Early Look

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Stock futures are looking higher, as the Nasdaq Composite looks to extend its record-breaking streak following large cap tech outperformance yesterday (all-time highs for AMZN, GOOGL), aided by plunging Treasury yields as the fear of inflation has subsided greatly the last few weeks. The yield on the benchmark 10-year falls another 2 bps, hitting lows around 1.33% today (lowest since February). The S&P 500 looks to get back on track after having its 7-day win streak snapped yesterday, also stopping a string of record closing highs as investors await minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting later today for clues on the central bank’s next policy moves. China is widening its clampdown on tech firms listed overseas and regulators are now planning to change overseas listing rules. Oil prices looking at a healthy rebound after yesterday’s pullback. Seven of the 11 S&P sectors closed down on Tuesday, with Energy the weakest through the session as crude fell, while Financials also struggled in the face of lower rates. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index declined -276 points to 28,366, the Shanghai Index rose 23 points to 3,553 and the Hang Seng Index lost -112 points to settle at 27,960. In Europe, the German DAX is higher by 125 points to 15,635, while the FTSE 100 is up about 35 points to 7,140.

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index slipped -8.80 points, or 0.20%, to 4,343.54

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -208.98 points, or 0.60%, to 34,577.37

·     The Nasdaq Composite gained 24.32 points, or 0.17%, to 14,663.64

·     The Russell 2000 Index declined -31.26 points, or 1.36% to 2,274.50

Events Calendar for Today

·     7:00 AM ET         MBA Mortgage Applications Data

·     10:00 AM ET      JOLTs Job Openings for May

·     4:30 PM ET         API Weekly Inventory Data

Earnings Calendar:

·     Earnings Before the Open: MSM

·     Earnings After the Close: SAR, WDFC

Other Key Events:

·     FOMC minutes are released from the last meeting of the policy-making committee

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     Didi Global (DIDI) extends yesterday declines after China stepped up scrutiny over its data security and widened a crackdown on companies listing abroad

·     Boston Beer (SAM) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse and raise tgt to $1,490 from $1,304

·     Asur (ASR) announced that that total passenger traffic for June reached a total of 4.6M passengers, 5.1% below the 4.8M passengers reported June 2019 which reflects a lower demand for travel in general

·     International Game Technology (IGT) signs a contract with the Western Canada Lottery to provide 700 CrystalDual 27 video lottery terminals.

·     LGI Homes (LGIH) said it closed 997 homes in June 2021, up from 760 homes closed in June 2020, representing year-over-year growth of 31.2%; announced record-breaking quarterly closings of 2,856 during Q2 compared to 2,005 closings same period a year ago, a 42.4% increase year-over-year

Energy, Industrials and Materials

·     TechnipFMC (FTI) said it was awarded a “significant” integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract from Tullow Oil for the Jubilee South East development offshore Ghana; the company defines a “significant” contract as $75M-$250M

·     Steel Dynamics (STLD) board authorizes a buyback of $1B in additional shares following the previous $500M program which had $51M remaining available for repurchase

·     Oasis Petroleum (OAS) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital

·     Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) said it will boost returns to shareholders via share buybacks or dividends earlier than expected after a sharp rise in oil and gas prices helped it reduce debt; said it will increase its distribution to shareholders to 20% to 30% of cash flow from operations beginning in Q2, the company said in a trading statement before quarterly results.

·     MSC Industrial (MSM) Q3 adj EPS $1.42 vs. est. $1.37; Q3 revs $866.29M vs. est. $847.2M; Q3 average daily sales rose 2.2%

·     NASA has awarded Mechanical Integrated Services and Technology II contract worth $531M to a joint venture between Aerodyne and KBR (KBR).

Financials

·     U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said he can’t schedule a summer trial in the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust suit challenging Aon’s (AON) proposed takeover of Willis Towers Watson (WLTW) – WSJ. The judge instead said he intends to hold trial proceedings for a few days starting November 18, and then again during an opening in his schedule from December 20-22

·     Ellington Financial (EFC) 6M share Spot Secondary priced at $18.22

·     MarketAxess (MKTX) recorded $567B in trading volume for June 2021, of which $239.5B was credit volume and $327.5B rates volume; total credit average daily trading volume and total credit trading volume dropped 10.1% Y/Y to $10.89B and $239.52B, respectively.

Healthcare

·     OncoSec Medical Inc. (ONCS) said it has entered into a collaboration and supply agreement with Merck & Co. (MRK) to evaluate the combination of its interleukin-12 Tavo with Merck’s anti-cancer immunotherapy Keytruda in a global clinical trial.

·     Dare Bioscience (DARE) rises after revealing on June 30, entered into an agreement with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for development of DARE-LARC1 implant, its experimental user-controlled, long-acting reversible contraceptive (awarded grant of up to $48.95M)

·     Savara (SAVA) files $250M mixed securities shelf

Technology, Media & Telecom

·     Smart Global (SGH) 3Q adj EPS $1.39 vs. est. $1.09 on sales $437.7Mm vs. est. $415.6Mm; guides 4Q net sales $440-480Mm vs. est. $439.4Mm, sees 4Q adj EPS $1.60 +/- $0.15 vs. est. $1.23

·     Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) said it expects more than 53% growth in Q2 operating profit, driven by strong demand for memory chips and operations resuming at a key US factory; sees sales of ~KRW63T and operating profit of ~KRW12.5T

·     China’s top market regulator has fined a slew of companies, including subsidiaries of Didi Global Inc. (DIDI), for what it said was monopolistic behavior linked to nearly two dozen deals.

·     Turkcell (TKC) to acquire Boyut Grup Enerji, which owns the Izmir Karadag Wind Power Plant for an enterprise value of $29.6M