Early Look

Friday, June 14, 2024

After registering record closing highs for a fourth session in a row on Thursday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are looking sharply lower on this final day of trading for the week but remain on track for weekly gains. The Dow jones Industrial a different story, pointing to a lower open as well but on track for weekly losses. Strength in technology stocks this week amid lower Treasury yields, big earnings/guidance beats from AVGO and ORCL (and now ADBE last night) have helped boost the sector, while semiconductors (SOX) also come into the day at record highs. Tamer inflation readings for both the CPI and PPI have pushed Treasury yields lower, with the 10-yr yield at weekly lows around 4.2%. The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased last week and another report showed producer prices unexpectedly fell in May, helping to keep alive hopes of a September rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The Fed on Wednesday projected only one rate cut this year after its outlook in March included three quarter-percentage-point reductions. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index rose 94 points to 38,814, the Shanghai Index edged higher 3 points to 3,032, and the Hang Seng Index declined -170 points to 17,941. In Europe, the German DAX is down -261 points to 18,003, while the FTSE 100 falls -47 points to 8,115. The Cac 40 index underperforms, falling -200 points or 2.6% to 7,507. European stocks headed for their worst week since October on growing concerns about political turmoil in France. Gold prices are higher, oil flat and the dollar adding to gains as expectations the Fed will hold rates steady “higher for longer” sink in.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid -65.11 points, or 0.17%, to 38,647.10.
• The Nasdaq Composite climbed 59.12 points, or 0.34%, to 17,667.56.
• The Russell 2000 Index declined -18.19 points, or 0.88% to 2,038.91.

• 8:30 AM ET                  Export Prices M/M for May…est. 0.0%
• 10:00 AM ET                University of Michigan Sentiment, June-prelim…est. 72.0
• 10:00 AM ET                University of Michigan 1 and 5-yr inflation expectations, June-prelim
• 1:00 PM ET                   Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data
• 2:00 PM ET                   Fed’s Goolsbee Speaks in Fireside Chat

• RBC Capital Global Mining & Materials Conference, 6/13-6/14, in New York

• Shopify (SHOP) upgraded to Outperform from In Line at Evercore ISI with a $75 price target saying the recent pullback in the stock has created an attractive entry point to own a “best-in-class” e-commerce platform business.

• MSC Industrial (MSM) lowers FY24 adjusted EPS growth view to (4.7%)-(4.3%) from 0%-5%, sees Q3 adjusted EPS $1.32-$1.34, below consensus $1.55 and sees Q3 revenue $978M-$980M, vs. consensus $1.02B.
• The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) approved the application from Texas-New Mexico Power Company (TNMP), the Texas utility subsidiary of PNM Resources, Inc. (PNM), to recover over $205M in net distribution infrastructure investments to reliably serve customers’ power needs since its last filing.

• Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler and cut tgt to $11.50.

• Gain Therapeutics (GANX) 7.12M share Spot Secondary priced at $1.35.
• IN8bio (INAB) data demonstrates durable 1-year complete remission in 100% of evaluable patients in phase 1 trial of INB-100; said 100% of treated leukemia patients (n=10/10) achieved durable complete remission at 1-year, including high-risk and relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients who had previously failed multiple lines of therapy, including CAR-T.
• Stoke Therapeutics Inc (STOK) files for shelf of up to 10.8M shares of common stock by selling stockholders.
• Ultragenyx (RARE) 7.44M share Secondary priced at $39.00.
• Vaxart, Inc. (VXRT) said it received a project award valued at up to $453 million through the Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle. The RRPV is a Consortium funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

• Iteris (ITI) Q4 adjusted EPS $0.07 vs. est. $0.03; Q4 revs $42.8M vs. est. $42.53M; sees Q1 revenue $43.5M-$45.5M, vs. consensus $46.4M and sees Q1 adjusted EBITDA margin 5.5%-6.5%.
• MicroStrategy (MSTR) initiated at Outperform and $2,890 tgt at Bernstein.
• Vodafone Group (VOD) is looking to sell its entire $2.3 bln stake in Indus Towers via stock market block deals next week, Reuters reported.