Stocks set to open higher
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wednesday as investors kept their focus on corporate earnings.
By 4:25 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures were up 14 points or 0.05% to 27,435. The S&P 500 futures advanced 1.12 points, or 0.04% to 3,073.12 while the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 8.75 points, or 0.11% to 8,219.50.
Health insurer Humana (NYSE: HUM), Papa John’s (NASDAQ: PZZA) and CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) will release their latest quarterly results before the opening bell.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), Fitbit (NYSE: FIT), Expedia Group (NASDAQ: EXPE), Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU), Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU), and Square (NYSE: SQ) are due to report after the close.
Xerox reportedly eyeing acquisition of HP
Xerox Holdings Corp. (NYSE: XRX) is considering a bid to acquire personal computers giant HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ), according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Sources familiar with the matter told the Journal that copier maker Xerox is considering making a cash-and-stock bid for HP.
The sources said that Xerox has an informal funding commitment from a major bank to acquire HP. According to the sources, the deal could end up saving more than $2 billion in costs for the combined company.
Xerox and HP are valued at $8 billion and $27 billion, respectively. Shares of HP surged 9.78% in premarket trading Wednesday.
Walgreens said to be considering going private
Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA), one of biggest American drugstore chains, has reportedly held preliminary talks with top private equity firms about a $70 billion take-private deal.
According to Reuters, the company has hired Evercore Partners (NYSE: EVR) to explore the possibility of the deal. KKR & Co (NYSE: KKR) is also looking at the deal, according to a report by Bloomberg that cites people familiar with the matter.
Walgreens, valued at more than $55 billion, has been working to bring down costs after posting a decline in operating income last year. Shares of the company traded 1.62% higher to $62.20 before the opening bell Wednesday.
