Morning Preview: December 22, 2023

Early Look

Friday, December 22, 2023

Futures

Up/Down

%

Last

Dow

-105.00

0.28%

37,650

S&P 500

-3.25

0.06%

4,793

Nasdaq

-25.50

0.15%

16,930

 

 

US futures are down slightly after the Dow and Nasdaq rebounded sharply on Thursday, rising for the 10th time in 11 days and erasing most of Wednesday’s late day losses as market participants continue to take advantage of any stock market pullback as a buying opportunity. Investors now await a fresh reading of the Fed’s preferred inflation measure due out Friday morning. The dollar index (DXY) extends losses, down -0.25% around 101.50 as the euro pops above the 1.10 level for the first time since August ahead of key PCE data. At 8:30 AM ET, Wall Street gets the November PCE and Core PCE data, key inflation readings, as well as personal income and spending in a busy day of data (estimates below). Consumer retailers may be pressured after Dow component Nike (NKE) reported slightly better/in-line quarterly results overnight but cut its annual revenue forecast and laid out a $2 billion cost-saving plan, signaling a strategy shift in favor of growing profit over sales as consumer spending remained weak. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index rose 28 points to 33,169, the Shanghai Index dipped -3 points to 2,914, and the Hang Seng Index fell -280 points to 16,340. In Europe, the German DAX is down about -7 points to 16,679, while the FTSE 100 is up about 8 points above 7,700.

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

  • The S&P 500 Index climbed 48.40 points, or 1.03%, to 4,746.75.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 322.35 points, or 0.87%, to 37,404.35.
  • The Nasdaq Composite jumped 185.92 points, or 1.26%, to 14,963.87.
  • The Russell 2000 Index advanced 34.23 points, or 1.73% to 2,017.06.

Economic Calendar for Today

  • 8:30 AM ET                  Personal Income M/M for November…est. +0.4%
  • 8:30 AM ET                  Personal Spending M/M for November…est.
  • 8:30 AM ET                  PCE Prices Index M/M for November…est. 0.0%
  • 8:30 AM ET                  PCE Prices Index Y/Y for November…est. +2.8%
  • 8:30 AM ET                  Core PCE Prices Index M/M for November…est. +0.2%
  • 8:30 AM ET                  Core PCE Prices Index Y/Y for November…est. +3.3%
  • 8:30 AM ET                  Durable Goods Orders for November…est. +2.2%
  • 8:30 AM ET                  Durable Goods Ex Transports for November…est. +0.1%
  • 10:00 AM ET                University of Michigan Sentiment, Dec-F…est. 69.4
  • 10:00 AM ET                University of Michigan Inflation Expectations (1 and 5-yr)
  • 10:00 AM ET                New Home Sales M/M for November…est. 685K

 

 

Macro

Up/Down

Last

Nymex

0.65

74.55

Brent

0.63

80.02

Gold

22.50

2,073.80

EUR/USD

0.0017

1.1028

JPY/USD

-0.14

141.98

10-Year Note

-0.034

3.86%

 

World News

  • Economists see the Federal Reserve holding off on interest-rate cuts until mid-2024, contrary to market expectations the easing cycle will begin sooner. Bloomberg’s monthly survey shows the median expectation is for the US central bank to reduce the benchmark rate by 25 basis points at the June 2024 policy meeting, followed by three more cuts in the second half of 2024.
  • UK Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. It had previously been estimated that the economy was unchanged from the previous three months. Similarly, second-quarter GDP was now estimated to have been flat, a cut from a previous estimate of 0.2% growth.

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

  • Nike Inc. (NKE) Q2 EPS $1.03 vs. est. $0.85; Q2 sales rose +0.5% y/y to $13.39B vs. est. $13.46B; Q2 Gross margin 44.6% vs. 42.9% y/y and vs. est. 44%; said look ahead to a softer 2H revenue outlook; said announcing an enterprise initiative to accelerate future growth while building a faster, more efficient Nike – said identifying opportunities to deliver up to $2b in cumulative cost savings over the next three years; Q2 Inventories down 14% YoY.
  • Limoneira (LMNR) Q4 adj EPS loss (-$0.15) vs. est. loss (-$0.15); Q4 revs $41.4M vs. est. $37.82M; said executing exploration of strategic alternatives intended to maximize stockholder value; full year brokered lemons and other lemon sales grew 24% to $30.3 million compared to prior year.
  • Beyond (BYON) said its repurchase program has been extended by two years and expanded by $50M.

Energy, Industrials and Materials

  • AAR Corp. (AIR) Q2 adj EPS $0.81 vs. est. $0.80; Q2 sales rose 16% y/y to $545.4M vs. est. $557M; Gross profit margins were 19.0% in the current quarter, compared to 18.3% y/y; Operating margins were 7.0% in the current quarter, compared to 6.9% y/y.
  • Berkshire Hathaway (BRK)A bought more Occidental Petroleum (OXY) stock in recent days, purchasing 5.2M shares and bringing its total ownership to 243.7M shares, for a 27.7% stake, according to a form 4 filing with the SEC.
  • Rocket Lab (RKLB) said it won a $515 million US government contract, sending shares higher.

Financials

  • US threatens sanctions on banks that help fund Russia’s war machine. The Biden administration will blacklist foreign financial institutions that support Russia’s military industrial complex as part of Washington’s efforts to starve Moscow’s war machine http://tinyurl.com/3wnrmk2h .

Healthcare

  • Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) reached a deal to buy neuroscience-drug developer Karuna Therapeutics (KRTX) for $14 billion. Under the terms, Bristol would pay $330 a share in cash for Karuna and its experimental schizophrenia drug now up for U.S. government approval. Bristol expects the deal will close in the first half of next year. http://tinyurl.com/3sduf2as .
  • Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ) announced top-line results from the Phase 2 trial evaluating JZP150, an investigational small molecule selective fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor, on efficacy and safety in adults with post-traumatic stress disorder. The trial did not meet the primary endpoint.

Technology, Media & Telecom

  • Tencent Holdings (TCEHY), Bilibili (BILI), NetEase (NTES) shares slumped overnight as Chinese regulators announced a wide range of rules aimed at curbing spending and rewards that encourage video games, dealing a blow to the world’s biggest games market, which returned to growth this year. The National Press and Publication Administrations published the new draft rules. Online games will now be banned from giving players rewards if they log in every day.
  • Meta Platforms (META) will begin rolling out encryption for Facebook direct messages this month, a move that members of its safety staff have long warned would end in disaster – WSJ http://tinyurl.com/4kctsf7y .
  • Ansys (ANSS) is working with advisers to weigh its options, including a sale, after receiving takeover interest, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg http://tinyurl.com/2pewjjd4 .
  • Apple (AAPL) won’t offer hardware swaps for out-of-warranty Watch models going back to Series 6 in the U.S. during the ITC’s ban but will offer help via software. Bloomberg

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Market commentary provided by Hammerstone Markets, Inc, a firm separate from and not affiliated with Regal Securities. Regal Securities has not participated in the creation of the content, and does not explicitly or implicitly endorse the content.