The Before the Bell report is constantly updated to reflect the latest news developments and market moves in the premarket. Check back later for updates.
U.S. and Canadian stock futures are solidly higher this morning, as North American markets show signs of reversing Friday's losses with the help of more blockbuster deals on the merger and acquisitions front.
Pfizer has confirmed its interest in taking over U.K. drugmaker AstraZeneca for almost $99-billion (U.S.). Forest Labs has agreed to buy Furiex Pharmaceuticals in a deal valued at $1.46-billion. And there are reports this morning that Siemens AG has made an offer for Alstom SA to better a bid from General Electric, while Bayer is said to be exploring a sale of its plastics units.
Closer to home, Barrick Gold said that Newmont Mining has terminated discussions to merge the two gold giants.
All this continues last week's flare-up in M&A activity, especially in the pharmaceutical sector, and is helping to boost overall market sentiment.
On the negative side, traders continue to keep a nervous eye on the crisis in eastern Europe. The U.S. and European Union are expected to impose new sanctions today on Russian companies and individuals with ties to President Vladimir Putin because of recent aggression against Ukraine. Meanwhile, heavily-armed pro-Russian separatists have proclaimed an independent republic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk and are holding several European monitors hostage in a nearby city.
In overseas markets, China took a bruising, falling 1.65 per cent amid a report that Chinese President Xi Jinping told a Politburo meeting that he has no plans to change fiscal and monetary policies, despite recent signs that the country's growth rate is slowing. European stocks today are modestly higher amid the resurgence in M&A activity.
On the data front today, the U.S. will release existing home sales shortly after markets open. Housing numbers for the country have been on the weak side of late, but the unusually bitter winter has been taking the brunt of the blame. The March data today will be closely watched for signs that there's more than just weather behind the slowdown.
Now, here's a closer look at what's going on this morning and what's to come.
MARKETS:
Equities:
Futures: S&P 500 +0.35 per cent; Dow +0.40 per cent; Nasdaq +0.36 per cent; S&P Toronto +0.24 per cent
Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.41 per cent
Shanghai composite index -1.65 per cent
Japan's Nikkei -0.98 per cent
London's FTSE 100 +0.20 per cent
Germany's DAX +0.65 per cent
France's CAC 40 +0.39 per cent
Commodities:
WTI crude oil (Nymex Jun) +0.79 per cent at $101.39 (U.S.) a barrel
Gold (Comex Jun) +0.02 per cent at $1,301.10 (U.S.) an ounce
Copper (Comex Jly) +0.05 per cent at $3.09 (U.S.) a pound
Currencies:
Canadian dollar at 90.68 (U.S.), up 0.0005
U.S. dollar index down 0.16 at 79.58
Bonds:
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.68 per cent, up 0.02
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. pending home sales for March. Consensus is for a rise of 0.8 per cent, which follows a 0.8 per cent decline in February.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
Newmont Mining has decided to terminate its merger discussions with Barrick Gold, Barrick said in a press release this morning. Newmont's board believes shareholders interests are best served by remaining independent, Barrick said. Barrick shares are up 0.5 per cent in the premarket and Newmont is down 5.6 per cent.
Bank of America said it will make a downward revision of its regulatory capital amounts and ratios due to an incorrect adjustments. As a result, the bank will suspend a $4-billion common stock repurchase and a planned hike in its quarterly dividend. Shares are down nearly 5 per cent in the premarket.
Pfizer has confirmed its interest in taking over U.K. drugmaker AstraZeneca for almost $99-billion (U.S.). Pfizer shares are up about 2 per cent in the premarket.
Forest Laboratories has agreed to buy Furiex Pharmaceuticals in a deal valued at $1.46-billion. Furiex shares are up 29 per cent in premarket trading.
Siemens AG has reportedly made an offer for Alstom SA to better a bid from General Electric, which is trading up 0.6 per cent in the premarket.
Pipeline company Energy Transfer Partners LP said it would buy Susser Holdings Corp in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $1.8-billion (U.S.) to expand its retail gasoline business to Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Precision Drilling missed earnings expectations but beat on revenues, which rose 13 per cent from a year ago.
Loews reported Q1 operating EPS of 62 cents (U.S.) versus expectations for 70 cents.
Other earnings today include: Suncor; Tembec; Boardwalk Pipeline Partners; Buffalo Wild Wings; Choice Hotels International; Denny's; Herbalife; HealthSouth; National Oilwell Varco; Southern Copper; TC PipeLines.
ANALYST ACTIONS:
RBC Dominion Securities downgraded BCE to "sector perform" from "outperform" and cut its price target to $47 (Canadian) from $48, believing that the stock is trading at an unattractive entry point.
Desjardins Securities upgraded Richmont Mines to "buy" from "hold" and hiked its price target to $2.10 (Canadian) from $1.85, after a tour of the company's Island Gold mine left analysts with greater confidence in the project.
Raymond James cuts its price target on Mosaic Capital to $12.50 (Canadian) from $14.50 and reiterated an "outperform" rating after disappointing fourth-quarter revenues.
Raymond James raised its price target on Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan to $38.50 (U.S.) from $36 and maintained an "outperform" rating.
Bernstein upgraded TD Ameritrade to "outperform" from "market perform" and raised its price target to $40 (U.S.) from $29.
Craig-Hallum upgraded Ford to "buy" from "hold" and boosted its price target to $21 (U.S.) from $16.
Barclays downgraded USG to "equalweight" from "overweight" and cut its price target to $31 (U.S.) from $37.
Pacific Crest upgraded Autodesk to "outperform" from "sector perform" with a price target of $60 (U.S.).
BMO Nesbitt Burns downgraded CenturyLink to "market perform" from "outperform" but raised its price target to $33 (U.S.) from $32.
Clarkson Capital downgraded Walter Energy to "market perform" from "outperform" and cut its target to $9 (U.S.) from $15.
THIS MORNING'S TOP INVESTING LINKS:
The bond market is not confirming the bullishness of the stock market this year.
The Ukraine crisis has been great for the owner of Moscow's stock exchange.
U.S. companies are still being stingy in their dividend payouts.
Why aren't there more value funds?
Remember that recessions can happen without an inverted yield curve.
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For instant headlines on breaking economic and corporate news in the premarket, follow Darcy Keith on Twitter at @eyeonequities.
Darcy Keith