session after session, with earnings proving to be the most recent catalyst: Link

Wall Street Journal

Electric-car maker Tesla Inc. TSLA has reached an agreement to set up its own manufacturing facility in Shanghai, according to people briefed on the plan, a move that could help the company gain traction in China’s fast-growing EV market: Link

President Donald Trump is siding with Republican Senate incumbents in key re-election races, potentially putting him on a collision course with Steve Bannon, the onetime White House chief strategist who has declared a “season of war” on their party’s establishment: Link

Reuters

Bitcoin is booming, digital currency hedge funds are sprouting at the rate of two a week and the value of all cryptocurrencies has surged tenfold this year to more than $170 billion: Link

The bank, whose fixed-income trading revenue slumped last quarter, has signed a multi-year deal to use Mosaic Smart Data’s technology division globally, the companies said in a joint statement released on Sunday: Link

Bloomberg

Under siege for letting their platforms be co-opted by Russian hackers during the 2016 election, Silicon Valley companies are learning what many businesses with interests in Washington have long known: It pays to have staff with government security clearances: Link

Christmas plans face ruin for finance industry as MiFID II looms: Link

ECONOMIC DATA

• The Chicago Fed National Activity Index is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET.
• The Treasury will auction 3-and 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

ANALYST RATINGS

• JP Morgan upgraded SM Energy SM from Neutral to Overweight
• Wells Fargo upgraded Dr Pepper Snapple DPS from Market Perform to Outperform
• Canaccord upgraded MuleSoft MULE from Hold to Buy
• Jefferies downgraded Aerojet Rocketdyne AJRD from Buy to Hold
• Morgan Stanley downgraded GE GE from Equal-Weight to Underweight
• UBS downgraded GE from Buy to Neutral

This 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. To get the full version of this note every morning, click here.