U.S. Markets Recover From Early-Day Losses As Japan's Economy Contracts

U.S. markets opened in negative territory to start the week following news reports that Japan's economy unexpectedly contracted in the third quarter.

U.S. stocks rebounded after the European Central Bank's President Mario Draghi stating that the central bank remains "unanimous in its commitment to using additional unconventional instruments if needed."

Economic data showed industrial production fell in October despite expectations for a slight growth.

• The Dow gained 0.07 percent, closing at 17,647.75.
• The S&P 500 gained 0.07 percent, closing at 2,041.32.
• The Nasdaq lost 0.37 percent, closing at 4,671.00.
• Gold gained 0.02 percent, trading at $1,185.80 an ounce.
• Oil lost 0.45 percent, trading at $75.48 a barrel.

News Of Note

October Industrial Production declined 0.1 percent (versus expectations of a 0.2 percent gain) after rising 0.8 percent in September.

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco noted that the Fed may not hit its inflation target until after 2016.

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Japan's Real GDP shrank 1.6 percent on an annualized basis in the third quarter. Analysts were expecting a 2.25 percent expansion.

Equities News Of Note

Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) reported its fourth quarter results this morning. The company earned $0.87 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76. Revenue of $10.10 billion missed the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. Shares gained 5.83 percent, closing at $43.03.

JD.com (NASDAQ: JD) reported its third quarter results this morning. The company loss $0.02 per share, worse than the $0.01 loss per share analysts expected. Revenue of $4.70 billion beat the consensus estimate of $4.67 billion. Shares lost 7.77 percent, closing at $24.91.

Analysts at Raymond James downgraded Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to Underperform from Market Perform. Shares lost 2.42 percent, closing at $7.61.

Analysts at Canaccord Genuity downgraded Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) to Hold from Buy. Shares lost 0.31 percent, closing at $87.84.

According to the Financial Times, Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) is developing a professional networking site named Facebook at Work that could potentially compete with LinkedIn. (NYSE: LNKD) Shares of Facebook lost 0.85 percent, closing at $74.24 while shares of LinkedIn lost 4.54 percent, closing at $223.28.

Actavis (NYSE: ACT) has agreed to acquire Allergan (NYSE: AGN) for $66 billion, or $219 per share. Separately, Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX) confirmed it will not place a counter offer to acquire Allergan. Shares of Actavis hit new 52-week highs of $255.51 before closing the day at $247.94, up 1.71 percent while shares of Allergan hit new 52-week highs of $213.91 before closing the day at $209.20. Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals gained 1.88 percent, closing at $136.73.

Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) finalized an agreement in which it will acquire Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) for $34.6 billion, or $78.62 per share. Halliburton's management said it will divest businesses with up to $7.5 billion in revenue to please regulators.

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Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) lowered its full-year 2014 earnings per share guidance to a range of $1.40 to $1.49 from a previous $1.50 to $1.59. Shares of Pfizer lost 0.07 percent, closing at $30.32.

According to The Wall Street Journal, merger talks between Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) and DreamWorks Animation (NASDAQ: DWA) have “cooled.” Shares of Hasbro gained 4.35 percent, closing at $56.37 while shares of DreamWorks Animation lost 14.26 percent, closing at $22.31.

Quote Of The Day

"With one extra day (27 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas versus 26 days last year) to shop and with shoppers trained to 'wait for the sale,' consumers have become experts at the game of 'retail chicken.'" - Brean Capital's Liz Pierce in a note to clients on Monday.