Early Look

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Futures	Up/Down	%	Last
Dow	-25.00	0.07%	34,363,
S&P 500	-4.25	0.10%	4,051
Nasdaq	-18.50	0.15%	11,940

 

 

U.S. futures are quiet, edging lower ahead of this afternoon’s FOMC policy meeting where the Fed is expected to slow the pace of rate hikes, delivering a half-percentage-point rate hike to range of 4.25%-4.5% (down from 75-bps hikes the last 4-meetings) at 2:00 PM today. Much of the focus then falls on the “dot plot” chart of committee members’ projections about future rate movements, and the tone chairman Jerome Powell strikes in his press conference. Stocks rose Tuesday after the release of new consumer prices U.S. inflation data showed a further deceleration from the prior two-months. The US dollar edges down further along with Treasury yields ahead of the Fed meeting, which will be followed by the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BOE) policy meetings tomorrow morning. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index rose 201 points to 28,156, the Shanghai Index was unchanged at 3,176, and the Hang Seng Index gained 77 points to 19,673. In Europe, the German DAX is down -115 points to 14,382, while the FTSE 100 is down -23 points to 7,480.

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index gained 29.39 points, or 0.74%, to 4,019.95

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 105.65 points, or 0.31%, to 34,110.69

·     The Nasdaq Composite jumped 113.08 points, or 1.01%, to 11,256.81

·     The Russell 2000 Index advanced 13.75 points, or 0.76% to 1,832.36

 

Economic Calendar for Today

·     7:00 AM ET                  MBA Mortgage Applications Data

·     8:30 AM ET                  Import Prices M/M for November

·     10:30 AM ET                Weekly DOE Inventory Data

·     2:00 PM ET                   FOMC Policy Meeting – expectations to raise by 50-bps

 

Earnings Calendar:

·     Earnings Before the Open: REVG WEBR

·     Earnings After the Close: CLSK ISSC LEN NDSN OPTT PL RICK STRM

 

Other Key Events:

·     China Industrial Output and Retail Sales for November

·     Oppenheimer Midwest Industrial Summit (virtual), 12/14-12/15

·     RBC Capital Healthcare Private Company Conference (virtual), 12/14-12/15

·     Truist Texas Bank Summit, 12/14-12/15, in Texas

 

 

Macro	Up/Down	Last
Nymex	0.80	76.19
Brent	0.98	81.66
Gold	-7.10	1,818.40
EUR/USD	0.0017	1.0648
JPY/USD	-0.62	134.95
10-Year Note	-0.002	3.501%

 

 

World News

·     The European Union will raise an extra 20 billion euros from its carbon market for investments to help end more swiftly the bloc’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels, under a political deal reached on Wednesday. Negotiators from EU countries and the European Parliament agreed in the early hours of Wednesday to raise 60% of the grants from an EU Innovation Fund

·     UK inflation fell more than expected in November after it hit a 41-year high in October, as the annual rate of consumer price inflation dropped to 10.7% in November from 11.1% in October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, a bigger fall than the decline to 10.9% expected

 

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     Tesla (TSLA) investors voice concern over Elon Musk’s focus on twitter; supporters of Tesla and Musk are asking questions about who is running the electric-vehicle maker – WSJ https://on.wsj.com/3j23MLA

·     Delta Air Line (DAL) reiterating 2024 financial targets of earnings over $7 per share and investment grade metrics; introduces 2023 guidance for $5 to $6 in adjusted EPS on path to 2024 financial targets, increases December quarter outlook

·     Penn Entertainment (PENN) and Caesar’s (CZR) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Bank America

 

Energy, Industrials and Materials

·     The International Energy Agency (IEA) raised its oil demand growth forecasts for 2022 by 140,000 barrels a day to 2.3 million barrels a day. For 2023, the IEA also lifted its demand growth forecast by 100,000 barrels a day to 1.7 million barrels a day

·     ABM Industries (ABM) 4Q adj EPS $0.89 vs est. $$0.88 on revs $2.0B vs est. $1.96B, adj EBITDA $130.7Mm vs est. $128.7Mm; sees FY23adj EPS $3.40-3.60 vs est. $3.70, expected ongoing labor-related pressures in near-term, sees relatively healthy demand across industry groups leading return to more normalized growth rates in FY23

·     Toro Company (TTC) raises quarterly dividend by 13% to 34c per share

·     WD-40 (WDFC) raises quarterly dividend by 6% to 83c per share

 

Financials

·     SoFi Technologies (SOFI) Chief Executive Officer Noto Anthony acquires 1,134,065 shares of SOFI between Friday and Tuesday, according to a SEC filing, buying in the range of $4.28 to $4.70

·     Digital Realty Trust Inc (DLR) said William Stein has departed from his role as CEO and resigned from Board of Directors

 

Healthcare

·     Cytokinetics (CYTK) heart failure drug fails to win FDA panel backing

·     Exicure (XCUR) said its collaboration agreements with AbbVie (ABBV) and Ipsen BioPharm were terminated. Exicure and AbbVie terminated their agreement related to the development programs targeting hair loss disorders.

·     Harrow (HROW) announced that it has entered into a binding agreement for the acquisition of the exclusive U.S. commercial rights to five FDA-approved ophthalmic products from the Novartis (NVS) group of companies

·     Prothena (PRTA) announces offering of 3M ordinary shares

·     LivaNova (LIVN) said it received a close-out letter from the FDA for the warning letter was associated with the company’s Munich, Germany facility and 3T Heater-Cooler device.

·     Sientra (SIEN) expands global footprint with regulatory approval to market breast implants in the United Arab Emirates

 

Technology, Media & Telecom

·     Braze Inc. (BRZE) Q3 revs rose 45.6% y/y to $93.1M vs. est. $90.5M; subscription revs rose to $89M from $59.3M y/y; GAAP Gross Margin was 68.7% compared to 70.0% y/y; Total customers increased to 1,715 as of October from 1,247 y/y; sees Q4 revs $95M-$96M vs. est. $95M

·     WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. (WSC) announced a definitive agreement, whereby the Company will divest its UK Storage segment to Algeco UK Holdings Limited, a member of the Modulaire group for an enterprise value of approximately £335 million.