Early Look

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Futures	Up/Down	%	Last
Dow	-44.00	0.12%	34,953
S&P 500	-5.00	0.11%	4,508
Nasdaq	-26.50	0.17%	15,473

 

 

U.S. futures are slightly lower, yields and the dollar edging higher ahead of the US CPI release due later Wednesday. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) August data is expected this morning at 8:30 AM: Based on consensus forecasts, headline CPI is expected to accelerate to 0.6% M/M (vs. 0.2% in July) on higher gasoline prices, with the y/y change edging up to 3.6% (vs. 3.2%). Core inflation will likely remain at 0.2% M/M with the y/y pace falling to 4.3% (vs. 4.7% prior). In tech news, Bloomberg reported that China flagged security problems with iPhones while saying it isn’t barring purchases, the government’s first comments on the topic after news reports that authorities are moving to restrict the use of Apple Inc. products in sensitive departments and state-owned companies. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index slipped -69 points to 32,706, the Shanghai Index dropped -13 points to 3,123, and the Hang Seng Index dipped -16 points to 18,009. In Europe, the German DAX is lower by -140 points to 15,575, while the FTSE 100 is down -26 points to 7,501. Overall stock market news is quiet today ahead of the CPI. Still several catalysts later this week as well with Producer Prices (PPI) on Thursday, as well as the European Central Bank policy meeting and the UAW auto strike deadline.

 

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index slumped -25.43 points, or 0.57%, to 4,462.03.

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -16.28 points, or 0.05%, to 34,647.44.

·     The Nasdaq Composite dropped -144.28 points, or 1.04%, to 13,773.61.

·     The Russell 2000 Index edged higher 0.18 points, or 0.01% to 1,855.32.

 

Economic Calendar for Today

·     7:00 AM ET             MBA Mortgage Applications Data

·     8:30 AM ET             Consumer Price Index (CPI) Headline M/M for August…est. +0.6% (prior +0.2%)

·     8:30 AM ET             Consumer Price Index (CPI) Headline Y/Y for August…est. +3.6% (prior +3.2%)

·     8:30 AM ET             CPI Core – Ex: Food & Energy M/M for August…est. +0.2% (prior +0.2%)

·     8:30 AM ET             CPI Core – Ex: Food & Energy Y/Y for August…est. +4.3% (prior +4.7%)

·     10:30 AM ET           Weekly DOE Inventory Data

·     11:00 AM ET           Cleveland Fed CPI for August

·     1:00 PM ET              US Treasury to sell $23B in 30-year notes.

·     2:00 PM ET              Federal Budget for August

 

Earnings Calendar:

·     Earnings Before the Open: CBRL CODA REVG SLQT

·     Earnings After the Close: IBEX MIND OPTT RLGT STRM

 

Other Key Events:

·     Benchmark Technology, Media & Telecom 1:1 Conference, 9/13-9/14, in NY

·     Deutsche Bank Healthcare Growth & Innovation Conference, 9/13-9/14, in New York

·     Goldman Sachs Annual Global Retailing Conference, 9/12-9/13, in New York

·     Goldman Sachs China+ Conference 2023, 9/12-9/13, in Hong Kong

·     HC Wainright Annual Global Investment Conference, 9/11-9/13, in New York

·     RBC Capital Global Industrials Conference, 9/12-9/13, in Las Vegas

·     Roth MKM 10th Annual Solar & Storage Symposium at SPI, 9/12-9/13, in Las Vegas

·     Salesforce Dreamforce 2023 in San Francisco, 9/12-9/14

 

 

Macro	Up/Down	Last
Nymex	0.58	89.42
Brent	0.53	92.59
Gold	-1.40	1,933.70
EUR/USD	-0.002	1.0732
JPY/USD	0.32	147.41
10-Year Note	+0.042	4.306%

 

 

World News

·     Reminder that S&P, Russell and Nasdaq’s US indexes will rebalance on the close this Friday, September 15th. Changes were announced after the close for Russell 8/18 (prelim), 9/1 (final); S&P 9/1; S&P Select Sectors/Industries 9/8; and Nasdaq 9/8.

·     Euro Area industrial production decreased 1.10% in July of 2023 over the previous month. Consensus at -0.7%. Industrial production has decreased 2.20% in July of 2023 over the same month in the previous year. Energy production advanced by 1.6%, while there was a rebound in both non-durable goods (0.4% vs -1.4%) and intermediate goods output (0.2% vs -1.0%).

·     Japan Producer prices rose by 3.2% year-on-year in August 2023, slowing from a downwardly revised 3.4% gain in July and posting the lowest reading since March 2021, marking the eighth consecutive month of a slowdown.

·     Japan retail sales growth of 6.8%, tops forecast, Japan core inflation slows in July as expected, headline inflation unchanged at 3.3%, Japan’s Q2 GDP growth exceeds forecasts as exports rebound, Japan producer prices rise 3.6%, the least in over two years. Japan services PMI revised slightly lower at 53.8 in July.

 

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     LI Auto (LI), Xpeng (XPEV), Nio Inc. (NIO) shares trading lower after the Financial Times reported the EU to launch anti-subsidy probe into Chinese electric vehicles.

·     Ford Motor (F) said it plans to double production of hybrid F-150 pickup trucks in 2024. Hybrid powertrain will be offered at the same price as a truck equipped with a six-cylinder “EcoBoost” combustion powertrain for the 2024 model year. Ford also upgraded to buy from sell at UBS, citing greater-than-expected earnings resilience driven by the automaker’s Ford Pro segment.

·     Spirit Airlines (SAVE) lowers Q3 adjusted operating margin to -14.5% to -15.5%, from prior -5.5% to -7.5%, estimate -7.22% and cuts revenue forecast to between $1.24 billion and $1.25 billion, against its previous estimate of $1.3 billion to $1.32 billion.

·     Restaurant Brands (QSR) to buy back up to $1 billion of common stock over the next two years.

 

Energy, Industrials and Materials

·     US crude-oil futures finished 1.8% higher at $88.84 a barrel on Tuesday, marking the largest one-day gain in more than a week and the highest closing price since Nov. 11, 2022.

·     Calumet Specialty Products Partners (CLMT) said David Lunin would become the company’s new chief financial officer, succeeding Vince Donargo, who will step down Dec. 31.

·     Granite Ridge Resources (GRNT) 7.1M share Secondary priced at $5.00.

·     Workhorse (WKHS) shares rise after saying it received IRS approval as a qualified manufacturer for the Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit.

 

Financials

·     AllianceBernstein L.P. (AB) preliminary assets under management decreased -1.4% to $694 billion during August 2023 from $704 billion at the end of July. Positive net inflows across all three channels (Retail, Institutions and Private Wealth) were offset by market depreciation.

·     Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (APAM) preliminary assets under management as of August 31, 2023 totaled $142.8 billion. Artisan Funds and Artisan Global Funds accounted for $69.4 billion of total firm AUM, while separate accounts and others for $73.4 billion.

·     Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN) preliminary month-end assets under management (AUM) of $1.42 trillion on August 31, 2023, compared to $1.45 trillion at July 31, 2023. This month’s decrease in AUM reflected the impact of negative markets and modest long-term net outflows.

·     Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) preliminary month-end assets under management of $1,527.7 billion, a decrease of 2.7% vs. prior month-end. Non-management fee earning net outflows were $4.8 billion and money market net outflows were $9.4 billion.

·     Lazard (LAZ) preliminary assets under management (“AUM”) as of August 31, 2023 totaled approximately $237.3 billion. The month’s AUM included market depreciation of $4.4 billion, foreign exchange depreciation of $2.3 billion and net outflows of $0.4 billion.

·     Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (VRTS) preliminary assets under management of $169.4 billion as of August 31, 2023. In addition, the company provided services to $2.6 billion of other fee-earning assets, which are not included in assets under management.

·     Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. (VCTR) assets under management (AUM) of $161.9 billion as of August 31, 2023, and average assets under management for August of $162.1 billion.

 

Healthcare

·     Novo Nordisk (NVO) conducts a two-for-one stock split.

·     Eiger (EIGR) said it would discontinue its phase 3 LIMT-2 trial of Peginterferon Lambda in patients with chronic hepatitis delta.

·     MorphoSys (MOR) receives FDA Fast Track designation for Tulmimetostat in endometrial cancer.

·     PROCEPT BioRobotics (PRCT) said it has received FDA approval to conduct a study investigating the safety and efficacy of Aquablation therapy in the treatment of prostate cancer.

·     Rocket Pharmaceuticals (RCKT) announced a $150M common stock offering after announced that alignment has been reached with the FDA on the global Phase 2 pivotal trial of RP-A501 for Danon Disease.

 

Technology, Media & Telecom

·     China has flagged security issues with Apple’s (AAPL) iPhones while noting that it is not banning purchases, Bloomberg News reported.

·     China’s Huawei Technologies signed a global patent cross-licensing deal with Xiaomi Inc., according to a statement from Huawei. The deal covers communication technologies including 5G, it said, and marks the resolution of a patent licensing dispute between the two firms.

·     Squarespace (SQSP) files mixed securities shelf.

·     T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) said it will acquire spectrum in 600MHZ band from Comcast in proposed deal for total cash consideration of between $1.2 B-$3.3B.