U.S. stock markets are set to open high on Wednesday with the Dow above the 26,000 level and the corporate earnings season as the principal driver of the bull market. The industrial production rose 0.9% in December for the fourth straight monthly increase and was higher than Wall Street expectations. Leaving behind the drop of the past quarter, in the fourth quarter, production advanced at an 8.2% annual rate. For the calendar year, production rose 3.6%.
Shares of Juno Therapeutics Inc. (JUNO, Financial) traded 55% higher on premarket Wednesday session on news of a Wall Street Journal report that said it will be acquired by Celgene (CELG, Financial). The terms of the deal remain undisclosed for the moment.
The biotech company, Celgene, announced last week week that it was taking over Impact Biomedicines in a $7 billion deal.
Gainers
• Merck & Co Inc. (MRK, Financial)
• QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM, Financial)
• MGM Resorts Int. (MGM, Financial)
• Under Armour Inc. (UAA, Financial)
Losers
• Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (HALO, Financial)
• Viacom Inc. (VIAB, Financial)
• Fastenal Co. (FAST, Financial)
• Marathon Patent Group Inc. (MARA, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded mostly in the red. The U.K.'s FTSE lost 0.19%, Germany's Dax retreated 0.25% and Spain's Ibex slid 0.30%, but France's CAC gained 0.04%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei lost 0.35%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.25%, China´s SSE Composite jumped 0.24% and India’s BSE Sensex advanced 0.89%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
