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
U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 48 points to 18,500.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 4.50 points to 2,177.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 12.25 points to 4,793.75.
Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 0.43 percent to trade at $44.19 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 0.05 percent to trade at $41.73 a barrel.
USA Initial Jobless Claims for Aug 5 266.0K vs 265.0K consensus estimate. The prior reading was 269.0K.
The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.
The Treasury is set to auction 30-year bonds at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.
BZ News Desk Focus
Macy's M Reports Q2 EPS $0.54 vs. Est. $0.45, Rev. $5.866B vs. Est. $5.74B
Alibaba BABA Reports Q1 Adj. EPS $0.74 vs $0.63 Est., 1 Sales $4.838B vs $4.54B Est.
Shake Shack SHAK Reports Q2 Adj. EPS $0.14 vs. Est. $0.13, Rev. $66.5M vs. Est. $63M
Blue Buffalo BUFF Reports Q2 Adj. EPS $0.19 vs. Est. $0.17, Rev. $287M vs. Est. $280.9M
Kohl's KSS Reports Q2 Adj. EPS $1.22 vs $1.03 Est., Sales $4.182B vs $4.16B Est.
Brinker Int'l EAT Reports Q4 Adj. EPS $1.24 vs $1.23 Est., Sales $881.681M vs $881.4M Est.
Take a look at Valeant's VRX fall from grace, and 90 percent drop, since last summer.
Sell-Side Themes
Atlantic Equities initiated coverage on several railroad stocks, with Union Pacific UNP getting an Overweight rating.
Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls
Berenberg downgraded Bristol-Myers BMY to Hold.
Evercore downgraded Scripps Networks SNI to Hold.
Credit Suisse upgraded SeaWorld SEAS to Neutral.
Wunderlich upgraded American Eagle AEO to Buy.
Credit Suisse started coverage on Owens Corning OC at Underperform.
Loop Capital started TrueCar TRUE at Hold.
Deal Talk
Citigroup comments on International Paper IP takeover chatter, saying divestitures would have to be significant. The firm said Koch "slipped recent rounds of containerboard consolidation," and prefers WestRock as co. may be indirect beneficiary to an Int'l Paper deal.
The U.S. District Court judge hearing the DoJ's case to block Aetna's AET acquisition of Humana HUM has selected December 5 as the trial date. The healthcare companies had requested an earlier date so their deal could close within the planned time frame. The judge expects to rule in mid to late January 2017. U.S. District Court Judge Bates said during a hearing Wednesday that Aetna and Humana failed to show how a December trial would cause harm.
In The News
Just as things were starting to look up for bruised and battered Valeant, another round of bad news sent the stock plummeting. The Wall Street Journal reported an ongoing criminal probe focused on the company's relationship with a closely linked mail-order-pharmacy named Philidor RX Services LLC.
The Olympics are all about the spirit of international athletic competition. But there’s no question the games are a major big-money event as well. Global cities fight over the right to host the Olympics, and the honor is seen as a feather in the city's cap when it comes to its international reputation. However, some economists argue that the games do more economic harm than good for the the hosting city.
Education
Price-To-Earnings: Perhaps the most often cited measure of whether a company's stock is expensive, the price-to-earnings or "P/E" ratio is calculated by dividing a stock's price by its earnings per share over the most recent 12 months, also called the trailing 12 months or "ttm."
Trending
BABA VRX NVDA USO HIMX KSS REN MYGN SHAK JCP AKS MIDD FSLR M
Huffington Post co-founder and editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington will leave the publication to focus on health-and-wellness startup Thrive Global in the coming months.
Chart Of The Day
- This 23-year-old company's line of products include video game graphic cards and 3D glasses.
- They will report earnings after the bell today, with analysts expecting $0.37 per share and $1.35 billion in revenue.
- Sympathy plays include Advanced Micro Devices, Intel and HP.
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