The Market In 5 Minutes: Trump, Tillerson, Kudlow, GE And More

IN THE NEWS

President Trump has ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and plans to nominate CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace him as the nation’s top diplomat, orchestrating a major change to his national security team amid delicate negotiations with North Korea, White House officials said Tuesday: Link

The White House's tariffs on imported aluminum and steel are proving controversial and have been met with ire by plenty of U.S. trading partners. While some industry and sector exchange traded funds are benefiting from the tariffs, some surprising funds could be pinched by the protectionist trade policies: Link

Marijuana companies received more than $1.2 billion in investments over the first five weeks of the year, matching deals for all of 2016: Link

President Trump on Monday blocked Broadcom Ltd.’s AVGO $117 billion hostile bid for Qualcomm Inc. QCOM, capping a remarkable series of moves by the Trump administration reflecting officials’ concerns about an intensifying arms race between the U.S. and China over advanced technologies: Link $

General Electric Co. GE didn’t pay a cash bonus last year to its top executives at corporate headquarters, which it said was the first time in the company’s 125-year history: Link $

CNBC personality Larry Kudlow has emerged as President Trump’s favorite to replace Gary Cohn, the outgoing director of the White House National Economic Council, two people familiar with the matter said: Link

ECONOMIC DATA

• Redbook Reports US Retail Sales During First Week Of Mar. Down 0.3% MoM, Up 2.9% YoY
• CPI (MoM) for Feb 0.20% vs 0.20% Est; Prior 0.50%. CPI (YoY) for Feb 1.80% vs 2.20% Est; Prior 2.10%
• Core CPI (MoM) for Feb 0.20% vs 0.20% Est; Prior 0.30%
• The Treasury is set to auction 4-week bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

ANALYST RATINGS

• KeyBanc upgraded Lincoln Electric LECO from Sector Weight to Overweight
• BMO upgraded Centennial Resource CDEV from Market Perform to Outperform
• BMO downgraded WildHorse WRD from Outperform to Market Perform
• KeyBanc downgraded Five9 FIVN from Overweight to Sector Weight

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. To get the full version of this note every morning, click here.