US : Pre Market News – 18 Aug 2016

Sep E-mini S&Ps (ESU16 -0.07%) are little changed, down -0.02%, as a 3% gain in Wal-Mart offsets a 2% loss in Cisco in premarket trading. European stocks are up +0.24% after minutes of last month’s FOMC meeting dampened prospects for a Fed rate increase. Energy producers and raw-material stocks are higher as the reduced rate-hike prospects undercut the dollar index which fell to a 1-3/4 month low and boosted metals and crude oil prices, with Sep crude (CLU16 +0.62%) up +0.28% at a 5-week high. Technology stocks were lower as Cisco Systems fell nearly 2% in pre-market trading after it said it will cut its global workforce by 7%. Asian stocks settled mixed: Japan -1,55%, Hong Kong +0.98%, China -0.17%, Taiwan +0.05%, Australia -0.49%, Singapore -0.22%, South Korea +0.81%, India +0.42%. China’s Shanghai Composite closed lower as property stocks fell after China Jul new home prices rose at a slower pace than the previous month and Japan’s Nikkei Stock Index fell to a 1-week low on economic concerns after Japan July exports and imports both posted their biggest declines in 6-3/4 years.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.40%) is down -0.31% at a 1-3/4 month low. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.30% at a1-3/4 month high. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.02%.

Sep T-note prices (ZNU16 +0.08%) are up +2.5 ticks.

China Jul new home prices gained in 51 cities out of the 70 tracked by the government, down from 55 that rose in Jun. New home prices dropped in 16 cities in Jul, up from 10 that fell in Jun.

The Japan Jul trade balance was in surplus by +513.5 billion yen, a wider surplus than expectations of +273.2 billion yen. Jul exports fell -14.0% y/y, weaker than expectations of -13.7% y/y and the biggest decline in 6-3/4 years. Jul imports slumped -24.7% y/y, weaker than expectations of -20.0% y/y and also the biggest drop in 6-3/4 years.

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) Weekly initial unemployment claims (expected -1,000 to 265,000, previous -1,000 to 266,000), weekly continuing claims (expected -14,000 to 2.141 million, previous +14,000 to 2.155 million), (2) Aug Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey (expected +4.9 to 2.0, Jul -7.6 to -2.9), (3) USDA weekly Export Sales, (4) Jul leading indicators (expected +0.3%, Jun +0.3%), (5) New York Fed President William Dudley (voter) gives remarks and takes questions on the regional economy at a press briefing in New York, (6) Treasury auctions $ 14 billion of 5-year TIPS, (7) San Francisco Fed President John Williams (non-voter) speaks on the economic outlook at the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation Luncheon, (8) Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan (non-voter) speaks in a moderated Q&A at the Dallas Fed during a joint meeting of the Dallas and Fort Worth chapters of the Association for Financial Professionals..

S&P 500 companies that report earnings today: Hormel Foods (consensus $ 0.35), Wal-Mart expected $ 1.02, Applied Materials expected 48 cents, Ross Stores expected 67 cents, The Gap expected 59 cents.

U.S. IPO’s scheduled to price today: none.

Equity conferences this week: Barclays Kohler Utility Mini-Conference on Thu.

Wal-Mart (WMT +0.05%) climbed over 3% in pre-market trading after it reported Q2 adjusted EPS of $ 1.07, better than consensus of $ 1.02, and then raised guidance on fiscal 2017 adjusted EPS to $ 4.15-$ 4.35 from a Feb view of $ 4.00-$ 4.30.

Phillips 66 (PSX -0.35%) was rated anew ‘Buy’ at Stifel with a price target of $ 59.

Twitter (TWTR -1.13%) dropped 3% in pre-market trading after it was downgraded to ‘Sell’ from ‘Hold’ at Evercore ISI.

NetApp (NTAP -0.35%) jumped over 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 46 cents, well above consensus of 36 cents.

Cisco Systems (CSCO -1.29%) lost nearly 2% in pre-market trading after it said it sees Q1 adjusted ES of 58 cents-60 cents, below consensus of 60 cents, and then said it will cut as many as 5,500 jobs of 7% of its global workforce, citing a “challenging macro environment.”

Synopsys (SNPS +0.05%) gained 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 76 cents, higher than consensus of 74 cents, and then raised its fiscal 2016 adjusted EPS view to $ 3.00-$ 3.03 from a May 18 estimate of $ 2.95-$ 3.00.

L Brands (LB -0.20%) climbed over 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 adjusted EPS of 70 cents, well above consensus of 6 cents, and then raised guidance on full-year adjusted EPS to $ 3.70-$ 3.85 from a May 18 view of $ 3.60-$ 3.80.

Agilent Technologies (A +0.31%) dropped 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 revenue of $ 1,04 billion, less than consensus of $ 1.05 billion, and said it sees Q4 adjusted EPS of 50 cents-52 cents, weaker than consensus of 64 cents.

Briggs & Stratton (BGG -1.53%) slumped nearly 15% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 46 cents, below consensus of 54 cents.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (ARWR +2.76%) was rated a new ‘Buy’ at Cantor Fitzgerald with a 12-month target price of $ 15.

SpartanNash (SPTN -1.82%) reported Q2 adjusted EPS continuing operations of 58 cents, better than con-sensus of 57 cents.

YY Inc. (YY +1.03%) rose over 2% in after-hours trading after it said Q2 earnings/ADS were 90 cents, up +17.1% y/y.

Keysight Technologies (KEYS +0.27%) tumbled nearly 9% in after-hours trading after it said it sees Q4 ad-justed revenue of $ 715 million-$ 755 million, below consensus of $ 756.4 million.

Accuray (ARAY +4.93%) sank over 10% in after-hours trading after it said it sees full-year revenue of $ 410 million-$ 420 million, below consensus of $ 431.9 million.

Sep E-mini S&Ps (ESU16 -0.07%) this morning are down -0.50 of a point (-0.02%). Wednesday’s closes: S&P 500 +0.19%, Dow Jones +0.12%, Nasdaq +0.17%. The S&P 500 on Wednesday recovered from a 1-1/2 week low and closed higher after the Jul 26-27 FOMC meeting minutes signaled the Fed was in no hurry to raise interest as policy makers said they needed more data before they decide on whether to raise rates. Another bullish factor was the comments from St. Louis Fed President Bullard (voter) who said that he sees only one 25 bp rate hike through 2018 as the U.S. economy remains in a low-growth, low-inflation environment. Stocks had opened lower and the S&P 500 had posted a 1-1/2 week low due to losses in the retail sector as Target and Lowes’s both sold-off more than 5% after they reported disappointing quarterly earnings results.

Sep 10-year T-notes (ZNU16 +0.08%) this morning are up +2.5 ticks. Wednesday’s closes: TYU6 +3.50, FVU6 +1.25. Sep T-notes on Wednesday recovered from a 1-week low and closed higher after the Jul 26-27 FOMC meeting minutes stated that Fed officials were undecided on whether to raise interest rates, and on comments from St. Louis Fed President Bullard who said he sees only one 25 bp rate hike through 2018.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.40%) this morning is down -0.291 (-0.31%) at a 1-3/4 month low. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.0034 (+0.30%) at a 1-3/4 month high. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.02 (+0.02%). Wednesday’s closes: Dollar index -0.073 (-0.08%), EUR/USD +0.0010 (+0.09%), USD/JPY -0.03 (-0.03%). The dollar index on Wednesday closed lower after the Jul 26-27 FOMC meeting minutes showed that Fed officials were divided on whether to raise interest rates, and after St. Louis Fed President Bullard said the U.S. economy was likely to remain in a low-growth, low-inflation state for the “foreseeable future,” which makes higher interest rates inappropriate.

Sep WTI crude oil (CLU16 +0.62%) this morning is up +13 cents (+0.38%) at a 5-week high and Sep gasoline (RBU16 -0.20%) is down -0.0030 (-0.21%). Wednesday’s closes: CLU6 +0.36 (+0.77%), RBU6 +0.0293 (+2.06%). Sep crude and gasoline on Wednesday closed higher with Sep crude at a 1-month high and Sep gasoline at a 1-1/4 month high after EIA crude inventories fell -2.508 million bbl (vs expectations of -900,000 bbl), and after EIA gasoline stockpiles fell -2.724 million bbl (vs expectations of -1.8 million bbl). A bearish factor for crude was the +1.8% increase in U.S. crude production to 8.597 million bpd in the week ended Aug 12.