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FUTURES POINT TO HIGHER OPEN FOR S&P 500, NASDAQ

S&P 500 EScv1 and Nasdaq NQcv1 futures were pointing to a modestly higher open to kick off the trading week while Dow futures were little changed, as each comes off a third straight weekly gain.

Kimberly-Clark KMB.O tumbled nearly 15% in premarket after the Kleenex maker said it will buy Kenvue KVUE.N, which rallied 18% before the opening bell, for more than $40 billion. It is a landmark deal for the consumer sector, as the Tylenol maker grapples with White House scrutiny and choppy demand.

Microsoft MSFT.O shares edged lower after it struck a $9.7 billion deal with data-center operator IREN that includes access to Nvidia's advanced chips. The deal aims to ease the computing crunch that has kept the tech giant from fully cashing in on the artificial intelligence boom.

Earnings season continues to roll along, with results expected this week from names such as Archer-Daniels-Midland ADM.N, Pfizer PFE.N, Stanley Black & Decker SWK.N, Uber UBER.N. McDonald's MCD.N, Robinhood HOOD.O and Advanced Micro Devices AMD.O.

Of the 315 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings through Friday, 83.2% have topped estimates, well above the long-term average of 67.2% and 76.5% over the prior four quarters, per LSEG data. Earnings growth year-over-year is currently tracking at 13.8%.

(Chuck Mikolajczak)

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EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:

THE CONTRADICTION OF RETAIL INVESTORS AND PRIVATE CREDIT - BOFA CLICK HERE

EARNINGS SEASON HALFWAY SCORE: US LEAVES EUROPE FAR BEHIND CLICK HERE

AUTOS BOUNCE BACK, DAX OUTPERFORMS CLICK HERE

BEFORE THE BELL: EUROPE STARTS NOVEMBER STEADY CLICK HERE

PRIVATE JOBS IN SPOTLIGHT AMID DATA BLACKOUT CLICK HERE