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Briefing.com Summary:
*Netflix has won the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, but the war may not be over just yet.
*There is a bit of a wait-and-see trade in front of the 10:00 a.m. ET release of the September Personal Income and Spending Report.
*There has been a mixed response to the litany of earnings results released since yesterday's close.
The S&P 500 stumbled on Monday but has spent the remainder of this week regrouping, such that it enters today up 0.1% for the week. It has been a better turn for the Russell 2000, which is up 1.2% for the week.
The early indications are painted with a mixed disposition. The S&P 500 futures are down six points and are trading 0.1% below fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are down 25 points and are trading 0.1% below fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 79 points and are trading 0.2% below fair value.
There isn't much speculative energy at the moment, partly because a lot of it got expended last week on the sharp recovery from the November 21 low (6521.92) and partly because the market is content again to think that a 25-basis-point rate cut next week is going to happen.
There is also a bit of a wait-and-see mentality in front of the release of the September Personal Income and Spending Report, which will be out at 10:00 a.m. ET along with the Preliminary December University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index.
In the meantime, participants are preoccupying themselves with the earnings results from several companies, including Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE), DocuSign (DOCU), Ulta Beauty (ULTA), SentinelOne (S), Rubrik (RBRK), Copper Companies (COO), and Victoria's Secret & Co. (VSCO), that have been met with mixed reactions.
The corporate headline stealing everyone's attention, though, is the news that Netflix (NFLX) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced a definitive agreement under which Netflix will acquire Warner Bros., including its film and television studios, for $72 billion, or $27.75 per share, in cash and stock. The deal includes a $5.8 billion termination fee that will be paid to Warner Bros. Discovery if the deal can't close under certain circumstances, like failure to obtain approvals or antitrust laws standing in the way.
Spicing things up is a report by CNBC, citing sources, that Paramount Skydance (PSKY) had offered to acquire all of Warner Bros. Discovery for $30.00 per share. In other words, there may be more to this M&A story beyond today's headlines.
Shares of NFLX are trading 3.5% lower in pre-market action, while shares of WBD are up 3.1%. PSKY is down 2.4%.
