The Market In 5 Minutes: 'Rogue One', Bullish Commentary Pumps Disney Up

Macro Focus

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 25 points to 19,818.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 2.25 points to 2,257.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 5 points to 4,920.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 0.31 percent to trade at $55.38 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 0.34 percent to trade at $53.13 a barrel.

• The Markit PMI Services Flash data for December is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET.
• The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

BZ News Desk Focus

The focus now is on the holiday shopping season, a time when many retailers grow desperate to succeed, if not simply to survive. Two retailers will pause this week to look back at the most recent earnings results: Bed Bath & Beyond BBBY and Rite Aid RAD.

The consensus Wall Street forecast sees marginal top line growth but profits that slipped for the home furnishings purveyor, for a quarter in which it tested a membership program. On the other hand, for investors in the third largest drugstore chain in the United States, any news about the upcoming merger with Walgreens may overshadow what are expected to be unexciting results.

Sell-Side Themes

BMO Capital downgraded Goldcorp GG, Kinross Gold KGC and Yamana Gold AUY.

Jakks Pacific JAKK received two different downgrades as well.

Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls

• Citi downgraded Deutsche Bank DB to Sell.
• Jefferies downgraded Lowe's LOW to Neutral.
• Jefferies upgraded Bristol-Meyers BMY to Buy.
• Citi upgraded Costco COST to Buy.
• Bank of America added Disney DIS to its US1 List, saying it will outperform in 2017.

Deal Talk

CBS CBS head Les Moonves flew to Japan in an attempt to acquire Sony Pictures SNE, according to sources as reported by the New York Post on Sunday. CBS has been rumored to be seeking other tie-ups since Shari Redstone withdrew her proposal for a merger with Viacom VIAB last week.

Fairfax Financial FRFHF and Allied World Assurance AWH have entered into a merger agreement, under which Fairfax will acquire all of the outstanding registered ordinary shares of Allied World for $54.00 per share, including $10.00 per share in cash and $44.00 per share in Fairfax stock.

In The News

Donald Trump’s improbable-then-unstoppable run for the presidency takes its last, formal step Monday as the Electoral College meets to officially name him the winner. The usually overlooked, constitutionally obligated gathering of 538 electors in 50 states and the District of Columbia has earned special scrutiny and intense lobbying this year by Trump’s opponents, including last-minute weekend protests that stretched from Austin to Denver and Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, not even the holiday shopping season is sacred when it comes to being ripped off. It appears as if a company called Hobbies Discount has been using Facebook FB ads to scam holiday shoppers. The company’s Facebook ads and Facebook page direct customers to its website that lists items in categories such as camping, golf and technology.

Blogosphere

"There are some new technologies which I feel are going to grow very rapidly over the next 10 years. Unfortunately it seems all the companies currently involved are smaller startups which are private and I'm very far from being something like an accredited investor. Most of these companies have gotten their funding from VC firms which are also private so I can't invest in those either. Is there anything I can do or is this just not something a small-time investor should even be thinking about?"

Trending

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Disney and Lucasfilm's "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" top-lined the fourth largest December three-day weekend ever, delivering the third-largest opening of 2016 ($155 million domestic), the 12th-largest opening of all time and became only the second December opener to debut over $100 million.

Guess This Chart

• This stock closed up over 3 percent on Friday following unconfirmed takeover chatter from a European investment fund.
• Nearly all of this company's locations are in the eastern half of the country.
• Sympathy plays include Starbucks, McDonald's and Panera Bread.