US equity index futures edged lower on Wednesday, leaving Wall Street in danger of snapping a five-day winning streak, after investors found little to work with following Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address.
Trump said in his speech; “We are now making it clear to China that after years of targeting our industries and stealing our intellectual property, the theft of American jobs and wealth has come to an end”.
He added; “I have great respect for President Xi and we are now working on a new trade deal with China. But it must include real structural change to end unfair trade practices, reduce our chronic trade deficit and protect American jobs”.
Trump’s remarks left current progress of the US-China talks rather speculative, with some investors raising doubts that the two sides will be able to reach an agreement by their self-imposed March 1 deadline.
The Union Address came after Tuesday’s trading session, where US stocks climbed higher alongside Treasuries as investors digested a heavy slate of earnings.
The S&P 500 ended the day +0.42% higher, advancing for the fifth straight day.
Communication Services (+1.1%) stocks were the biggest gainers, leading the benchmark higher, followed closely by Consumer Discretionary (+0.94%) and Technology (+0.84%) shares.
The Dow Jones and Nasdaq Composite both also finished higher, positive +0.65% and +0.88%, respectively.
In today’s data front, US Trade and Goods data is scheduled for release at 8:30am EST.
Followed by an after-market speech from The Federal Reserve’s chairman, Jerome Powell, at 7pm EST where he is expected to deliver opening remarks and answer questions on monetary policy at a town hall meeting.
Investors will also focus on a slew of corporate earnings, with; GM, FDC, LLY, BSX, CTSH, SEE, CMI, CPRI, MAS, MLCO and JEC scheduled to report before the opening bell.
While; CMG, AIG, LNC, TWO, MTCH, GPRO, FEYE, AMPE, ELY, FTNT, PRU and FTNT are set to report after today’s close.
TODAY’S TOP HEADLINES:
Politics: Trump Yields No Ground to Democrats in Combative State of Union. (Bloomberg)
Donald Trump called for bipartisanship in his State of the Union address, on his terms. The president offered Democrats nothing in exchange for their votes to build his promised wall on the Mexican border, while he excoriated them for their positions on abortion, blocking his nominees in the Senate and “ridiculous partisan investigations.”
Politics: Trump Seeks to Reset Border-Wall Debate. (The WSJ)
President Trump in his State of the Union on Tuesday renewed his call for a wall on the southern US border, but without repeating his threats in recent weeks to declare an emergency, striking a less-rigid tone in his first address to a divided Congress.
ECONOMIC CALENDAR:
Today’s Economical Announcements
08:30AM – ★★★ – Building Permits (Previous: 1.328M)
08:30AM – ★★★ – Core D. Goods (MoM) (Previous: -0.3%)
08:30AM – ★★☆ – D. Goods Orders (MoM) (Previous: 0.8%)
08:30AM – ★★★ – Core Retail Sales (MoM) (Previous: 0.2%)
08:30AM – ★★☆ – Exports (Previous: 211.05B)
08:30AM – ★★☆ – Imports (Previous: 266.53B)
08:30AM – ★★☆ – Goods Trade Balance (Previous: -77.25B)
10:30AM – ★★★ – Crude Oil Inventories (Previous: 0.919M)
STOCKS IN THE SPOTLIGHT:
Pre-Market Movers & News Related Stocks
Snap (SNAP): [EARNINGS] Lost 4 cents per share for its latest quarter, less than the 7 cents a share that analysts had forecast. Revenue and user metrics beat estimates.
Electronic Arts (EA): [EARNINGS] Beat estimates by 1 cent a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.95 per share. Revenue fell below forecasts.
Take-Two Interactive (TTWO): [NEWS] Reported lower-than-expected earnings. Revenue fell below forecasts.
Spotify (SPOT): [NEWS] Announced the acquisitions of podcasting companies Gimlet Media and Anchor for undisclosed amounts, as well as reporting its first quarterly operating profit.
Capri Holdings (CPRI): [EARNINGS] Earned $1.76 per share for its latest quarter, beating estimates by 18 cents a share. Revenue slightly below forecasts.
Plantronics (PLT): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.36 per share, beating estimates by 17 cents a share. Revenue beat forecasts.
Shutterfly (SFLY): [NEWS] Shutterfly announced the departure of CEO Christopher North at the end of August.
Tableau Software (DATA): [EARNINGS] Lost 3 cents per share for its fourth quarter, less than the 8 cents a share loss that analysts had expected. Revenue above forecasts.
Spirit Airlines (SAVE): [EARNINGS] Earned an adjusted $1.38 per share for the fourth quarter, matching Wall Street forecasts. Revenue came in above estimates.
Eli Lilly (LLY): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.33 per share, falling a penny a share below estimates. Revenue beat forecasts.
Humana (HUM): [EARNINGS] Earned an adjusted $2.65 per share for its latest quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 a share. Revenue also beat forecasts.
Walt Disney (DIS): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.84 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 a share. Revenue above forecasts.
Apple (AAPL): [NEWS] Apple announced that retail operations chief Angela Ahrendts will leave the company in April to pursue new opportunities. Apple named company veteran Deirdre O’Brien to replace Ahrendts.
3M (MMM): [DIVIDEND] 3M announced a 6 percent dividend increase to $1.44 per share.
Tesla (TSLA): [NEWS] Tesla cut the price of its Model 3 for the second time this year, by $1100 to $42,900.
United Continental (UAL): [NEWS] United announced plans to add more premium seats on key business travel routes by retrofitting more than 100 jets.
SeaWorld Entertainment (SEAS): [NEWS] SeaWorld named former Carnival chief operating officer Gus Antorcha as its new chief executive officer.
MOMENTUM STOCKS:
GAINERS: EL, ARRY, VSH, CDK, LEG, AQUA, OLN, BOX, SEND
LOSERS: CHD, ADM
TODAY’S IPOs:
None.