Premarket: 4 things to know before the bell

Mon Mar 12 2018
Julie Young (582 articles)
Premarket: 4 things to know before the bell

1. Stocks boom: Investors are feeling downright cheery on Monday.
Asian stocks turned in a banner day, with some major indexes posting gains of 1% or more. European markets opened in positive territory.

US stock futures were also higher. The Nasdaq, which hit a record on Friday, was poised to hit new highs.

2. Tangled takeovers: Tech shares could be on the move Monday after the Wall Street Journal reported that Intel (INTC) is considering a bid for Broadcom (AVGO).

Broadcom has pursued a hostile takeover of rival Qualcomm (QCOM) in recent months, but it has so far been rebuffed.

Intel does not want the Broadcom-Qualcomm deal to happen. The Wall Street Journal said that Intel could step in with a big offer for Broadcom if the takeover starts to appear likely.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has expressed concerns that a Broadcom takeover of Qualcomm would undermine US efforts to stay ahead of China in the development of 5G tech.

Shares in E.ON (EONGY) and RWE (RWEOY) rose over 5% after the German energy companies announced a complicated asset swap.

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3. High fashion: Shares in Prada (PRDSY) gained 15% in Hong Kong after the luxury brand reported a positive outlook for 2018.

“We are starting to see concrete benefits from the numerous strategic initiatives currently under way and we are expecting a return to growth in 2018,” said Prada CEO Patrizio Bertelli.

4. Deutsche Bank: The German lender has released more details ahead of an IPO of its asset management unit. The bank plans to sell 20% of the unit at a price of €30 ($ 37) to €36 ($ 44) a share.

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4. Coming this week:

Monday — Toys ‘R’ Us expected to announce it’s shutting in the US down after filing for bankruptcy in September
Tuesday — Consumer Price Index report; Dick’s Sporting Goods earnings
Wednesday — Signet Jewelers earnings; US retail sales
Thursday — Dollar General, Broadcom earnings
Friday — Tiffany earnings

 

 

Julie Young

Julie Young

Julie Young is a Senior Market Reporter and Analyst. She has been covering stock markets for many years.