Early Look

Friday, July 16, 2021

U.S. futures are pointing higher, looking to recover following a mixed day on Wall Street Thursday, as investors await the onslaught of quarterly earnings and the potential inflation impact it might be having on businesses while assessing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s repeated assurances that rising price pressures will only be temporary. Just this morning, auto supplier Autoliv (ALV) posted a quarterly miss on the top and bottom line citing the negative effect of the semiconductor shortage and continued rise in raw material prices. Stocks finished Thursday’s session mostly lower following comments from Powell that the inflation surge the U.S. is experiencing as it recovers from the pandemic will ease or reverse over time. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index dropped -276 points to 28,003, the Shanghai Index fell -25 points to 3,539, the Hang Seng Index inched up slightly to 28,004. In Europe, the German DAX is down a few points to 15,620, while the FTSE 100 is up a few points to 7,025. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury rose Friday to 1.33%, trimming its third weekly decline. Busy morning of economic data with retail sales, Michigan confidence data and Business Inventories.

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index dropped -14.27 points, or 0.33%, to 4,360.03

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 53.79 points, or 0.15%, to 34,987.02

·     The Nasdaq Composite slipped -101.82 points, or 0.70%, to 14,543.13

·     The Russell 2000 Index declined -12.07 points, or 0.55% to 2,190.29

Events Calendar for Today

·     8:30 AM ET         Retail Sales MoM for June

·     8:30 AM ET         Retail Sales MoM Ex: Autos MoM for June

·     10:00 AM ET      Business Inventories MoM for May

·     10:00 AM ET      University of Michigan Confidence, July-P

·     1:00 PM ET         Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data

·     4:00 PM ET         Net Long-term TIC Flows for May

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     Autoliv (ALV) Q2 adj EPS $1.20 vs. est. $1.43; Q2 revs $2.02B vs. est. $2.12B; and cut its full-year outlook, citing the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the negative effect of the semiconductor shortage and continued rise in raw material prices; lowers year sales growth view to up 20%-22% from prior around 23%

·     Alaska Air (ALK) sees 2Q ASM -21% vs 2019, sees rev passengers -28% vs 2019, sees load factor 77%, sees 2Q economic fuel cost/gallon $1.90, sees CF from ops about $830Mm

·     American Outdoor Brands Inc. (AOUT) Q4 adj EPS $0.34 vs. est. $0.23; Q4 revs $64.5M vs. est. $65M; sees year EPS $2.02-$2.26 vs. est. $2.13; sees FY revs $280M-$295M vs. est. $284.9M; Q4 gross margin 44.4%, flat y/y

·     American Airlines (AAL) tells remaining 3,300 flight attendants on leave they’ll be coming back by the end of the year, plans to hire 800 to support demand

·     Didi Global (DIDI) shares fall -6% after China sends state officials from at least seven departments to the ride-hailing giant for cybersecurity review, as regulatory pressure intensifies

Energy, Industrials & Materials

·     Alcoa Inc. (AA) Q2 adj EPS $1.49 vs. est. $1.37; Q2 revs rise 32% to $2.83B vs. est. $2.64B; continues to expect a strong 2021 based on continued economic recovery and increased demand for aluminum in all end markets; its aluminum segment is forecasting double digit growth on year-over-year sales of value-add products in 2021

·     Marten Transportation (MRTN) 2Q EPS $0.26 vs est. $0.26 on revs $232.4Mm vs est. $238.6Mm

·     Stevanato Group (STVN) 32M share IPO priced at $21.00

·     Dow Inc. (DOW) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral and LyondellBasell (LYB) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Bank America while firm upgraded Olin Corp. (OLN) to Buy and Westlake Chemical (WLK) to Neutral in chemical sector

Financials

·     Square (SQ) is forming a new business that pulls together Seller, Cash App & Tidal to focus on “building an open developer platform with the sole goal of making it easy to create non-custodial, permissionless, and decentralized financial services,” CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted

·     State Street (STT) raises quarterly dividend 10% to 57c from 52c, authorizes $3B share buyback

·     BancFirst (BANF) Q2 EPS $1.45 vs. est. $1.13; Q2 loan loss provision ($9.9M) vs. $19.3M for 2Q20; Q2 net charge-offs were 0.06% of average loans, compared to none in 2Q20

·     People’s United Financial (PBCT) 2Q adj EPS $0.41 vs. est. $0.35; NII $380.9Mm vs. est. $396.4Mm; Net interest margin 2.70% vs. 3.05% y/y; return on average assets 1.07% vs. 0.58% y/y; return on average equity 14.7% vs. 8.10% y/y; net charge-offs ratio 0.1% vs. 0.08% y/y

·     Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL) Q2 EPS $2.17 vs. est. $1.96; Q2 revs $506.5M vs. est. $494M; Q2 net interest income was $370.5M, an increase of $53.2M from $317.3M I Q1

·     Bit Digital (BTBT) files $500M mixed securities shelf

·     Bridge Investment (BRDG) 18.75M share IPO priced at $16.00

Healthcare

·     Moderna Inc (MRNA) will join the S&P 500 index as of the start of trading on July 21, replacing Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) which is being acquired by AstraZeneca (AZN)

·     FibroGen (FGEN) announced that the U.S. FDA Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee voted to recommend not approving Roxadustat, an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase

·     Erasca (ERAS) 18.5M share IPO priced at $16.00

·     Imago BioSciences (IMGO) 8.6M share IPO priced at $16.00

·     Mesoblast (MESO) presents clinical outcomes from remestemcel-L trial in ventilator-dependent COVID-19 patients with moderate/severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

·     TScan Therapeutics (SCAN) 6.67M share IPO priced at $15

·     Alexion (ALXN) announces positive topline results from phase 3 study of Ultomiris in adults with generalized myasthenia gravis (gmg); co says study met primary endpoint of change from baseline in the myasthenia gravis-activities of daily living profile total score at week 26

·     Corvus Pharmaceuticals (CRVS) discontinues phase 3 study of Mupadolimab (anti-cd73) for covid-19 due to vaccine effectiveness in reducing hospitalizations; reduces projected 2021 net cash used in operating activities by an estimated $11 mln

Technology, Media & Telecom

·     Intel (INTC) is considering a deal to buy GlobalFoundries, The Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter, saying a deal may value GlobalFoundries at about $30B https://on.wsj.com/3koWMam 

·     Tencent Music (TME) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley

·     Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) Q4 adj EPS $0.04 vs. est. $0.02; Q4 revs $7.6M vs. est. $7.03M; guides FY revs to $28M

·     AT&T (T), commenting in a filing, reports prelim 2Q DirecTV churn 1.87% vs 2.42% y/y; DirecTV, AT&T TV and U-Verse TV, prelim 2Q aggregate premium video gross additions 492,000, +2% y/y; DirecTV, AT&T TV and U-Verse TV, prelim 2Q video net losses 473,000, improvement of 47% y/y

·     Blend (BLND) 20M share IPO priced at $18.00