Carrefour shares slump as Couche-Tard’s short pursuit ends while European stocks and U.S. futures drift

The two companies did say they will look to share best practices on fuel, pool purchasing volumes, and partner on private labels.

Suez’s SEV, +2.98% shares rose 3% to €17.41, after the waste and water management company recommending an €18 per share, or €11.3 billion, bid from private-equity investors Ardian and Global Infrastructure Partners. Rival Veolia Environnement VIE, -3.24% has nearly a third of Suez, which it is trying to buy, and said it won’t sell its Suez stake.

Broader markets traded in a narrow band with the U.S. shut in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Attention was building to the incoming Biden administration.

Treasury secretary nominee Janet Yellen will say the U.S. doesn’t back a weaker dollar, according to The Wall Street Journal, and one of President-elect Joe Biden’s first executive actions will be to end the Keystone XL oil pipeline, according to Canadian broadcaster CBC.

Down 0.8% last week, the Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -0.06% slipped 0.1%.

U.S. stock futures ES00, -0.15%, which are continuing to trade electronically, slipped 0.2%.

The euro EURUSD, -0.18% weakened by 0.1% to $1.2070.