Schaeffer's Today's Market Features: Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Charles Schwab, Lowe's Companies, Equity Office Properties, and Microsoft.

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the November 20 edition of Schaeffer's Today's Market are Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX), Charles Schwab (NASDAQ:SCHW), Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW), Equity Office Properties (NYSE:EOP), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). Schaeffer's Today's Market is just one of the many free market commentaries written every day at www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. Today's Market is written throughout every trading day by Schaeffer's financial analysts and traders. The entries are quick updates on the day's most notable market activity and news.

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9:30 AM M&A News Dominates

Inflation concerns have taken grip of the Street, and have futures pointed lower this morning. It's Monday, so it must mean that there are a few merger & acquisition stories out there, which is the case. Metals giant Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX) announced that it has agreed to purchase Phelps Dodge (PD) in an offer valued at $126.46 per share. The agreed deal will create the world's largest copper miner. In pre-open trading, PD leapt some 26 percent.

Elsewhere in the merger world, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Bank of America (BAC) has agreed to buy Charles Schwab's (NASDAQ:SCHW) U.S. Trust private-banking arm of $3.3 billion. The reported deal would usher BAC into the top tier of private banks according to the report. Furthermore, the purchase could help BAC advance past Citigroup (C) in terms of market capitalization.

The M&A news doesn't stop with the aforementioned deals, let's take a quick look at some other news. Blackstone agreed to buy Equity Office (EOP) for $20 billion, or $48.50 per share. This price represents and 8.5-percent premium to EOP's Friday close. Russia's Evraz announced that it agreed to buy Oregon Steel Mills (OS) for $2.3 billion, or $63.25 per share in cash. Norilsk Nickel (NILSY) agreed to buy the nickel assets of OM Group for $408 million. Check Point Software (CHKP) agreed to buy Sweden's Protect Data for $586 million. Finally, Akamai Technologies (AKAM) announced that it will buy Nine Systems for $160 million, mostly in stock.

With the Thanksgiving holiday looming large at the end of the week, the economic calendar is rather sparse during the next few days. Monday's sole report is October's leading economic indicators. On Tuesday, the cupboard is bare, while Wednesday brings the final releases of the week with initial jobless claims, weekly crude inventories, and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment revision.

11:01 AM Leading Economic Indicators Rise

The market averages are mixed in mid-morning activity amid a slew of merger-and-acquisition activity, which Mark summed up earlier today.

In the lone economic report of the session, the Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators edged 0.2 percent higher in October, slightly below economists' consensus estimate for a 0.3-percent rise. September's reading was revised higher to reflect a 0.4-percent gain. Last month, the coincident index edged 0.1 percent higher while the lagging index rose 0.2 percent. As a quick refresher, leading indicators tend to change before the economy responds. Coincident indicators shift at about the same time as the overall economy, while lagging indicators change after the economy does.

Elsewhere, in earnings news, Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW) said third-quarter earnings rose to $716 million, or 46 cents per share, from $646 million in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 5.8 percent to $11.21 billion, as same-store sales dropped four percent. Analysts were expecting per-share earnings of 43 cents on $11.49 billion in revenue. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, LOW expects to bank between 36 and 38 cents per share, below the consensus forecast of 41 cents per share. Same-store sales are expected to decline four to six percent during the current reporting period. LOW is shaking off this guidance, rising half a percent in today's trading.

2:10 PM A Look at Equity Office Properties

This morning, I took a look at the myriad merger & acquisition (M&A) news hitting the Street. I noted that Equity Office Properties Trust (NYSE:EOP) had agreed to be acquired by Blackstone Group. EOP is the nation's largest public owner and manager of office properties, and today's deal is the largest ever for real estate investment trusts (REIT). EOP is just the latest REIT to be taken private by Blackstone. In June, Trizec Properties agreed to an $8.9 billion buyout by a group led by Blackstone and Brookfield Properties (BPO), while CarrAmerica Realty (CRE) reached a deal in March to be acquired by Blackstone's real-estate unit. Blackstone is paying $48.50 for each EOP share, which represents an 8.5-percent premium to the company's Friday close of $44.72. EOP is more than 7.5 percent in today's trading.

As we turn into the final two hours of the trading day, the major market indices are flat to slightly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is 0.04 percent lower. Currently, 17 of the 30 Dow components are in negative territory, led lower by Boeing (BA) and Merck (MRK) . The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) is 0.38 percent higher and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) has inched 0.9 percent higher.

3:32 PM Dow Poised for First Loss in Six Sessions

After spending most of the session treading water around the break-even mark, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has plunged into the red as we head into the close of the session. Should this trend hold its course into the close, the Dow would end a six-session string of positive finishes. However, the blue-chip barometer appears to be holding support at the 12,300 level, which it has not closed a day below since November 15.

Elsewhere on the Street, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) was last down about one point, while the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) was desperately clinging to a two-point gain on the session. On the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange 17 to 15, while rising issues outnumbered falling stocks by four to three on the Nasdaq.

Checking in on commodities, platinum was the talk of the town today, as the front-month contract gained $42.20, or 3.5 percent, to close at its highest level in more than two months. Concerns over a possible crimp on supplies drove today's buying spree. Riding the back of this gain, gold futures dropped 40 cents to finish at $622.10 an ounce, extending last week's loss of more than two percent.

In the world of crude oil, the January contract dropped 17 cents to finish at $58.80 per barrel in its first session of trading as the front-month contract. Turmoil in global news left crude in a bit of a lurch today, as a siege at an oil facility in Nigeria ended and doubts once again came to the for front that OPEC would take additional steps to lower production.

In equity news, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) received an upgrade from Credit Suisse to "outperform" from "neutral," while the brokerage also lifted its target to $35 from $29 per share. While MSFT was last seen trading higher by nearly two percent, the shares have yet been unable to clear the round-number 30 level. For more information on MSFT and its continuing battle with this region, check out today's S+ article Is Microsoft Poised for a Reversal? www.schaeffersresearch.com/plus/bgscommentary.aspx?click=home&id=17763

For more information on these stocks or any stock in your portfolio, feel free to visit our Schaeffer's Equity Scorecard feature. Click here to read all of the Today's Market entries: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB13C&PAGE=1

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Schaeffer's Investment Research, founded by Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, is a financial information and trading resources company. It publishes Bernie Schaeffer's Option Advisor, the nation's leading options subscription newsletter. The firm's contrarian approach focuses on stocks with technical and fundamental trends that run counter to investor expectations. The firm's website, http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com , is recognized as one of the leading information sources for stock and options traders and was cited as the top options website by both Forbes and Barron's. Click here for more details about Schaeffer's trading methodology: http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com/method .