Morning Preview: September 16, 2022

Early Look
Friday, September 16, 2022
Futures |
Up/Down |
% |
Last |
Dow |
-205.00 |
0.67% |
30,862 |
S&P 500 |
-30.25 |
0.77% |
3,889 |
Nasdaq |
-116.50 |
0.97% |
11,890 |
U.S. futures are sliding, with the S&P down over -0.7% to 3,890 (about 25 points off overnight lows) after a big profit warning from package delivery giant Fed-Ex (FDX) weighed on sentiment and raised fears about the global economy. Fed-Ex reported prelim Q1 results that widely missed estimates, hurt by global volume softness that worsened in the final weeks of the quarter and withdrew its FY23 earnings forecast. The company is generally seen as a good barometer for the economy, with the warning potentially impacting retailers. The British Pound slides below the $1.14 mark vs. the dollar for the first time since 1985 following a sharp drop in UK retail sales, as the dollar index (DXY) rises back above the 110 level. Oil is on track for its third straight weekly drop. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index dropped -308 points to 27,567, the Shanghai Index dropped -73 points or 2.3% to 3,126, and the Hang Seng Index falls -168 points to 18,761. In Europe, the German DAX is down about -200 points to 1.54% to 12,756, while the FTSE 100 edges slightly higher to 7,292. A quiet day of economic data on Friday and no Fed speakers ahead of next week’s FOMC Monetary policy meeting.
Market Closing Prices Yesterday
· The S&P 500 Index dropped -44.66 points, or 1.13%, to 3,901.35
· The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -173.27 points, or 0.56%, to 30,961.82
· The Nasdaq Composite slumped -167.32 points, or 1.43%, to 11,552.36
· The Russell 2000 Index declined -13.23 points, or 0.72% to 1,825.23
Economic Calendar for Today
· 10:00 AM ET University of Michigan Confidence, Sept-P
· 1:00 PM EST Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data
· 4:00 PM ET Net Long-term TIC Flows for July
Macro |
Up/Down |
Last |
Nymex |
0.67 |
85.77 |
Brent |
0.46 |
91.30 |
Gold |
-6.80 |
1,670.40 |
EUR/USD |
-0.0021 |
0.9979 |
JPY/USD |
-0.30 |
143.21 |
10-Year Note |
+0.014 |
3.473% |
World News
· UK Retail sales volumes dropped by (-1.6%) in August, the Office for National Statistics said – the biggest fall since December 2021 and worse than all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists that had pointed to a (-0.5%) fall.
· Russian central bank cuts key rate to 7.50% from 8%
Sector News Breakdown
Consumer
· Uber Technologies (UBER) shares slide after responding to a cybersecurity breach after a hacker claimed to have gained widespread access to the company’s computer systems. “We are currently responding to a cybersecurity incident. We are in touch with law enforcement and will post any additional updates here as they become available” they said
· Tesla (TSLA) offers an 8,000 Yuan ($1,141) discount in China for deliveries between 16-30 Sep if buyers purchase Tesla insurance. This will accelerate end-of-quarter deliveries in China. The event targets all new Chinese-made Tesla Model 3 and Model Y models https://bit.ly/3U8n6ES
· BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ) said Friday it will accept SNAP EBT cards at all of its clubs and outlets across the U.S. SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is the government’s food stamp program, while EBT stands for Electronic Benefits Transfer.
· Europe car sales rose 3.4% in August, first gain in 13 months
Energy
· Germany took control of a major Russian-owned oil refinery on Friday, putting a unit of Russian oil firm Rosneft under the trusteeship of the industry regulator as the country tries to shore up vital energy supplies that have been jeopardized by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
· China refiners processed 53.66 million tonnes of crude oil last month, 6.5% less than a year earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS); that is equivalent to 12.64 million barrels per day (bpd), which was a touch higher than 12.53 million bpd in July
· Shoals Technologies (SHLS) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen
Financials
· NCR Corp. (NCR) slips -14%; ended a process to sell itself and decided to split into two companies. NCR’s board approved a plan to separate NCR into two independent, publicly traded companies – one focused on digital commerce, the other on ATMs
Healthcare
· AstraZeneca (AZN) said its investigational drug danicopan as an add-on to Ultomiris or Soliris showed positive high-level results in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) who experience clinically significant extravascular haemolysis (EVH) in a phase 3 trial.
· Gilead Sciences (GILD) announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency adopted a positive opinion to extend the indication of Veklury
· QIAGEN (QGEN) announced new additions to its comprehensive NeuMoDx assay menu for organ transplant-associated viruses
Industrials & Materials
· Fed-Ex (FDX) shares slide -20% overnight after lower guidance; guides Q1 adj EPS $3.44, below consensus of $5.10 and sees revs $23.2B vs. est. $23.54B; said Q1 operating income at $1.23B below est. $1.74B and withdraws year guidance – said Q1 results were adversely impacted by global volume softness that accelerated in final weeks of quarter (UPS slides in sympathy) – shares downgraded by several analyst this morning
· General Electric (GE) CFO said last night at conference: supply chain continues to be tough and continues to impair our ability to deliver to our customers; expect Q3 free cash flow to be in line with q2 or slightly better; see some pressure on the cash flow
· Boeing Co (BA) and Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX) shares slip after headlines that China plans to slap sanctions on the CEOs of Boeing Defense and Raytheon over their involvement in Washington’s latest arms sales to Taiwan – Reuters
· Alcoa (AA) upgraded at Morgan Stanley to Overweight from Equal Weight along with several other peers (TECK, NEXA, WDH to Overweight and SCCO to EW), noting that value begins to show within Americas metals and mining shares, but cautioning that uncertainty remains
· Glencore (GLNCY) is looking to add lithium to the suite of metals it trades, as the raw material is in hot demand due to the rapidly growing production of electric vehicles (EVs), two sources with knowledge of the matter said, Reuters reported
· International Paper (IP) and Packaging Corp. (PKG) both downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies in the paper sector, cutting estimates to reflect the “massive inventory glut” in containerboard and said channel checks indicate orders are decelerating sharply and broad-based downtime is being taken, even by the smaller players
Technology, Media & Telecom
· Texas Instruments (TXN) raises dividend 8% to $1.24 from $1.15 and announces $15B share buyback program
· Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) announces definitive agreement to sell its Chinese manufacturing facilities and certain assets related to its transceiver business for $150 million
· Elon Musk accused Twitter Inc (TWTR) of fraud by concealing serious flaws in the social media company’s data security, which he said should allow him to end his $44 billion deal for the company, according to a Thursday court filing.
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.