The Market In 5 Minutes: Welcome Back

Below is a tool used by the Benzinga News Desk each trading day -- it's a look at everything happening in the market, in five minutes. Apply for daily AM access by clicking here or email minutes@benzinga.com.

Macro Focus

Asian stocks were mostly higher, led by a surge in Chinese stocks. Investors and traders brushed off a brief flash crash in China's CSI 300 index in which Chinese stock futures plunged 12.5 percent on heavy volume. However, within one minute of the flash crash the index was back in the green.

China's Shanghai index surged 3.34 percent while Japan's Nikkei index gained 0.98 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also gained 0.90 percent.

Brent crude futures were trading lower by $0.26 a barrel at $49.50, while US WTI crude oil futures were higher by $0.09 at $49.42. OPEC nations will gather on Thursday for a meeting in Vienna to discuss the organization's policy.

BZ News Desk Focus

Some of this morning's notable earnings:

Medtronic MDT Reports Q4 EPS $1.27 vs $1.26 Est; Revenue $7.6B vs $7.49B Est
AMSC AMSC Reports Q4 EPS $(0.28) vs. Est. $(0.60), Rev. $27.5M vs. Est. $20.16M
YY YY Reports Q1 EPADS $0.71; Revenue $255.787M

Other companies Wall Street analysts expect to show at least some earnings growth when they report this week include retailer Michael Kors KORS and homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises HOV.

Sell-Side Themes

A slew of firms initiated coverage on Intellia Therapeutics NTLA.

Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls

Berenberg downgraded Lockheed Martin LMT to Hold.
Bank of America downgraded Honda HMC to neutral.
UBS upgraded Deere DE to Buy.
Baird upgraded Micron MU to Outperform.
Mizuho initiated coverage on Zillow Z at Neutral.

Deal Talk

Shares of Celator Pharmaceuticals CPXX surged higher by more than 70 percent after the company agreed to be acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals JAZZ for approximately $1.5 billion, or $30.25 per share.

Great Plains Energy GXP and Westar Energy WR revealed a definitive agreement to acquire Westar in a cash and stock transaction. It has an enterprise value of about $12.2 billion, which included total equity value of about $8.6 billion. After the closure of the transaction, which is expected in Spring 2017, Westar will become a fully owned subsidiary of Great Plains Energy.

In The News

People returning from areas where the Zika virus is found should follow safe sex practices or abstain from sex for at least eight weeks rather than just four, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

Nearly 46 million people across the globe are living in modern slavery, a system of exploitation that governments and businesses must do more to end, according to the Walk Free Foundation.

U.S. Internet giants Facebook, Twitter, Google and Microsoft pledged to tackle online hate speech in less than 24 hours as part of a joint commitment with the European Union to combat the use of social media by terrorists.

Bloomberg looked into how a legendary bond trader from Salomon Brothers brokered a do-or-die deal that reshaped U.S.-Saudi relations for generations.

Blogosphere

Democratic leaders should start kissing up to Bernie Sanders, writes Paul Goldman.

A CEO’s Facebook presence can support a company’s growth and provide a channel for engaging with employees, customers and the public. Used poorly, Facebook can hurt both a CEO’s effectiveness and the company as a whole. Wall Street Journal outlined 7 mistakes every CEO needs to avoid.

Trending

CPXX ICPT CLF MDT FOLD JAZZ KORS SODA CHTR CARA NVCR MRO GS WDAY ACN MU [StockTwits]

The Golden State Warriors followed their thrilling Game 6 win in Oklahoma City on Saturday night with a victory at Oracle Arena on Monday, defeating the Thunder 96-88 to become back-to-back Western Conference champions for the first time in franchise history. The Warriors were down 3-1 in the series.