Morning News Call

TOP NEWS

Slower US job growth expected in February; unemployment rate forecast steady at 4.3%
Pentagon designates Anthropic a supply chain risk
U.S. mulls new rules for AI chip exports, including requiring U.S. investments by foreign firms
White House to press defense firms to boost production as U.S. strikes on Iran draw down stockpiles
xAI loses bid to halt California AI data disclosure law

BEFORE THE BELL

U.S. stock index futures slipped due to escalating Middle East conflict, inflation fears, ahead of jobs report
Europe’s STOXX 600 down, weakest weekly performance in nearly a year
Japanese shares marked steepest weekly drop in almost a year; South Korean shares with biggest drop in six years
Crude oil prices poised for sharpest weekly increase since Feb 2022 due to Middle East conflict blocking Strait of Hormuz
Dollar little changed but headed for steepest gain in over a year; gold edged up on safe-haven demand

STOCKS TO WATCH

Amazon.com Inc: Resolved an hours-long website outage due to a software code issue.
Blackstone Inc, TPG Inc & Whitestone REIT: Private equity firms interested in buying Whitestone REIT.
BP PLC: Chairman announced plans for a slimmer board; former Shell CFO Simon Henry departing; Woodside Energy's Meg O'Neill to be new CEO.
Cooper Companies Inc: Raised annual profit and revenue forecasts on strong demand for contact lenses.
Costco Wholesale Corp: Beat holiday-quarter sales and profit estimates; may cut prices if it receives tariff refunds.
Ford Motor Co: Recalling 1.74 million vehicles in U.S. for rearview camera defect.
Gap Inc: Warned on U.S. import tariffs pressure; forecast annual adjusted profit largely below Wall Street estimates.
Johnson & Johnson: Two units agreed to pay $65 million to settle Tracleer antitrust class action.
Marvell Technology Inc: Forecast fiscal 2028 revenue above Wall Street estimates on strong AI chip demand.
Medtronic PLC: MiniMed diabetes business raised $560 million in U.S. IPO.
Nike Inc: To record about $300 million in pre-tax charges related to severance costs from restructuring.
Pfizer Inc: Awarded $29 million to resolve a dispute with the SEC stemming from SAC Capital insider trading settlement.
South Bow Corp: Launched open season for Keystone XL oil pipeline revival, potentially boosting Canadian crude exports.

ANALYSIS

U.S. airlines not hedging fuel costs could hurt margins if Iran conflict lingers.

ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION

Abercrombie & Fitch Co: Barclays cuts target price to $95 from $115.
Cooper Companies Inc: JPMorgan raises target price to $80 from $78.
Costco Wholesale Corporation: Jefferies raises target price to $1130 from $1050.
Gap Inc: JPMorgan cuts target price to $33 from $36.
Paycom Software Inc: Barclays raises target price to $150 from $140.

ECONOMIC EVENTS

EXDIVIDENDS

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