Early movers: HAL, QCOM, MRK, BX, JNJ, TMUS, UAL & more

Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

Halliburton — The oilfield services company reported adjusted quarterly profit of 4 cents per share, 2 cents a share above estimates. Rrevenue came in slightly below Street forecasts. Halliburton said it has returned to operating profit within North America, but noted that an international downward cycle is still playing out.

Qualcomm — Qualcomm responded to a Friday lawsuit by Apple over Qualcomm's licensing practices. Apple claimed that Qualcomm has demanded unfair terms for use of its technology, leveraging a monopoly position, but Qualcomm called the claims "baseless" and said that Apple has failed to acknowledge the value of Qualcomm's technology. Separately, Nomura Instinet downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "buy," saying recent rulings regarding those licensing practices are potentially more impactful than anticipated.

Merck — Merck and have resolved a patent dispute over the cancer drug Keytruda. Merck will pay $625 million to Bristol-Myers and pay royalties for non-exclusive marketing rights to the drug.

Blackstone — The private-equity firm is aiming to raise at least $5 billion for a new Asia real estate fund, according to a Reuters report, aiming to launch the fund within the next 12 to 16 months.

Johnson & Johnson — Actelion hypertension drug Opsumit missed its primary target in a late-stage study, which some say could impact J&J's efforts to buy the Swiss drugmaker.

T-Mobile US — The wireless carrier will likely be involved in a consolidation-based transaction in the next five years, according to a new JP Morgan report. The report put the chances of a T-Mobile transaction at 90 percent, and said the entire telecom sector could be on the verge of a major consolidation because of a more deal-friendly administration in the White House.

United Continental — United resumed flights after ground stop of several hours due to a computer issue. The airline operator warned of possible continued delays, however, as it works through the problem.

Yahoo — Yahoo is the target of a Securities and Exchange Commission probe over the 2013 and 2014 cyberattacks that the company revealed over the past few months. The investigation centers on whether the company did not move quickly enough in informing investors.

Volkswagen — Volkswagen has been added to the "Conviction Buy" list at Goldman Sachs, saying a recently announced settlement with U.S. regulators over its diesel emissions issue should allow a refocus on the automaker's fundamentals.

Verizon — The telecom giant was downgraded to "market perform" from "outperform" at Wells Fargo, which said a recent outperformance by the stock is not sustainable and that consensus 2017 revenue estimates are too high.

Hilton Worldwide — Hilton launched a new upscale hotel brand called "Tapestry Collection by Hilton," as well as making upbeat comments about its financial outlook for 2017. It also said it expects to add 25,000 new jobs this year.

Alphabet — Barron's published an upbeat article on the Google parent, saying it would benefit from accelerating growth in digital ad spending.

GameStop — A Barron's article was positive on the video game retailer's stop, saying GameStop's move into the mobile and wireless market would offset the decline in video game sales.

Kate Spade — The apparel maker is drawing takeover interest from both and , according to a Bloomberg report.