The Market In 5 Minutes: OPEC, Tiffany's And More Theranos Trouble

Macro Focus

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 26 points to 19,106.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 4 points to 2,204.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 8.50 points to 4,869.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 2.24 percent to trade at $47.16 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 2.32 percent to trade at $45.99 a barrel.

GDP (YoY) for Q3 3.20% vs 3.30% prior reading.

USA S&P/CaseShiller Home Price Index (MoM) for Sep 0.40% vs 0.40% consensus estimate. The prior reading was 0.20%.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley is set to speak at 9:15 a.m. ET.

• The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for November is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.
• The Treasury is set to auction 4-week bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

BZ News Desk Focus

• Tiffany TIF Q3 EPS $0.76, Revenue $949M vs $927M Est
• Mallinckrodt MNK Q4 EPS $2.04, Revenue $887.2M vs $880.1M Est
• Nord Anglia Education NORD Q4 EPS $(0.08) vs $(0.15) Est, Revenue $115.1M vs $110.8M Est
• REX American Resources REX Q3 EPS $1.36 vs $1.14 Est, Revenue $116.3M vs $110.5M Est
• UnitedHealth UNH Sees FY17 Sales ~$197B-$199B vs $196.5B Est., Adj. EPS $9.30-$9.60

Concerned about Wednesday's OPEC meeting? Here's something to get you caught up.

Sell-Side Themes

Keefe, Bruyette and Woods changed its rating on nearly two dozens stocks in the financial sector. Notably, Bank of America BAC, Comerica CMA and Goldman Sachs GS were upgraded, while PNC Financial PNC and BNC Bancorp BNC were downgraded.

Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls

• Goldman Sachs downgraded Wendys WEN to Neutral.
• KeyBanc downgraded Myers Industries MYE to Underweight.
• Barclays upgraded Alexion Pharmaceuticals ALXN to Overweight.
• Baird upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT APLE to Outperform.
• Jefferies started Autoliv ALV at Buy.
• Credit Suisse started Royal Bank of Scotland RBS at Underperform.

Deal Talk

Allstate ALL agreed to acquire SquareTrade for approximately $1.4 billion. The seller includes Bain Capital Private Equity and Bain Capital Ventures. The transaction is expected to close in January 2017.

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals VRTX traded higher on a report from Betaville that Roche RHHBY might have an interest in acquiring the Boston-based marketer of Kalydeco and Orkambi. Vertex replied to Benzinga, "We do not comment on market rumors or speculation. Vertex's Board of Directors and management are focused on continuing to create significant value for our shareholders by executing our long-term strategy of delivering transformative medicines for people with serious diseases."

In The News

Theranos received much of its funding from high-profile private investors who weren’t part of the ecosystem that typically backs startups and could see their stakes wiped out by the blood-testing company’s regulatory and technological troubles, people familiar with the matter told Wall Street Journal. Several large investments from families and individuals helped infuse Theranos with $632 million in its latest funding round, which stretched from 2014 to 2015, according to the people familiar with the matter and documents filed by Theranos in Arizona and Delaware.

For decades, Saudi Arabia has had its way at OPEC. All of a sudden the position has turned: Riyadh finds its power waning against a resurgent Iran and Iraq. As OPEC ministers meet Wednesday, Saudi Arabia is trying to reassert its authority by hinting it’s prepared to walk away from the negotiations. Genuine warning or bluff, Tehran and Baghdad may be willing to take the risk. Both have seen Saudi Arabia gain market share and neither is as dependent on oil prices as Riyadh.

Blogosphere

Daniel Sotiroff, the Personal Finance Engineer, tries to explain the relationship between market beta and annual returns.

Here's a look at the world's youngest stock exchange.

Trending

MNK TIF NVLS FOLD P ETP OPHT SRDX HIIQ AMNB PMBC SCVL DRIP

Guess This Chart

• This company rejected an $18/share bid on Monday, causing the stock to rally.
• This stock started trading in 2014 after completing a spinoff from its parent company.
• Sympathy plays include Meredith and Tegna.