Before the Open (Aug 28)

Good morning. Happy Monday. Hope you had a good weekend.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mixed. China, India and Thailand did well; South Korea, New Zealand and Australia were weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are mixed and little changed. Poland, Turkey and Kenya are up; Finland and Austria are down. Futures in the States point towards a positive open for the cash market.
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The dollar is down. Oil is down; copper is up. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are down.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Genesco (GCO +9.47%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Positive’ at Susquehanna Financial.
Dollar Tree (DLTR +2.41%) was upgraded to ‘Market Perform’ from ‘Underperform’ at Bernstein.
Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA +0.50%) was upgraded to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Market Perform’ at BMO Capital Markets with a price target of $25.
Plexus (PLXS +0.70%) was upgraded to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Neutral’ at JP Morgan Chase with a 12-month target price of $62.
Merit Medical Systems (MMSI -0.61%) was downgraded to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Strong Buy’ at Raymond James.
Chatham Lodging Trust (CLDT +0.20%) was upgraded to ‘Market Outperform’ from ‘Market Perform’ at JMP securities.
Kite Pharma (KITE -0.74%) may rally sharply this morning after Gilead Sciences agreed to buy the company for $11 billion or $180 a share, 29% above Friday’s closing price.
Speaking late Friday afternoon after the markets closed, BOJ Governor Kuroda said Japan’s recent 4% GDP growth is “unlikely to be sustained” and that the BOJ “needs to continue with very accommodative policy.”
Plains GP Holdings LP (PAGP +0.62%) fell 4% in after-hours trading after its board said it will reduce annual distribution outflow by $725 million annually, starting with Q3 distribution payable in November.
CareDx (CDNA) dropped 6% in after-hours trading after it filed an S-1 for holders to sell up to 8.5 million shares of its common stock.
Thursday’s Key Earnings
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) -2.5% AH despite topping expectations.
Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) -0.2% following a quarterly loss.
Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS) +0.1% on in-line earnings.
VMware (NYSE:VMW) -0.7% AH wavering after a Q2 beat.
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 International trade in goods
10:30 Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey
1:00 PM Results of $26B, 2-Year Note Auction
1:00 PM Results of $34B, 5-Year Note Auction
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings from Morningstar
this week’s Economic Numbers/Reports powered by ECONODAY