BofA/Merrill analyst Andrew Didora reinstated coverage of Carnival (CCL) with a Buy rating and $78 price target. The analyst notes that his BAC aggregated credit and debit card data show strong underlying cruise spending growth, early commentary on 2019 bookings is positive, and crude prices have moderated of late. Additionally, Didora highlights that Carnival shares are at the lowest valuation premium to Royal Caribbean (RCL) in over 3 years.

Notable companies reporting before tomorrow's open, with earnings consensus, include Merck (MRK), consensus $1.87... Caterpillar (CAT), consensus $5.14... Comcast (CMSCA), consensus 99c... Honeywell (HON), consensus $2.17... Bristol-Myers (BMY), consensus ($4.44)... Altria (MO), consensus $1.15... Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP), consensus 35c... GE Vernova (GEV), consensus (37c)... Royal Caribbean (RCL), consensus $1.33... Tractor Supply (TSCO), consensus $1.72... Mobileye (MBLY), consensus (6c)... Textron (TXT), consensus $1.23... LabCorp (LH), consensus $3.48... Southwest Airlines (LUV), consensus (34c)... American Airlines (AAL), consensus (29c)... Harley-Davidson (HOG), consensus $1.51.