Early Look

Monday, November 18, 2024

S&P 500 futures edge higher after last week’s retreat where the S&P 500 fell 2.1%, the Dow fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq fell 3.1% posting their biggest weekly % losses for S&P 500 and Nasdaq since early September, dominated by weakness in Healthcare (XLV -5.55% WTD), followed by Technology (-3.5% WTD) and Materials (XLB -3.35% WTD), while Financials (XLF) and Energy (XLE) finished the week higher. More headlines this weekend for President elect-Donald Trump as the Trump team is seeking to ease us rules for self-driving cars (sending shares of TSLA higher early) and Trump tapped longtime fracking advocate Chris Wright to be secretary of Energy Wright, the CEO of oilfield services group Liberty Energy (LBRT). A generally quiet Monday as S&P futures are looking flat with not a lot of data or earnings out today. Markets remain very strong heading into the final month of 2024 with YTD Performances including the S&P 500: +23.08%, Nasdaq: +24.44%, Dow: +15.27%, Small Caps: +13.65%, Gold: +24.19%, Oil: -4.12%, US Dollar: +5.68% and Bitcoin: +116.96%. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index fell -422 points to 38,220, the Shanghai Index dipped -6 points to 3,323, and the Hang Seng Index rose 150 points to 19,576. In Europe, the German DAX is down -76 points to 19,134, while the FTSE 100 is up 10 points to 8,074.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -427.53 points, or 0.70%, to 43,444.99.
• The Nasdaq Composite plunged -427.53 points, or 2.24%, to 18,680.12.
• The Russell 2000 Index declined -33.10 points, or 1.42% to 2,303.84.

• 10:00 AM ET                Fed’s Goolsbee Gives Welcome Remarks
• 4:00 PM ET                   Net Long-term TIC Flows for September

• Earnings After the Close: ACM BRBR IIIV SYM

• Nareit Annual Conference: REITWorld 2024, 11/18-11/21, in Las Vegas, NV

• Bunge Global SA (BG) authorizes an additional $500 million share repurchase.
• The U.S. auto safety regulator said on Monday it had initiated a recall query into about 112,567 Ford (F) vehicles over an issue with seat belt retractors.
• General Mills Inc (GIS) files mixed securities shelf
• Spirit Airlines (SAVE) files bankruptcy after heavy losses

• Federal contractors should expect “massive cuts” in what they can charge once President-elect Donald Trump’s government efficiency drive is underway, according to entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who will Co-lead the initiative with billionaire Elon Musk – Bloomberg (notes defense contractors were hit hard last week).
• Oil prices held a weekly loss on concerns over plentiful global supply and the outlook for demand in China, the world’s biggest crude importer.

• Mara Holdings, Inc. (MARA) announces proposed private offering of $700M of convertible senior notes.
• Robinhood (HOOD) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Needham with $40 tgt.
• Shift4 Payments Inc. (FOUR) will replace RCM Inc. (RCM) in the S&P MidCap 400 effective prior to the opening of trading on Wednesday, November 20. TowerBrook Capital Partners and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice will acquire R1 RCM in a transaction expected to be completed on or about November 19.

• CVS Health (CVS) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo and raised tgt to $66.
• CVS Health (CVS) said it would add four new members to its board in an agreement with Glenview Capital Management, including the hedge fund’s chief executive Larry Robbins.

• Astera Labs (ALAB) initiated with a buy rating at Citigroup and $120 tgt calling it the leader in a crucial part of cloud infrastructure: the PCIe retimers.
• Monolithic Power (MPWR) upgraded to Buy at Loop Capital following selloff.
• Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares rise pre mkt after saying it intends to submit a plan by Monday that will allow it to continue to trade on the Nasdaq stock market, Barron’s reported on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
• Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has settled its breach of contract lawsuit against the National Basketball Association via an agreement that will keep the company in business with the league for at least the next decade, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.