Before the Open (Dec 27)

Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed with a lean to the upside. South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines did well while China and Hong Kong posted losses. Europe, Africa and the Middle East currently lean to the downside. Poland, Greece and Norway are up; Finland, Portugal, Israel, Austria, Sweden and Romania are down. Futures in the States point towards a slight up open for the cash market.
The dollar is down. Bitcoin is up. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are up.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Chubb (CB +0.08%) said it expects a one-time benefit of $250 million in Q4 from the new U.S. tax law.
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals (SCMP +5.88%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at B Riley FBR.
Flagstar Bancorp (FBC -0.97%) said it sees a -$1.38 a share charge in Q4 due to the new U.S. tax law that requires a revaluation of its deferred tax asset at a lower corporate statutory rate.
Crisper Therapeutics (CRSP +0.66%) may open lower this morning after Celgene reported after-hours Tuesday that it had cut its stake in CRSP to 8.1% from a 9.1% stake reported Dec 6.
First Data Corp (FDC -0.42%) may move higher this morning after holder Glenview Capital Management reported it raised its stake in FDC to 5.7% from 3.5% reported on Sep 30.
Energous Corp (WATT +0.11%) soared over 60% in after-hours trading after it received Federal Communications Commission certification for its wireless charging “WattUp Mid Field” transmitter.
Callaway Golf (ELY -0.53%) was downgraded to ‘Sell’ from ‘Neutral’ at Compass Point Research & Trading LLC with a target price of $13.50.
Long Island Iced Tea Corp (LTEA -20.13%) slid 3% in after-hours trading and added on to a -20% loss from Tuesday’s session.
Today’s Economic Calendar
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
9:00 S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index
10:00 Consumer Confidence
10:00 Pending Home Sales
11:30 Results of $13B, 2-Year FRN 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