The Market In 5 Minutes: Jobless Claims Fall

Macro Focus

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 7 points to 19,768.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 0.30 points to 2,245. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 1.50 points to 4,922.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 0.02 percent to trade at $56.23 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 0.46 percent to trade at $53.81 a barrel.

USA Initial Jobless Claims for Dec 23 265.0K vs 275.0K prior reading.

USA Wholesale Inventories for Nov 0.90% vs -0.10% prior reading.

• The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.
• The EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories is schedule for release at 11:00 a.m. ET.
• The Treasury is set to auction 7-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.
• Data on farm prices for December will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.
• Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.

BZ News Desk Focus

• Live Ventures LIVE Reports FY16 Rev. $79M, EPS $8.92; Sees FY17 Rev. 'Easily Surpassing' $120M

NVIDIA NVDA has jumped over 230 percent thus far this year, making it the best performer among the S&P 500 stocks. Since October, the stock is up a respectable 60 percent. After starting out as a chipmaker focusing on the gaming market, the company has transitioned into a maker providing chips and technology for varied applications such as voice recognition and self-driving cars.

Sell-Side Themes

The first trading session of 2017 is less than a week away, so naturally, the topic on everyone's mind is what to expect in the coming year. Wall Street analysts and trading experts are more than happy to offer their top picks and outlook.

Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls

• Summit Redstone Partners initiates coverage on Texas Instruments TXN with a Buy rating and a $84 price target.

Deal Talk

Kate Spade KATE is said to be considering a sale of the company, according to sources as reported by Dow Jones. The seller of woman's fashion accessories has hired an investment bank and has been in contact with potential buyers, which includes other retailers, the sources said. A trade of 2,000 contracts of the January $17 Kate Spade call was reported by Benzinga 11 minutes before the Dow Jones story broke.

Of the 1,009 failed mergers and acquisitions of 2016, three of the most spotlighted deals amassed $3.9 billion in termination fees. It’s $700 million more than is required to feed the world’s hungry, school-aged children for a year, and it’s three times the amount UNICEF reports is needed to vaccinate and prevent the deaths of 1.5 million children worldwide. And, the sum represents only 0.3 percent of the year's failed mergers. Still, individual corporations took sizable hits relative to their budgets.

In The News

When Snap Inc. goes on the road next year to market its initial public offering, it will be touting more than its popular virtual-messaging service. Evan Spiegel, the company’s 26-year-old founder, is expected to figure prominently in conversations with investors during the roadshow, people familiar with the matter told Wall Street Journal. Snap’s IPO bankers and executives are planning to portray Spiegel as a visionary who knows how to create products for his coveted millennial peer group, the people said.

Blogosphere

Cut Italy some slack? "The European Central Bank looks like it's bending its own rules on the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA bailout. That may not be such a bad thing."

Trending

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Debbie Reynolds, who personified celebrity life in Hollywood’s Golden Age through roles in classics like “Singin’ in the Rain” on screen and a paparazzi-feeding family life off-screen, died after having a stroke. She died a day after the death of her daughter, actress and author Carrie Fisher.

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.