May 23rd - Wednesday - Gapping up / down

Futures indicate a higher open for the mkt as investors sift through more M&A news. AL is recommending shareholders reject AA's $27.6 bln hostile takeover bid, but hasn't ruled out the possibility of making its own bid for AA, and is reportedly in merger talks with BHP. Also, CEI agreed to be acquired by MS for $22.80/sh, while PSS said it will pay $20.50/sh for SRR. On the earnings front, MDT and TGT are both trading higher after posting better than expected earnings.

Notable pre-market Calls include Upgrades: CYPB at CIBC, MDT at Piper Jaffray, AEM, AU and RGLD at HSBC; Downgrades: AMD at Matrix, VCLK at Credit Suisse... On the Earnings calendar, 16 cos are confirmed to report after the close, though none are expected to be market-moving releases...

Gapping down on weak earnings/guidance: ADI -8.5%, DDS -3.1%, GME -1.7%... Other news: NFLD -44.5% (reports results of its pivotal Phase III trauma trial with PolyHeme), ISIL -4.2% (downgraded at Credit Suisse), LLTC -2.3% (ITC Judge Rules in favor of AATI in patent infringement case, downgraded at Credit Suisse), NWEC -1.8% I(Bloomberg.com reports that Babcock Infrastructure may appeal NorthWestern ruling).

Gapping up on strong earnings/guidance: SNDA +5.3%, MDT +4.6%... M&A: SRR +32.3% (to be acquired by PSS for $20.50 per share), CEI +4.8% (to be acquired by Morgan Stanley Real Estate for $22.80 per share), AL +3.5% (AL board recommends that shareholders reject AA offer, says co is in talks with other companies)... Other news: CYPB +104.7% (co and FRX announced positive Phase III data for milnacipran), AATI +18.0% (announces ITC ruling in favor of co in LLTC case), ZVUE +9.3% (begins offering free streaming content from Canadian Broadcasting), FRX +9.3% (announced positive Phase III data for milnacipran), MMR +7.9% (announces it will move forward aggressively at Mt. Kare), ONT +7.0% (named as a ADBE takeout tgt by FT's Mergermarket), ZOLT +3.7% (reports new expanded carbon fiber supply agreement with Vestas Wind Systems), ALU +3.5% (follow through on strength overseas on positive outlook), WFR +3.2% (to replace KMI in S&P 500), GOOG +1.5% (unveils its new service Google Hot Trends, which can track search queries; we're still checking around).