Before the Open (Jan 5)

Good morning. Happy Friday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia did the best. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are mostly up. France, Turkey, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Israel, Sweden and Saudi Arabia are leading. Futures in the States point towards a moderate gap up open for the cash market.
The dollar is up. Bitcoin is up. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
Here are the employment numbers:
unemployment rate: 4.1% (was 4.1% last month)
nonfarm payrolls: +148K
private payrolls:
average workweek: flat at 34.5 hours
hourly wages: up 0.3%
labor participation rate: flat at 62.7%
November job gains increased from 228K to 252K.
October job gains decreased 9K
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Cisco Systems (CSCO -0.46%) rose over 2% in pre-market trading after it was upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch with a target price of $46.
Cheniere Energy (LNG -0.47%) was rated a new ‘Buy’ at Stifel with a 12-month target price of $65.
F5 Networks (FFIV +2.30%) gained over 1% in pre-market trading after it was upgraded to ‘Buy from ‘Neutral’ at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch with a target price of $157.
PriceSmart (PSMT +1.68%) dropped nearly 7% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 net income fell -10% y/y to $22.5 million from $24.9 million a year ago.
Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage of Intuitive Surgical (ISRG -1.80%) with a recommendation of ‘Overweight’ with a 12-month target price of $410.
Sonic (SONC -0.36%) climbed 6% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 30 cents, above consensus of 25 cents.
Henry Schein (HSIC +0.06%) was rated a new ‘Outperform’ at Evercore ISI with a 12-month target price of $81.
Evercore ISI initiated coverage of Laboratory Corp (LH -0.36%) with a recommendation of ‘Outperform’ with a 12-month target price of $176.
Franklin Covey (FC +0.92%) jumped nearly 10% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 revenue of $47.93 million, better than consensus of $43.50 million.
ViewRay (VRAY -0.21%) rose 4% in after-hours trading after Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage of the stock with a recommendation of ‘Overweight’ and a 12-month target price of $13.
Datawatch (DWCH -2.65%) rallied 15% in after-hours trading after Reuters reported three sources said DWCH hired a financial adviser when it received expressions of interest from potential acquirers.
Francesca’s Holdings (FRAN unch) slumped 16% in after-hours trading after it said holiday sales were “disappointing” as it cut its Q4 sales estimate to $137 million-$139 million from a previous estimate of $145 million-$150 million.
Barnes & Noble (BKS -2.26%) slid 3% in after-hours trading after it reported holiday comparable-store sales fell -6.4% y/y.
T2 Biosystems (TTOO +0.65%) gained 4% in after-hours trading after it said it expects FDA clearance of its T2Bacteria Panel in Q1 of this year.
Novan (NOVN -1.40%) tumbled 10% in after-hours trading after it announced that it intends to sell $30 million in shares of its common stock and accompanying warrants to purchase shares in an underwritten public offering.
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 Non-farm payrolls
8:30 International Trade
10:00 Factory Orders
10:00 ISM Non-Manufacturing Index
10:15 Fed’s Harker: Economic Outlook
12:30 PM Fed’s Mester speech
1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count
10:15 Fed’s Mester Speech on Saturday
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings from Morningstar
this week’s Economic Numbers/Reports powered by ECONODAY