Early Look

Monday, May 4, 2020

U.S. equity futures fall, extending the decline that started late last week as “risk-off” sets the tone to start the week. The fall comes on renewed tensions between the U.S. and China and after a number of U.S. states allow some non-essential businesses to open in an effort to re-start their economies. Stocks dropped sharply on Friday, erasing weekly gains as the S&P 500 slipped -0.19% last week, the Dow was down -0.22%, and the Nasdaq Comps fell -0.34%. Stocks sold off sharply on Friday as investor risk appetite was soured by the revived fear of tariffs against China, threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump in retaliation for not alerting global markets about the COVID-19 pandemic which has crushed economies. Virus fears remain as the WHO reported that the U.S. suffered its highest 24-hour death toll yet from the coronavirus over the weekend (2,909 deaths). Tensions between the U.S. and China spike after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there’s a “significant amount of evidence” tying the coronavirus to a lab in the Wuhan region of China. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index was closed, the Shanghai Index gained 37 points to 2,860 and the Hang Seng Index plunged -1,029 points to 23.613. In Europe, the German DAX is lower by 360 points to 10,500, while the FTSE 100 is down a few points to 5,750. Oil prices fell decline amid worries that a global oil glut may persist even as coronavirus pandemic lockdowns start to ease, amid the new spat between the United States and China over the origin of the virus.

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index plunged -81.72 points, or 2.81%, to 2,830.71

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -622.01 points, or 2.55%, to 23,723.69

·     The Nasdaq Composite dropped -284.60 points, or 3.20%, to 8,604.95

·     The Russell 2000 Index declined -50.18 points, or 3.83% to 1,260.48

Economic Calendar for Today

·     10:00 AM EST    Factory Orders for March

·     10:00 AM EST    Durable Goods Orders, Mar-F

·     10:00 AM EST    Durable Goods Ex: Transportation, Mar-f

Earnings Calendar:

·     Earnings Before the Open: CNA, EPZM, L, MCY, MRNS, PBI, PEG, PETS, SRE, TSN, WAB, WEC, WLK

·     Earnings After the Close: ACHC, AIG, ALSN, BKH, CAR, CHGG, CRUS, FANG, FIVN, HA, ITRI, KMT, KN, LEG, MHK, MOS, O, OHI, PLOW, SHAK, SWKS, TACO, THC, UNM, VAR, VNO, VNOM, WMB, WWD

World News

·     U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and U.K. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss will begin trade talks via video conference call, the Financial Times reported, citing government officials. Some 200 officials will participate in the initial two-week round of talks, with subsequent talks scheduled every six weeks

·     Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there’s a “significant amount of evidence” tying the coronavirus to a lab in the Wuhan region of China

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     Tyson Foods (TSN) positive mention in Barron’s ahead of earnings this week saying while it is difficult to confidently assert a short-term direction, Tyson’s long-term outperformance versus the S&P 500 is evident. The company’s chairman, warned this week that pork, beef, and chicken plants are being closed, removing millions of pounds of meat from the supply chain which could create food shortages

·     Privately held J. Crew has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of a financial reorganization that will hand over control to top creditors, including hedge fund Anchorage Capital, by converting $1.65B of its debt into equity

·     Starwood Property (STWD) Q1 core EPS 55c/$211.44M vs. est. 60c/$262.49M

Energy

·     Oil prices fell on Monday on worries that a global oil glut may persist even as coronavirus pandemic lockdowns start to ease, amid a fresh spat between the United States and China over the origin of the virus

·     Summit Midstream Partners (SMLP) agrees to acquire Summit Midstream Partners LLC, the owner of its general partner, in a “transformational simplification” deal for $35M in cash plus warrants covering 10M SMLP common units; SMLP says it is suspending distributions on its common units

·     Valero Energy (VLO), Phillips 66 (PSX) and HollyFrontier (HFC) all upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Mizuho saying as a direct result of COVID-19, North America will become even more gasoline intense to the benefit of U.S independent refiners

Financials

·     Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A) Q1 operating earnings of $5.87B increased from $5.55B in the year ago quarter as insurance investment income gained 12%; said Q1 insurance-underwriting operating earnings of $363M fell from $389M a year earlier, insurance-investment operating income of $1.39B increased from $1.24B and railroad, utilities and energy operating income of $1.75B vs. $1.86B; other businesses operating income of $2.04B vs. $2.20B.

·     Loews (L) Q1 EPS ($2.20) vs. $1.27 last year and reports Q1 revenue $3.1B vs. $3.76B last year; said Q1 book value per share $60.28 and Q1 book value per share excluding AOCI $64.17; CNA’s results decreased primarily due to a decline in net investment income reflecting losses from limited partnership and common stock investment

Healthcare

·     Gilead Sciences (GILD) received GDA emergency use authorization for remdesivir, its experimental therapy first tested on Ebola disease patients, as a COVID-19 treatment. The authorization means that the drug can be used by hospitalized patients with suspected or laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 outside of clinical trials or on a compassionate use basis

·     Roche (RHHBY) says the U.S. FDA issued an emergency use authorization for its new Elecsys antibody test to help determine if people have been infected with the coronavirus. Roche says the new test is designed to help determine if a patient has been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and if the patient has developed antibodies against the virus.

·     BioMarin Pharmaceuticals (BMRN) enters a preclinical collaboration and license agreement with DiNAQOR AG to develop gene therapies to treat rare genetic heart diseases; DiNAQOR will get an undisclosed upfront payment and is eligible for milestones

·     Epizyme (EPZM) Q1 EPS loss (51c)/$1.4M vs. est. loss (74c)/$3.68M; Q1 cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $376.5M as of March 31, 2020, as compared to $381.1M as of December 31, 2019

·     Applied DNA Sciences (APDN) and COVID-19 vaccine development partner Takis Biotech announce that the first injections of their DNA vaccine candidates against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein produced neutralizing antibodies in test animals in work performed in Italy.

Industrials & Materials

·     KBR (KBR) has won $76.4M task order to provide engineering, logistics and reliability analysis to the Naval Air Systems Command’s F/A-18 and EA-18G Program Office (PMA-265) and $63.6M task order for NAVAIR’s Multi-Mission Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems Program Office

·     Chemical producers Lyondell (LYB) and Dow Chemical (DOW) both downgraded to underperform at Bank America

·     Honeywell (HON) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank

·     Thyssenkrupp (TYEKF) warned workers it expects the coronavirus to cause a new financial squeeze, Reuters reported, ending hopes that selling its elevator business would deliver a reprieve

Technology, Media & Telecom

·     Disney (DIS) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at MoffettNathanson

·     Telefonica (TEF) announced that in relation to the news published in some media regarding the discussions with Liberty Global (LBTYA) on a potential integration of their respective telecommunications businesses in the United Kingdom