(Updated with index futures, recommendation change on American Express and Constellation Brands, Southwest Airlines forecourt price)
PARIS, January 6 (Reuters) –
Top stocks to watch Friday on Wall Street, where futures on major indices suggest an open higher by
0.16% for the Dow Jones and
0.03% for the Standard & Poor’s 500, while the Nasdaq is expected to fall 0.21%
* TESLA on Friday slashed the selling price of its cars in China for the second time in less than three months due to increased competition in a struggling Chinese car market. The US automaker’s prices are now 24% below their September level, according to Reuters calculations. The action fell 5.4% to 10.37 dollars before the market.
* SOUTHWEST AIRLINES pledged on Thursday to launch a thorough review into its operations after the airline canceled thousands of flights last month. The incident could result in a shortfall of up to a billion dollars according to a union representative, while the intermediary Raymond James estimates that it could cut by more than half the growth in expected revenues in the fourth quarter. The action fell 1% before the market.
* PFIZER announced on Thursday that it is examining the possibility of focusing on “high impact” drugs and vaccines, particularly targeting early-stage treatments for rare diseases and cancer.
* MODERNA on Thursday announced a $35 million licensing agreement with cancer specialist CYTOMX THERAPEUTICS to develop messenger RNA-based treatments for a wide range of diseases.
* BED BATH & BEYOND is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection in the coming weeks, we learned from sources familiar with the matter. The action fell 11.2% before the market.
* BOEING, NORTHROP GRUMMAN, L3HARRIS, RAYTHEON – Bernstein announced on Friday that he anticipates a “strong” year 2023 for companies in the aerospace and defense sector around the world due in particular to the reopening of the Chinese economy.
* AMERICAN EXPRESS – Stephens lowers its recommendation to “underweight” versus “online weight”.
* CONSTELLATION BRANDS – Cowen & Company lowers its recommendation to “performance in line with the market” against “outperformance”. (Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault and Kate Entringer)