The Market In 5 Minutes: Busy Earnings Week Comes To A Close

Macro Focus

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 14 points to 18,096.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 3 points to 2,126.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 6 points to 4,813.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures slipped 0.55 percent to trade at $50.19 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 0.80 percent to trade at $49.32 a barrel.

USA GDP (QoQ) for Q3 2.90% vs 2.50% consensus estimate. The prior reading was 1.40%.

• The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.
• The Baker Hughes North American rig count for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

BZ News Desk Focus

• ExxonMobil XOM Reports Q3 EPS $0.63 vs $0.58 Est., Sales $58.68B vs $61B Est.
• Mastercard MA Reports Q3 EPS $1.08 vs $0.98 Est., Sales $2.9B vs $2.75B Est.
• Amazon AMZN Reports Q3 GAAP EPS $0.52 vs. Est. $0.78 May Not Compare, Rev. $32.7B vs. Est. $32.69B
• Baidu BIDU Reports Q3 Adj. EPS $1.49 May Not Compare to $0.88 Est., Sales $2.74B vs $2.71B Est.
• Alphabet GOOGL Reports Q3 EPS $9.06 vs. Est. $8.64, Rev. $22.45B vs. Est. $22.05B
• Phillips 66 PSX Reports Q3 Adj. EPS $1.05 vs $0.88 Est.
• Anheuser-Busch BUD Reports Q3 EPS $0.83 vs $1.08 Est; Revenue $11.109B vs $11.50B Est
• Hershey HSY Reports Q3 Adj. EPS $1.29 vs $1.19 Est., Sales $2B vs $2B Est.
• Amgen AMGN Reports Q3 non-GAAP EPS $3.02 vs $2.79 Est, Rev $5.8B vs $5.73B Est
• Xerox XRX Reports Q3 Adj. EPS $0.27, Inline, Sales $4.2B vs $4.31B Est.

Sell-Side Themes

World Wrestling Entertainment WW received a pair of downgrades after its earnings report came in below estimates.

Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls

• Baird downgraded Cardinal Health CAH to Neutral.
• Imperial downgraded Brinks BCO to In-Line.
• Jefferies upgraded AK Steel AKS to Buy.
• Craig-Hallum upgraded LendingClub LC to Buy.

Deal Talk

General Electric GE was said to be in talks to acquire Baker Hughes BHI, according to sources as reported by Dow Jones. A deal could be valued at as much as $30 billion. However, Bloomberg later reported that a GE spokesperson said they're in talks with Baker Hughes regarding possible partnerships, but not an acquisition. Halliburton HAL had attempted to acquire Baker Hughes in 2014, but the DoJ sued to block the deal valued at $35 billion.

On Thursday afternoon, Wall Street Journal reported that CenturyLink CTL was in advanced talks to merge with Level 3 Communications LVLT. Back on July 13, Benzinga Pro reported Level 3 was reviewing strategic alternatives.

In The News

What will you receive in Social Security benefits compared with the taxes you pay in? Wall Street Journal says ow earners often get more than they put in, while high earners get less. By one estimate, the turning point is currently around $65,000 for a single worker and double that for couples earning similar pay.

Many opinion polls show Democrat Hillary Clinton leading Republican Donald Trump in a tight race for theU.S. presidential election, but any one of four factors may make the outcome harder to predict. Among the challenges for pollsters: The historic unpopularity of both candidates, the potential Election Day voter response to the polls themselves, the growing abandonment of landlines for cellphones, and the rise of online polling.

Blogosphere

JPMorgan JPM bankers have been barred from reading the Financial Times at work. One Redditor says, "FT is very addictive. It is my go-to website when I am not focused at work. Comment section is absolutely hilarious at times, and I also don't pay for the service (paywall bypass)."

Trending

Apple AAPL looked to take back some momentum after a mixed earnings release with its MacBook event on Thursday. The Touchbar was the most visible new feature on the latest Macbook, and the Twittersphere had plenty to say about it.

Guess This Chart

• This biotech with a $121 billion market cap reported Q3 earnings Thursday of EPS $3.02 vs $2.79 Est, Rev $5.8B vs $5.73B Est.
• Third Point's Dan Loeb liquidated his stake in this company in July 2016.
• Sympathy plays include Johnson & Johnson and Celgene.

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. Apply for daily AM access by clicking here or email minutes@benzinga.com.