The Market In 5 Minutes: Tuesday, March 29, 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 Focus

An EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus, but the passengers and crew were freed unharmed and the hijacker, whose motives remained a mystery, was arrested after giving himself up.

European shares traded flat on Tuesday while the dollar dipped as investors looked to a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen for clues to the interest rate outlook following weak U.S. data. "As European markets reopened after a four-day Easter break, oil dropped below $40 a barrel with U.S. stockpiles forecast to hit record levels," Reuters said. "This, signalling continued low levels of inflation, helped push low-risk government bond yields down."

Kuwait and the Saudi Arabia agreed to restart Khafji oil field, weeks before oil producers are set to agree a global output freeze.

The U.S. government said on Monday that it no longer requires the assistance of Apple AAPL to gain access to an iPhone used by a terrorist in the San Bernardino attack.

BZ Newsdesk Focus

Sunedison SUNE plunged 40 percent in reaction to a Wall Street Journal report that the company is facing a SEC investigation. The report said investigators are exploring the possibility that SunEdison overstated its liquidity position last fall when it claimed to hold more than $1 billion in cash.

USA Conference Board Consumer Confidence for March came out at 96.20 vs. 94.00 estimates. USA Dallas Fed Services for March came out at 6.40 vs. a prior reading of 9.70.

Sell-Side Themes

Avondale initiated coverage on several stocks in the industrial sector.

Citi weighed in on the footwear sector, including stocks such as Skechers SKX, Deckers Outdoor DECK and Wolverine WWW.

Stephens sees airlines as "investable" and started coverage of Delta DAL and Southwest LUV at Overweight, and American Air AAL and United Continental UAL at Equal-Weight.

Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls

Morgan Stanley upgraded Ambarella AMBA and expects growth to persist across the company’s drones, wearables, consumer surveillance and autos segments, with the sports and pro surveillance businesses witnessing a rebound. The upgrade also sent shares of GoPro GPRO higher.

Investors may no longer be giving LinkedIn LNKD the benefit of the doubt. Following the 40 percent decline in the stock after its Q4 results, Citi believes "there could be a decent period of consolidation in the stock as investors get a handle on the new growth trajectory."

Pacific Crest initiated an Overweight rating on World Wrestling Entertainment WWE saying the company appeared to be “well positioned to navigate the future of TV via its Internet-based direct-to-consumer network.”

Deal Talk

Staples SPLS could be "on the brink of winning its case" against the Federal Trade Commission over its pending acquisition of Office Depot ODP. The New York Post added that the judge overseeing the FTC suit against the company said he will "entertain a motion" from Staples to dismiss the case once the company finalizes its arguments.

The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times are both cautious on the prospects of a Starwood HOT-Angbang deal.

Cleco CNL confirmed that the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) voted to approve a sale of the company.

What's Up In The News?

President Barack Obama delivered a stinging rebuke of the campaign reporting that has allowed Donald Trump to receive nearly $2 billion worth of free media since last summer, without allowing for a critical assessment of Trump's policy positions.

California lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown will decide whether to go forward with a plan to automatically enroll private-sector workers in state-run retirement accounts. A state board voted Monday to send lawmakers a series of recommendations for a program that's estimated to affect nearly 7 million Californians who don't have access to a pension or 401(k) at work.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) lost contact with its ill-fated, $265 million X-ray satellite, Hitomi, over the weekend.

Academia

Scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and NASA said wintertime Arctic sea ice has reached a record low maximum extent, for the second year in a row. The record began with the advent of satellites in 1979. At 5.6 million square miles (14.52 million square km), this year now has the lowest maximum extent in the satellite record.

Blogosphere

"Reading Daniel Loeb's letters is the finance nerd's equivalent of watching pro wrestling," says Gadfly's David Fickling. Read more about Seven & i's "Marissa Mayer moment."

Doug Kass says stay out of stocks, but MarketWatch wonders if you really should...

Buy-Side

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has increased its ownership stake in Wells Fargo WFC to 10 percent, a level that could mean increased federal scrutiny over the investment.

Performance Sports Group PSG appointed its largest shareholder -- Sagard Capital's Daniel Friedberg -- to the board effective immediately.

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