US stock futures were higher on Wednesday, as investors looked to support from a stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings report from Apple (AAPL); offsetting concerns over the coronavirus in Asia.
The spread of the deadly virus had shown no signs of abating however, with the number of cases rising past 6,000, greater than the number of total infections from the 2003 SARS outbreak. Fatalities rose to 132.
Despite this, corporate developments look to help extend upon Tuesday's gains, where the S&P 500 (+1.05%) calmed somewhat from the epidemic’s initial blow to confidence as investors reacted to positive earnings from a series of blue-chip companies.
Ahead, in today’s economic calendar, Wednesday includes the Federal Reserve's policy statement at 2:00pm EST, followed by Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments at a press briefing at 2:30pm EST.
The calendar also includes; Retail Inventories and International Trade in Goods for December at 8:30am EST, Pending Home Sales Index for December at 10am EST and Crude Oil Inventories for the week ended Jan. 24 at 10:30am EST.
Earnings are expected today from; Microsoft (MSFT), Facebook (FB), Boeing (BA), Tesla (TSLA), McDonald's (MCD), Mastercard (MA), General Electric (GE), AT&T's (T), Lam Research (LRCX), PayPal (PYPL), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Qorvo (QRVO) and Dow Inc. (DOW).
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
China: 10-Year-Old Boy Raises Fears Wuhan Virus Could Spread Undetected. (Bloomberg)
The case of a 10-year-old boy who was diagnosed with the Wuhan Coronavirus even though he showed no symptoms is raising concern that people may be spreading the virus undetected by the front-line screening methods implemented to contain the epidemic.
ECONOMIC CALENDAR
Today's Economical Announcements.
08:30AM - ★★☆ - Retail Inventories Ex Auto (Dec) (Previous: -0.2%)
08:30AM - ★★☆ - Goods Trade Balance (Dec) (Previous: -62.99B)
10:00AM - ★★☆ - Pending Home Sales (Dec) (Previous: 1.2%)
10:30AM - ★★★ - Crude Oil Inventories (Previous: -0.405M)
02:00PM - ★★★ - Fed Interest Rate Decision (Previous: 1.75%)
02:30PM - ★★★ - FOMC Press Conference
STOCKS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Pre-Market Movers & News Related Stocks.
L Brands (LB): [NEWS] Leslie Wexner is in talks to step aside as CEO of L Brands, and is exploring strategic options for the Victoria’s Secret Brand, according to The Wall Street Journal.
General Electric (GE): [EARNINGS] Quarterly profit of 21 cents per share beat consensus by 3 cents a share. Revenue was also above estimates, boosted by a strong aviation business.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD): [EARNINGS] Beat estimates by a penny a share, with quarterly profit of 32 cents per share. The chipmaker’s revenue was slightly above forecast as well. AMD gave a current-quarter revenue forecast that was below estimates, however, with demand from videogame console makers slowing ahead of the launch of new systems.
EBay (EBAY): [EARNINGS] Came in 5 cents a share ahead of consensus, with adjusted quarterly earnings of 81 cents per share. Revenue also exceeded forecasts by a small margin, however the e-commerce company gave a weaker-than-expected outlook and analysts have expressed concern that eBay is losing ground to new competitors.
Apple (AAPL): [EARNINGS] Reported quarterly earnings of $4.99 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 a share. Revenue was also above estimates. Apple had better-than-expected sales of iPhones and wearables during the quarter, although services revenue was shy of Street forecasts. Apple also gave a better-than-expected revenue forecast for the current quarter.
Match Group (MTCH): [NEWS] CEO Mandy Ginsberg is stepping down, with The Wall Street Journal reporting that Ginsberg is facing a variety of challenges in her personal life.
Boeing (BA): [EARNINGS] Lost $2.33 per share for the fourth quarter and reported an annual loss for 2019, its first since 1997. Boeing now estimates the total cost of the 737 Max grounding at $18.6 billion, and an increase in production costs for the 737 Max over the life of the program of $2.6 billion.
McDonald’s (MCD): [EARNINGS] Reported quarterly profit of $1.97 per share, a penny a share above estimates. Revenue was in line with forecasts. Both global and US comparable-store sales came in above consensus.
Starbucks (SBUX): [EARNINGS] Came in 3 cents a share ahead of estimates, with quarterly earnings of 79 cents per share. Revenue was essentially in line with forecasts, however the coffee chain also warned that the coronavirus outbreak in China would have a negative impact on its full-year results.
AT&T (T): [EARNINGS] Beat estimates by 2 cents a share, with quarterly earnings of 89 cents per share. Revenue came in below Wall Street forecasts.
Stanley Black & Decker (SWK): [EARNINGS] Matched estimates with quarterly earnings of $2.18 per share, but revenue was below consensus. The company also gave a 2020 adjusted earnings forecast of $8.80 to $9.00 per share, largely below the consensus estimate of $9.00 a share.
Goldman Sachs (GS): [NEWS] Will hold its first-ever investor day today in New York.
Beyond Meat (BYND): [NEWS] Has been removed from Tim Hortons restaurants in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and British Columbia, with the chain saying the products did not prove as popular as it had anticipated.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM): [NEWS] Is planning to cut hundreds of jobs in its consumer division, according to a Bloomberg report.
MOMENTUM STOCKS
GAINERS: LAUR, CIT, BRO, PHM, ARNC
DECLINERS: LOPE, MMM
TODAY'S IPOs
Annovis Bio (ANVS) (Price: 6) (Est. Vol: $12.0M)
