The Dow is set to retreat from Friday's record high
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are trading below fair value this morning, after the blue-chip index nabbed a fourth straight win and a second consecutive record high on Friday. While Wall Street's attention is trained on this week's Fed meeting -- with a rate hike widely expected -- today's top story will likely be soaring oil prices, after major oil producers at an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting failed to commit to a plan to boost crude output, as a recent tweet from President Donald Trump urged. At last check, November crude futures were up 1.9% at $72.12 per barrel.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Ditch these 2 bank stocks before the Fed rate hike.
- History says to buy short-term call options on Garmin stock.
- Plus, two gold miners team up; Sirius XM buys Pandora; and UBS says "sell" this casino stock.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.3 million call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 737,258 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.57, and the 21-day moving average remained at 0.59.
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Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:ABX) will buy Randgold Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ:GOLD) in an all-stock deal valued at roughly $18.3 billion -- with Randgold stakeholders receiving 6.1280 new Barrick shares for each GOLD share they currently hold. ABX stock is up 3.6% ahead of the bell -- set to open near recent resistance in the $10.80 region -- while GOLD is 7% higher in electronic trading.
- Sirius XM Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:SIRI) said it will purchase Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) for about $3.5 billion in stock. This translates into about $10.14 per Pandora share, an 11.6% premium to Friday's close at $9.09. SIRI shares are down 4%, but could find support near their 160-day moving average, while P stock is set to open 6.3% higher.
- UBS initiated coverage on Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ:CZR) with a "sell" rating and $9 price target, citing weak financials and increasing competition for the casino operator. After rising 1.4% last week on takeover chatter, CZR stock is 2.8% lower at $10.50 in electronic trading,
- The Chicago Fed National Activity Index and the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey are out today. Ascena (ASNA) will report earnings.
Tariff Woes Hit Global Stocks
There wasn't a lot of action for stocks in Asia, with markets in Japan, China, and South Korea all closed for holidays. That left just Hong Kong's Hang Seng, which fell 1.6% on the day. The losses came as investors responded to the initiation of new China-U.S. tariffs.
In Europe, stocks are also being pressured by the new tariffs. As such, shares of the major automakers are slipping, while mining stocks also struggled – save Randgold Resources, which is soaring on news of the Barrick merger. Another big winner is U.K. broadcaster Sky, as the company accepted a $40 billion takeover bid from Comcast. London's FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 were last seen down 0.2%, and Germany's DAX has shed 0.3%.