US equity futures traded mostly higher on Wednesday, for a second consecutive session, as markets continued to recover from Monday’s brutal selloff, which included the biggest one-day plunge in global equities since February 2018.
Following the US Treasury Department’s decision to label China a “currency manipulator”, the first such distinction since 1994, officials in Beijing have pegged the yuan at 6.9996 against the dollar, the lowest mid-point setting in more than 11 years, which has allowed the currency to subsequently drift below the 7 mark for a third consecutive session today.
The move both indicates China's desire to weaken its own currency to mitigate the effects of long-standing tariffs, as well as amplifying Beijing's insistence that it must be treated as an equal in trade talks with the US, the world's largest economy.
Despite investors remaining on tenterhooks, Wall Street’s S&P 500 registered its biggest one-day rise in two months on Tuesday, up +1.40%, as investors processed the escalating trade dispute between the US and China and its impact on global growth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which briefly turned negative, recovered to end the session up +1.24%, while the Nasdaq Composite added +1.40% to its value.
Ahead, in today’s economic calendar, Wednesday includes; Crude Oil Inventories for the week ended August 2 at 10:30am EST.
This will be paired with today’s long line-up of earnings releases from; CVS Health (CVS), Lyft (LYFT), Roku (ROKU), Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), Fox (FOXA), Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA), American International Group (AIG), Monster Beverage (MNST), Sinclair Broadcast (SBGI), New York Times (NYT), Wendy's (WEN), Eventbrite (EB), Zillow (ZG) and TripAdvisor (TRIP).
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
China & Currency: China sets the yuan midpoint at 6.9996 per dollar. (CNBC)
China’s central bank set the official midpoint reference for the yuan at 6.9996, slightly weaker than expected, two days after Washington labeled Beijing a currency manipulator.
ECONOMIC CALENDAR
Today's Economical Announcements.
10:30AM - ★★★ - Crude Oil Inventories (Previous: -8.496M)
STOCKS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Pre-Market Movers & News Related Stocks.
Weight Watchers (WW): [EARNINGS] Came in 14 cents a share above consensus forecasts, with quarterly earnings of 78 cents per share. The weight loss company’s revenue missed forecasts. Weight Watchers also raised its full-year forecast as it sees upbeat member recruitment trends.
Match Group (MTCH): [EARNINGS] Reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter, with the dating service operator also raising its full-year forecast. Match’s performance was helped in part by strong subscriber growth at its Tinder service.
Hertz (HTZ): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of 74 cents per share, well above the consensus estimate of 37 cents per share. The car rental company’s revenue came in above Wall Street forecasts, rising to a record high. Hertz said its bottom line was helped by productivity improvements.
Lumber Liquidators (LL): [EARNINGS] Matched estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of 7 cents per share. Revenue missed forecasts, however, and the company also cut its full-year sales forecast as its see’s software customer traffic.
Walt Disney (DIS): [EARNINGS] Missed consensus estimates by 40 cents a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.35 per share. Revenue also fell short of forecasts. Disney said the integration of the $70 billion in assets acquired from the former 21st Century Fox was responsible for the miss.
CVS Health (CVS): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.89 per share, 20 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also came in above forecasts, as same-store sales rose 4.2%. CVS also raised its full-year guidance, as it continues to benefit from its acquisition of insurer Aetna, as well as increasing sales of prescription drugs.
Capri Holdings (CPRI): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of 95 cents per share, 5 cents a share above estimates. Revenue was slightly below forecasts, however, and Capri cut its full-year outlook on weaker-than-expected demand for Michael Kors-branded products.
CyberArk Software (CYBR): [EARNINGS] Earned an adjusted 59 cents per share for its latest quarter 12 cents a share above estimates. Revenue was also above analysts’ projections, benefiting from growth in its customer base. The company also raised its full-year forecast.
Cambrex (CBM): [BUYOUT] Agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of Permira funds for $60 per share in cash, 47% above Tuesday’s closing price. The deal is valued at $2.4 billion, including assumed debt.
Papa John’s (PZZA): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of 28 cents per share, 2 cents a share shy of Street forecasts. The pizza chain’s revenue came in above estimates. Papa John’s is also forecasting a loss of 10 cents to 40 cents per share for 2019, compared to prior estimates of breakeven to a 50 cents per share profit.
Wendy’s (WEN): [EARNINGS] Beat forecasts by a penny a share, with adjusted quarterly earnings of 18 cents per share. Revenue missed forecasts. A North American same-store sales increase of 1.4% was slightly above consensus forecasts.
Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA): [EARNINGS] Came in 3 cents a share above estimates, with adjusted quarterly profit of 60 cents per share. Revenue above topped estimates. Separately, the company announced the departure of CFO Michael McClellan due to personal reasons.
Office Depot (ODP): [EARNINGS] Beat estimates by 2 cents a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of 7 cents per share. Revenue matched Street forecasts, helped by stronger performance in its business-to-business operations.
Wynn Resorts (WYNN): [EARNINGS] Matched forecasts with adjusted quarterly earnings of $1.44 per share, with the casino operator’s revenue slightly above analysts’ estimates. The company said strength in Macau and upbeat hotel revenue in Las Vegas helped drive results.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA): [NEWS] Said it planned to close about 200 US stores in a move it says will deliver annual cost savings of more than $1.5 billion by 2022.
Twitter (TWTR): [NEWS] Twitter said it may have used data for personalized ads without account holder permission. It discovered and fixed the issue earlier this week, although it has not yet determined who may have been affected.
MOMENTUM STOCKS
GAINERS: PODD, SHAK, CFX, VG, USFD, ZTS
DECLINERS: IFF, ENR, CDNA, RAMP, MOS, CAH, ON, DK, DOCU
TODAY'S IPOs
None.
