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Here's today's top stock market news, stocks to watch, ways to profit, and economic calendar for May 16, 2016.
What's Moving the Dow Jones Industrial Average Today: Oil Prices Rally
Dow Jones futures pushed up eight points as oil prices ticked higher this morning on a very busy day of merger and acquisition news.
Here's a breakdown of why the Dow is pushing slightly higher this morning.
First up, Warren Buffett is back, and he's got his eyes on Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO). The technology giant saw shares of YHOO stock rally more than 1.7% early this morning. Buffett has emerged as a candidate to help finance a bid by Cleveland Cavaliers owner and Quicken Loans' head Dan Gilbert for the embattled technology giant.
Speaking of Warren Buffett, his firm Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: A) now holds 9.8 million shares in Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), according to SEC filings. But the investment in Apple wasn't Buffett's idea, according to the investment legend. Buffett said this morning that Ted Weschler or Todd Combs at Berkshire made the investment. The report also shows that Buffett's firm increased its stake International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM). The firm has cut its stake in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and has unloaded its entire stake in AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T).
WTI crude oil prices were pushing higher this morning after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) announced that it believes that the global oil glut is over. GS believes supply and demand balance is back to equilibrium. The announcement comes after nearly two years of oversupply on the global market. Meanwhile, major supply disruptions in Nigeria continue to rattle the nation's energy infrastructure. WTI prices were up roughly 2.2%, while Brent crude prices jumped 2.2%.
With oil prices ticking higher, we could begin to see a wave of mergers and acquisitions as firms with steep debt levels unload their assets. Today, Range ResourcesCorp. (NYSE: RRC) saw shares fall 2% on news that it will purchase Memorial Resource Development Corp. (Nasdaq: MRD) in a $4.4 billion all-stock deal. The MRD stock price was up more than 11% this morning.
A biotech boom is in focus today. Shares of Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ANAC) rallied nearly 54% after the company announced an all-cash sale to Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE). The $5.2 billion deal comes after biotech stocks rallied on Friday.
On the economic front, look for an important manufacturing data update in the May Empire State Manufacturing report. Meanwhile, housing prices are in focus with the National Association of Home Builders housing market index. Also, the Minneapolis Federal Reserve will host its second "Too Big to Fail" symposium today, an event that will feature Minneapolis Fed Chief Neel Kashkari and former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke.
Now here's your list of top stocks to watch in today's market, plus today's economic calendar:
Companies to Watch in the Stock Market Today
Tribune Publishing (NYSE: TPUB) is in focus today as the company continues to deal with the fallout of its shareholder poison pill. The firm turned down an unsolicited bid from Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) for more than $800 million and has now received an offer increase from $12.50 to $15.50 per share. Now, Barron's reports that Tribune Publishing had received urgent demands from its third-largest shareholder Oaktree Capital Management to accept a deal. The deal offer comes as Gannett has been able to boost organic growth. TPUB stock is up more than 22% in this morning.
Here comes Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) again - poking its thumb into the markets of competitors. The Wall Street Journal announced today that the tech firm will unveil a new private-label brand on its platform that includes perishable food products.
No major U.S. companies will be reporting earnings on Monday. However, investors can keep an eye out for updates from Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A), Virtusa Corp. (Nasdaq: VRTU), Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: AEGR), and Atlas Resource Partners LP (NYSE: ARP).
Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EDT)
Empire State Manufacturing Survey at 8:30 a.m.
Housing Market Index at 10 a.m.
4-Week Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
3-Month Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
6-Month Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m.
Treasury International Capital at 4 p.m.
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari speaks at 7 p.m.
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Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.