The Market In 5 Minutes: Big Banks Get Earnings Season Started

Macro Focus

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 23 points to 19,826.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 2.75 points to 2,266.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 8.25 points to 5,043.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures dropped 0.93 percent to trade at $55.49 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 0.98 percent to trade at $53.31 a barrel.

December 2016 US retail sales 0.6% vs 0.7% exp

Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Harker is set to speak in Philadelphia, Pa. at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Data on business inventories for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for January is schedule for release at 10:00 p.m. ET.
The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

BZ News Desk Focus

JPMorgan JPM Q4 EPS $1.71 vs $1.44, Revenue $23.4B vs $24.0B Est
Wells Fargo WFC Q4 EPS $0.96 vs $0.97 Est, Revenue $21.58B vs $22.45B Est
BlackRock BLK Q4 EPS $5.13 vs $5.02 Est, Revenue $2.89B vs $2.93B Est
Bank of America BAC Q4 EPS $0.40 vs $0.38 Est, Revenue $20.0B vs $20.9B Est
PNC PNC Q4 EPS $1.97 vs $1.85 Est, Revenue $3.9B vs $3.9B Est
Pandora P on Q4 Exceeding Guidance: Cites 'Subscription Momentum and RPM Growth'

Corvex Management has sold its 3.459 million shares of Signet Jewelers SIG, according to a source familiar with the matter. Stock values plunged after investors learned of the block trade, which sold at $83.75 a share. In January 2014, Signet announced a “constructive meeting” with Corvex, and the relationship progressed in 2015 when Corvex boosted its stake in the jewelry company to 7.2 percent. In December, Corvex cut its stake from 9.94 percent to 4.97 percent. Now, it seems the shareholder has pulled out entirely.

Sell-Side Themes

Deutsche Bank upgraded Netflix NFLX to Hold and Comcast CMCSA to Buy.

Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls

Morgan Stanley downgraded Zillow ZG to Equal-Weight.
Canaccord downgraded Nokia NOK to Hold.
Jefferies started Mobileye MBLY at Buy.
Wells Fargo upgraded Tiffany TIF.

Deal Talk

Shares of Groupon GRPN rose on unconfirmed market chatter that social couponing company is in talks to be acquired by Alibaba BABA for around $5 per share. The rumor comes after President-elect Donald Trump met with Alibaba CEO Jack Ma and discussed investment in the U.S. Alibaba currently owns a 5.6 percent stake in Groupon.

Canada's AltaGas ATGFF is in merger talks to combine with Washington DC natural-gas utility owner, WGL Holdings WGL, according to sources as reported by the Wall Street Journal. A deal could be announced this month and is said to be valued at $5 billion to $6 billion, the sources said. WGL closed at $80.26 on Thursday, up 5.91 percent.

In The News

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accused Fiat Chrysler FCAU of using software that was able to control diesel emissions in 100,000 vehicles. An EPA official later said a potential fine could reach north of $4 billion. Fiat Chrysler's stock plunged more than 14 percent to $9.43.

Salesforce CRM is welcoming a new Executive Vice President of Global Strategic Affairs, but the candidate may not have the background you'd expect. Political reporter Monica Langley is ending her 20-year tenure with The Wall Street Journal to make a sharp career transition. As a corporate-lawyer-turned-reporter, Langley may have the experience and knowledge needed to lead global strategic affairs. But she also has connections.

Blogosphere

Volkswagen's lesson for Takata: "It's a sign of the strange world that airbag-maker Takata Corp. has entered that this story more or less played out in Tokyo Friday. Takata, whose misfiring safety devices have been linked to at least 17 deaths worldwide, is close to a $1 billion settlement with the U.S. Justice Department that would draw a line under the criminal portion of the world's biggest auto safety recall, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News. The shares jumped 16 percent to their highest level since 2015."

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