Monday, August 22, 2016

Futures are down again ahead of the market open this morning, following a Friday that was awash in red until climbing toward unched in the closing minutes of the trading week. The S&P 500 is currently at -4 points, the Dow reads -50 and the Nasdaq is currently at -8. These numbers have fluctuated a bit, but have remained negative ahead of the bell.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are taking headlines in this sleepy market period a couple weeks prior to the Labor Day holiday, and we’re seeing big gains among smaller companies ready to be purchased by much bigger fish.

California-based Intersil has agreed to be bought by Japan’s Renesas for $3 billion, and the semiconductor maker is up nearly 28% in today’s pre-market. Sources say they expect this deal to close by the end of August.

Chinese state-owned ChemChina’s pursuit of major agribusiness firm Syngenta (SYT Quick QuoteSYT - Free Report) has cleared a regulatory hurdle in China, and this panel clearance looks to be green-lighting the massive $43 billion buyout of the Swiss company. Syngenta ADRs are up roughly 10.5% at this hour.

Pfizer (PFE Quick QuotePFE - Free Report) is putting forth $14 billion to take over biopharma company Medivation , representing $81.50 per share for the company specializing in cancer treatments. Pfizer expects 5 cents per share in synergies from this deal as of the first year of business.

Everything else looks to be taking a break right now — European markets were down overnight, gold prices wallow at two-week lows, even WTI and Brent oil prices — while up over the past few weeks overall — remain below $50 per barrel this morning. We’ve got some housing data on the calendar later this week, along with Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s Jackson Hole speech this Friday, but not much expected to push the needle in either direction.

Mark Vickery
Senior Editor