MARKET PULSE-Herbalife, Citigroup, BlackRock, CBS

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Some U.S. stocks to watch on Thursday:

(For more market insights, including options activity, click on

; for The Day Ahead newsletter http://link.reuters.com/mex49s;for

The Day Ahead newsletter http://r.reuters.com/tes35t)

WALL STREET SET TO GAIN ON EBAY RESULTS, ROSY DATA

Wall Street was set to open higher after

better-than-expected results from online marketplace eBay, and

as data showed first-time claims for unemployment benefits

dropped to a five-year low. S&P 500 futures were up 0.52

percent, Dow Jones industrial average futures up 0.45

percent, and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.5 percent.

** NASDAQ OMX GROUP Wednesday close $26.85

Nasdaq OMX Group said it is combining its software and

technology units as the exchange operator looks to sell more

services to the companies that list on its exchanges and draw

more revenue from its corporate customers.

** CITIGROUP INC, Wednesday close $42.48, down 2.29

pct premarket

The bank posted $2.32 billion of charges for layoffs and

lawsuits in its first financial report under its new chief

executive, Michael Corbat, who cautioned that the company needs

more time to deal with the problems it faces.

** HERBALIFE LTD, Wednesday close $45.06, down 2.91

pct premarket

The weight loss products company reported preliminary

fourth-quarter earnings above analysts' estimates and said it

expects to restart its share buyback program after being hounded

by activist hedge fund manager William Ackman.

** BANK OF AMERICA CORP, Wednesday close $11.78

The second largest U.S. bank's fourth-quarter profit dropped

after it took some $5 billion of mortgage-related charges, but

the bank showed signs that it was moving past its problems as it

shrank the group that deals with its troubled home loans.

** STRYKER CORP, Wednesday close $59.43

The medical device maker said it will buy Hong Kong-based

Trauson Holdings Co Ltd for $764 million in cash to

expand in China, one of the fastest-growing markets for

orthopaedic products.

** BB&T CORP, Wednesday close $30.31

The regional bank's fourth-quarter profit beat analysts'

estimates by a small margin, as higher demand for refinancing

drove its mortgage banking revenue.

** BLACKROCK INC, Wednesday close $222.24

The world's largest money manager, said its fourth-quarter

profit rose 24 percent, bolstered by increased investor

confidence in global stock markets.

** AVEO PHARMACEUTICALS INC, Wednesday close $8.12,

down 3.2 pct premarket

The drugmaker said it started a public offering of its

common stock in which all of the shares will be sold by the

company. Aveo did not disclose the size or terms of the

offering.

** PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP INC, Wednesday close

$59.78

The bank's fourth-quarter profit rose 46 percent, boosted by

the sale of a portion of its stake in card network Visa Inc

.

** FIFTH THIRD BANCORP, Wednesday close $15.55

The U.S. regional bank posted a higher quarterly profit on

gains from its share sale in payment processor Vantiv Inc

and said it would set aside less money to cover soured

loans in the first quarter.

** UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC, Wednesday close $53.66

The largest U.S. health insurer said that it kept

fourth-quarter 2012 costs under control and increased revenue by

more 11 percent, helping earnings per share rise.

** COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR CO, Wednesday close $52.16,

down 9 pct after market

The company, which designs and markets sportswear under

brands such as Mountain Hardwear, Sorel, Montrail and Pacific

Trail, said fourth-quarter sales were likely to be below its

previous expectations due to low retail traffic and a mild

winter in North America.

** CBS CORP, Wednesday close $37.94, up 9.52 pct

premarket

The media conglomerate is planning to convert part of its

billboard division into a real estate investment trust (REIT),

the company said on Wednesday.

** COUNTRY STYLE COOKING RESTAURANT CHAIN CO,

Wednesday close $8.10, down 6 pct after market

The company expects fourth-quarter revenue to fall slighly

below the bottom range of its previous revenue forecast of $47.4

million. The restaurant chain, based in China, said the lowered

outlook is the result of slower-than-expected store openings.

Country Style Cooking Restaurant said it expects positive

net income for the fourth quarter although it had to contend

with a seasonally slow period, higher raw material costs and

increases in other operating expenses.

** EBAY INC, Wednesday close $52.90, up 3.50 pct

premarket

The e-commerce company reported holiday quarter results that

beat Wall Street expectations as it benefited from a boom in

mobile shoppers, but it gave a 2013 forecast in line with

analyst estimates, restraining share price gains.

** CISCO SYSTEMS INC, Wednesday close $21.03, down

1.5 pct premarket

JP Morgan downgraded the information technology company to

"underweight" from "neutral", according to theflyonthewall.com.

** BOEING CO, Wednesday close $74.34, down 2.04 pct

premarket

Airlines scrambled on Thursday to rearrange flights as

Europe, Japan and India joined the United States in grounding

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner passenger jets while battery-related

problems are investigated.

** GENERAL MOTORS CO, Wednesday close $29.31

The U.S. automaker will invest $1.5 billion in its North

American plants this year, a senior executive said on Wednesday.

North American chief Mark Reuss did not provide details of the

plan in an advance copy of a speech given to Reuters, but it is

a continuation of the company's investment in its home market

since its 2009 bankruptcy and $50 billion U.S. taxpayer-funded

bailout.

** NU SKIN ENTERPRISES INC, Wednesday close $42.5,

up 5 pct premarket

The company forecast fourth-quarter results above analyst

estimates, boosted by higher demand for its anti-aging products.

** DOW CHEMICAL CO, Wednesday close $33.66

The company is preparing to defend itself at trial against

allegations it took part in a conspiracy to fix prices of

chemicals used to make a wide range of foam products found in

cars, furniture and packaging.

** SALLIE MAE, Wednesday close $17.30

The largest U.S. student lender, reported a lower quarterly

profit as it set aside more money to cover soured loans and

forecast 2013 core earnings below analysts' estimates.

** NEWS CORP, Wednesday close $26.99

** VIACOM INC, Wednesday close $57.17

** COMCAST CORP, Wednesday close $39.18

Four Hollywood studios were named on Wednesday in lawsuits

brought by two directors and a representative for late actor

Charles Bronson claiming what could be up to hundreds of

millions of dollars in back royalties on films distributed to

the home video market.

News Corp's 20th Century Fox, Viacom's Paramount Pictures,

Comcast's Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures were

sued in Los Angeles Superior Court.

** CARLYLE GROUP, Wednesday close $27.91

EIG Global Energy Partners LLC has agreed to drop its

opposition of the sale of its former parent, asset manager TCW

Group Inc, to the private equity firm, marking the end of a

four-month legal battle.

** PLEXUS CORP, Wednesday close $25.08, up 4 pct

after market

The contract electronics manufacturer reported

lower-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday, but forecast

second-quarter revenue to rise sequentially despite losing

biggest customer Juniper Networks Inc.

** GOLDMAN SACHS, Wednesday close $141.09

Top executives at Goldman have been considering deep cuts to

staffing levels and pay for at least two years, but feared too

many layoffs would leave the firm unprepared for an eventual

pickup in business, people familiar with the bank said.

** DELL INC, Wednesday close $12.61

Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd

is not interested in investing in Dell as part of a consortium

led by private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, a source with

knowledge of the matter said.

Earlier in the day Bloomberg reported that private equity

group Silver Lake Partners is close to arranging about $15

billion in financing for a buyout of Dell.

** APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT, Wednesday close $19.83

Mexico's Grupo Bimbo and a partnership between

Apollo Global Management and veteran food executive C. Dean

Metropoulos are among the leading candidates to buy Hostess

Brands Inc's snack cake brands, according to three people

familiar with the matter.

** K-SWISS INC, Wednesday close $3.19

U.S. footwear maker K-Swiss said it has agreed to be

acquired by South Korean retailer E-Land World Ltd for $4.75 per

share in cash in a deal valued at about $170 million.

** MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL, Wednesday close $27.82

** KELLOGG CO, Wednesday close $53.03

Kraft Foods Global Brands LLC, a subsidiary of Mondelez,

sued Kellogg's North American unit on Wednesday claiming the

food maker improperly uses one of its patents to keep Keebler

and Sandies cookies fresh.

** AMERICAN EXPRESS CO Wednesday close $60.62

The credit card company reports fourth-quarter results after

market close on Thursday.

** CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP Wednesday close $61.75

The lender reports fourth-quarter results after market close

on Thursday.

** XILINX INC Wednesday close $36.20

The programmable chipmaker reports third-quarter results

after market close on Thursday.

** INTEL CORP Wednesday close $22.11

The chipmaker reports quarterly earnings after market close

on Thursday.

(Compiled by Arpita Mukherjee in Bangalore)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/market-pulse-herbalife-citigroup-blackrock-cbs-142735844--sector.html

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