Early Look

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

U.S. futures are looking slightly higher on muted holiday trading, with S&P futures trading in a narrow 20-point range overnight (hi 3,869.50 and low 3,850.75) after mixed results on Tuesday saw technology and discretionary stocks lag, while energy and industrials advanced. Tesla (TSLA) rebounding early after closing 11% lower (down -68% YTD) in its biggest one-day drop since April 26 and Apple (AAPL) looks to edge higher after falling 1.4% to close at lowest since June 2021. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index dropped -107 points to 26,340, the Shanghai Index fell -8 points to 3,087, and the Hang Seng Index rose 305 points to 19,898. In Europe, the German DAX is down -3 points to 13,991, while the FTSE 100 rises 65 points to 7,538. Tax loss selling into year-end could be playing a part in the volume and moves of certain stocks with today being the last day for investors to take losses on the year (trading settlement is T+2). Yields, and the dollar are looking little changed ahead of a few economic data points. No Fed speakers, major earnings, or company conferences taking place the rest of this week. Street research is also light as it appears Wall Street analyst took the week off.

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index dropped -15.57 points, or 0.40%, to 3,829.25

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 37.63 points, or 0.11%, to 33,241.56

·     The Nasdaq Composite slumped -144.64 points, or 1.38%, to 10,353.23

·     The Russell 2000 Index declined -11.42 points, or 0.65% to 1,749.52

Economic Calendar for Today

·     7:00 AM ET           MBA Mortgage Applications Data

·     8:55 AM ET           Johnson/Redbook Weekly Sales

·     10:00 AM ET         Pending Home Sales M/M for November

·     10:00 AM ET         Richmond Fed Composite Index for December

·     1:00 PM ET            US Treasury to sell $43B in 5-year notes

·     4:30 PM ET            API Weekly Inventory Data

World News

·     Japanese factories slashed output for a third consecutive month in November; Factory output fell 0.1% in November from the previous month, government data showed, a smaller decline than the median market forecast for a 0.3% drop; Output of general machinery slipped 7.9%, while that of production machinery decreased 5.7%

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     Tesla (TSLA) looks to snap 7-day losing streak, after falling to 2-year lows Tuesday

·     Instacart has cut its internal valuation to $10 billion, the Information reported on Tuesday, citing two people familiar with the situation. The company, whose new valuation is 20% lower from $13 billion in October, has been cutting its valuation this year https://bit.ly/3vk7YsT

·     CoreCivic (CXW) and GEO Group (GEO) shares active after the US Supreme Court ordered pandemic-era border restrictions to remain in effect – Bloomberg

Energy, Industrials and Materials

·     Generac (GNRC) initiated at Buy and $160 tgt at Janney

·     Suncor (SU) said two people were injured by a weekend fire at its 103,000 barrel-per-day Commerce City, Colorado, refinery. Said the incident occurred during the shut-down of Plant 2, which began on Saturday, Dec. 24, and is in the process of being completed.

Healthcare

·     AstraZeneca Plc (AZN) said Calquence approved in Japan for adults with treatment-naïve chronic lymphocytic leukemia; Calquence significantly increased time patients lived without disease progression or death versus. Chemoimmunotherapy

·     Clene (CLNN) said its investigational COVID-19 treatment, CNM-ZnAg, did not meet the main goal in a mid-stage trial; drug did not show any clinical benefit, compared with placebo in non-hospitalized acutely symptomatic COVID patients

·     Gilead (GILD) to acquire all remaining rights to potential first-in-class immunotherapy GS-1811 from Jounce Therapeutics (JNCE). Jounce will receive proceeds of $67 million for this transaction, and Gilead will be solely responsible for all further R&D and commercialization of GS-1811

·     Kala Pharmaceuticals Inc. (KALA) rises after saying the FDA accepted its investigational new drug application for the treatment of an eye rare condition through its KPI-012 product candidate.

Technology, Media & Telecom

·     Apple Inc. (AAPL) will look to bounce after hitting 52-week lows on Tuesday

·     China’s video games regulator granted publishing licenses to 45 foreign games for release in the country. Among the imported online games approved by the National Press and Publication Administration are five to be published by Tencent Holdings (TCEHY) such as “Pokémon Unite” by Nintendo (NTDOY) and “Valorant” by Riot Games, according to a list the regulator released.