#PreMarket Primer: Friday, October 17: CDC Under Fire As Ebola Panic Grows

After a second case of ebola among nurses working with a Liberian man surfaced, Americans began to worry about the disease spreading across the country. The second nurse, Amber Joy Vinson, took a flight to and from Cleveland while exhibiting symptoms of the disease, something that could have exposed hundreds more, though the chances are slim. On Thursday, congress began a probe into the capability of US healthcare organizations to handle the deadly disease in an effort to calm public fears and better understand how the contamination took place.

Top News

In other news around the markets:

• After two days of continuous air strikes in and around the Syrian border town of Kobani, it seemed that ISIS’ forward push has been halted. Islamic militants nearly overtook the town by attacking from three sides, but a series of US-led airstrikes has slowed the group’s advances. Despite the gains made in Kobani, the town remains in jeopardy as the Kurdish forces tasked with defending the town are underarmed.
• On Thursday employment data helped mitigate worries about the US economy due to poor retail sales and consumer sentiment data released earlier in the week. Initial unemployment claims fell by 23,000 last week, the lowest the figure has been since April of 2000. The report helped take some pressure off of US stocks, which have been sharply declining due to worries about plunging oil prices and a faltering global economy.
• CBS Corp (NYSE: CBS) is tossing its hat into the online subscription service arena with a new streaming services called CBS All Access. The online platform will allow viewers to access new and old programs as well as watch a live feed of its broadcast network for $5.99 per month. CBS is setting itself apart by offering the online service without any connection to another online streaming service like Hulu, meaning that anyone with an internet connection can sign up.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko sat down with EU leaders on Thursday night to try to come to an agreement over natural gas supplies and the fragile ceasefire in Ukraine. However, the two made little progress and sanctions against Russia remained in place. The Kremlin released a statement saying that the two disagreed over the cause of the conflict in Ukraine and were unable to compromise on their opinions.

Asian Markets

Asian markets were mostly lower with the exception of the Hang Seng index, which gained 0.53 percent. The NIKKEI was down 1.40 percent, the Shanghai composite lost 0.64 percent, the KOSPI fell 0.95 percent and the Shenzhen composite was down 0.62 percent.

European Markets

European markets rebounded; the FTSE rose 0.95 percent, the STOXX 600 was up 1.46 percent, the DAX and the CAC 40 both gained 1.62 percent and the MIB was up 1.89 percent.

Commodities

Energy futures made modest gains; Brent futures rose 0.10 percent and WTI futures were up 0.18 percent. Gold and silver lost 0.11 percent and 0.07 percent respectively and industrial metals were also lower. Copper fell 0.89 percent, aluminum was down 0.31 percent, zinc fell 2.57 percent and tin was down 1.84 percent.

Currencies

The euro continued its downward spiral, trading at $1.2785and losing 0.03 percent to the yen and 0.04 percent to the pound. The dollar gained, rising 0.22 percent against both the yen and the pound and 0.18 percent against the franc.

Earnings

Notable reports released on Thursday included:

• UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH) reported third quarter EPS of $1.63 on revenue of $32.76 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $1.52 on revenue of $30.62 billion.
• Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) reported third quarter EPS of $1.39 on revenue of $21.30 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $1.44 on revenue of $7.93 billion.
• Schlumberger N.V. (NYSE: SLB) reported third quarter EPS of $1.49 on revenue of $12.65 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $1.29 on revenue of $11.61 billion.
• Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) reported third quarter EPS of $1.20 on revenue of $11.18 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $1.41 on revenue of $10.49 billion.

Pre-Market Movers

Stocks moving in the Premarket included:

• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was up 0.82 percent in premarket trade after losing 4.71 percent over the past five days.
• Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC) gained 0.55 percent in premarket trade after falling 1.36 percent on Thursday.
• Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) was down 13.19 percent in premarket trade after falling 3.22 percent over the past five days.
• Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) was down 1.78 percent in premarket trade after losing 6.48 percent over the past five days.

Earnings

Notable releases expected on Friday include:

• Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) is expected to report third quarter EPS of $1.41 on revenue of $10.06 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $1.24 on revenue of $9.65 billion.
• Bank Of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK) is expected to report third quarter EPS of $0.61 on revenue of $3.91 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.60 on revenue of $3.76 billion.
• SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI) is expected to report third quarter EPS of $0.79 on revenue of $2.07 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.33 on revenue of $1.92 billion.
• M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE: MTB) is expected to report third quarter EPS of $1.98 on revenue of $1.13 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $2.11 on revenue of $1.15 billion.

Economics

Friday will be another quiet day for economic data; with releases including US building permits US housing starts and US consumer sentiment.

For a recap of Thursday’s market action, click here .

 

Tune into Benzinga’s pre-market info show with Dennis Dick and Joel Elconin http://optionshouse.benzinga.com/pre-market-show/ />here.