The Market In 5 Minutes: Salesforce Has Strong Quarter, Tesla-SolarCity Deal Approved By Shareholders

Macro Focus

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 6 points to 18,875.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 1 point to 2,184.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 4.50 points to 4,833.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.62 percent to trade at $46.78 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 0.57 percent to trade at $46.24 a barrel.

• Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George will speak at oil conference in Houston at 9:30 a.m. ET.
• New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley is set to speak at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York at 9:35 a.m. ET.
• The index of leading economic indicators for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.
• The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for November is schedule for release at 11:00 a.m. ET.
• The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.
• Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan will speak at the Dallas and Kansas City Fed's oil conference in Houston, Texas at 1:30 p.m. ET.
• Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell is set to speak in San Francisco at 9:45 p.m. ET.

BZ News Desk Focus

• Salesforce CRM Reports Q3 EPS $0.24 vs. Est. $0.21, Rev. $2.14B vs. Est. $2.12B
• Gap GPS Reports Q3 EPS $0.60 vs. Est. $0.60, Rev. $3.79B vs. Est. $3.74B
• Williams-Sonoma WSM Reports Q3 Adj EPS $0.79 vs $0.77 Est, Revenues $1.1245B vs $1.26B Est
• Marvell MRVL Reports Q3 Adj EPS $0.20 vs $0.12 Est, Revenue $654.4M vs $615.89M Est
• Foot Locker FL Q3 EPS $1.13 vs $1.10 Est, Revenue $1.89B vs $1.89B Est

Sell-Side Themes

BMO initiated coverage on FedEx FDX (Market Perform) and UPS UPS (Outperform).

Citi initiated coverage on several airliners, with Buy ratings on Southwest LUV and Delta DAL. The firm downgraded Spirit Airlines SAVE to Neutral.

Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls

• UBS downgraded First Solar FSLR to Sell.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Fleetcor FLT to Outperform.
• Aegis started Match Group MTCH at Buy.

Deal Talk

Tesla Motors TSLA and SolarCity SCTY shareholders have officially voted to approve a merger of the two companies.

"Excluding the votes of Elon and other affiliated shareholders, more than 85% of shares voted were cast in favor of the acquisition. With SolarCity's shareholders also having approved the acquisition, the transaction will be completed in the coming days," Tesla said in a statement.

The shareholder vote was the last barrier for the merger, which was initially proposed by Elon Musk in June. Tesla expects SolarCity to contribute positively to its balance sheet, adding over $500 million across the next three years.

In The News

President-elect Donald Trump has offered the job of national security adviser to retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a move that would elevate a longtime officer who became known for criticizing the country’s terrorism policies from inside the military.

"Mr. Wonderful" Kevin O'Leary's first job was scooping ice cream at a shopping mall sweets shop. He was fired his very first day on the job...and he's forever grateful.

Blogosphere

"Much has been said about China's purported property bubble and ghost cities, but when it comes to junk bonds, listening to that would have meant risking going backward a lot faster," writes Christopher Langner. "Over the past month, dollar debt that's been sold this year from Chinese developers and local government financing vehicles -- whose fate is deeply intertwined with real estate -- has outperformed other sectors. That's in spite of prolific issuance."

Trending

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Guess This Chart

• This company reported better-than-expected Q3 earnings Friday morning, with comps up 4.7%, and the stock is down on the news.
• This company was added to the S&P 500 in April.
• Sympathy plays include Finish Line and Dicks.