Early Look

Thursday, April 11, 2024

U.S. futures are looking lower, extending yesterday’s declines following an unwelcome higher CPI inflation report (for a 3^rd straight month), as attention this morning turns to Europe and the ECB policy rate meeting, March producer prices (PPI) and tracking tensions in the Middle East. German airline Lufthansa extended the suspension of its flights to Tehran due to the situation in the Middle East, which is on alert for Iranian retaliation for a suspected Israeli air strike on Iran’s embassy in Syria. Stocks and the euro were steady ahead of an ECB meeting (released at 8:15), after stubborn U.S. inflation numbers triggered the biggest global market selloff in months and left Japan’s yen at a new 34-year low. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hit its highest level since November topping 4.55% while the 2-yr nears 5%. All major U.S. stocks indexes posted losses on Thursday, with the Russell 2000 falling over 2.5%, while sector wise there was little good news, with 10 out of the 11 S&P 500 subsectors ending in the red (energy finished higher). In Asian markets overnight, following a cooler inflation China reading, the Nikkei Index fell -139 points to 39,442, the Shanghai Index rose 6 points to 3,034, and the Hang Seng Index fell -44 points to 17,095. In Europe, the German DAX is down -115 points to 17,982, while the FTSE 100 is down -20 points to 7,940. Earnings also start tomorrow with big banks.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -422.16 points, or 1.09%, to 38,461.51.
• The Nasdaq Composite dropped -136.28 points, or 0.84%, to 16,170.36.
• The Russell 2000 Index declined -52.41 points, or 2.52% to 2,028.39.

• 8:30 AM ET                  Continuing Claims…est. 1.8M
• 8:30 AM ET                  Producer Price Index (PPI) M/M for March…est. +0.3% (prior +0.6%)
• 8:30 AM ET                  Producer Price Index (PPI) Y/Y for March…est. +2.2% (prior +1.6%)
• 8:30 AM ET                  PPI Core (Ex: Food & Energy) M/M for March…est. +0.2% (prior +0.3%)
• 8:30 AM ET                  PPI Core (Ex; Food & Energy) Y/Y for March…est. +2.3% (prior +2.0%)
• 8:45 AM ET                  Fed’s Williams Gives Keynote Remarks
• 10:30 AM ET                Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data
• 12:00 AM ET                USDA Agriculture Report                
• 12:00 PM ET                Fed’s Collins Speaks at Economic Club of New York
• 1:00 PM ET                   US Treasury to sell $22B in 30-year notes.

• Earnings After the Close: None

• Needham 23rd Annual Healthcare Conference, 4/8-4/11 (virtual)
• TD Cowen Business Services Summit, 4/9-4/11, in Marina Del Rey
• China Imports/Exports for March

• The bull-bear spread in the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) weekly survey was 19.4 vs 25.1 last week. Bulls fall to 43.4% from 47.3%, Neutrals rise to 32.5% from 30.5%, Bears rise to 24% from 22.2%.

• Costco (COST) March total comp sales +7.7% and March US comp sales ex-gas, FX +7.4%; raises quarterly dividend to $1.16 from $1.02; March E-Commerce comp sales rose +28.3% and total March sales $23.48B.
• Rent The Runway (RENT) Q4 EPS loss (-$7.02) vs. est. loss (-$6.53); Q4 revs $75.8M vs. est. $74.2M; sees Q1 revenue $73M-$75M vs. consensus $74.95M and sees Q1 adjusted EBITDA margin 7%-8%; forecasts FY24 revenue growth between 1% to 6%.

• Chevron (CVX) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at Scotiabank.
• Range Resources (RRC) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at Scotiabank.
• Southwestern Energy (SWN) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at Scotiabank.
• EQT Corporation (EQT) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at Scotiabank.

• Vertex Pharma (VRTX) enters into an agreement to acquire Alpine Immune Sciences (ALPN) for $65 per share in a deal valued at approximately $4.9B in cash focusing on Povetacicept for IgA nephropathy treatment.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) upgraded to Outperform from In Line at Evercore ISI with a $438 price target citing the "surprise move" to acquire Alpine Immune Sciences (ALPN) for $65 per share or $4.9B in cash.
• Cero Therapeutics (CERO) files to sell 26.62M shares of common stock.
• Modern (MRNA) has put plans to build a vaccine plant in Kenya on hold, a sign its move to invest in pandemic preparedness in Africa has dropped the agenda as COVID-19 sales decline – Financial Times reports.
• Roche (RHHBY) said the FDA granted the Elecsys blood test a breakthrough device designation.

• Amazon (AMZN) said Amazon Web Services, the world’s largest cloud-service provider, owes tech company Kove $525 million for violating its patent rights in data-storage technology, an Illinois federal jury said.
• Apple Inc (AAPL) has warned its users in India and 91 other countries that they were possible victims of a "mercenary spyware attack," dropping the word "state-sponsored" it used in its previous alerts to refer to such malware attacks.
• Investment firms led by the former CEO of the SPAC that merged with Donald Trump’s media company (DJT) allege that their files were hacked and stolen by a current member of the media company’s board of directors – CNBC https://tinyurl.com/5wbsw8y5