New York stock exchanges are stationed to rebound this morning as positive headlines surrounding China look to alleviate fears of an impending slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission stated, today, it aimed to create a “good start” for the economy over the first few months of the year, raising hopes that planned stimulus, including tax cuts and liquidity support equal to $220 billion, could be deployed in order to halt the slowest pace of growth in nearly a decade.
It was these addressed concerns about China’s economic outlook that provided the backdrop for Wall Street’s sell-off on Monday, after a batch of weak data, showing Chinese exports fell in December by the most in two years, pushed stocks in Asia lower on Monday, with waves bitter sentiment quickly reaching US shores.
The S&P 500 finished -0.61% lower; Financials, up +0.69%, were the only S&P 500 sector to finish positive, led by Citigroup (C: +3.95%) following the release of the bank’s latest earnings report.
Weakest of the benchmark’s sectors were Utilities (-2.25%), Healthcare (-1.1%), and Technology (-0.93%).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped -0.39%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed -0.88% of its value.
In today’s corporate news, earnings season is in full swing, with investors keenly watching out for results from Wall Street titans; J.P. Morgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) before market open.
Earnings are also expected from Delta Air Lines (DAL), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Synovus Financial (SNV) and IHS Markit (INFO) before the opening bell.
Followed by; United Continental (UAL), Fulton Financial (FULT), Hanmi Financial (HAFC), Washington Federal (WAFD), Pinnacle Financial (PNFP) after market close.
In economic news, weighing on investors is the partial government shutdown, which has entered its 25th day and is the longest shutdown on record.
Meanwhile, market participants will keep track with PPI data due at 8:30am EST.
TODAY’S TOP HEADLINES:
Brexit: A crunch Brexit vote is coming that could trigger even more political chaos. (CNBC)
British lawmakers are set to vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s much-maligned Brexit deal on Tuesday, with less than 75 days to go before the U.K. is set to leave the European Union.
Politics: White House Looks to Chip Away at Democrats’ Resolve as Record Shutdown Rolls On. (The WSJ)
The White House is looking to peel off rank-and-file Democrats from the leadership, administration officials said, in a long-shot bid to strike a deal giving President Trump the border-wall funding he demands as options for reopening the government narrow.
ECONOMIC CALENDAR:
Today’s Economical Announcements
08:30AM – ★☆☆ – Core PPI (YoY) (Dec) (Previous: 2.7%)
08:30AM – ★★☆ – Core PPI (MoM) (Dec) (Previous: 0.3%)
Tentative – ★★☆ – Exports (Previous: 211.05B)
Tentative – ★★☆ – Imports (Previous: 266.53B)
08:30AM – ★★☆ – NY Empire State Manuf. (Jan) (Previous: 10.90)
08:30AM – ★☆☆ – PPI (YoY) (Dec) (Previous: 2.5%)
08:30AM – ★★★ – PPI (MoM) (Dec) (Previous: 0.1%)
STOCKS IN THE SPOTLIGHT:
Pre-Market Movers & News Related Stocks
Sherwin-Williams (SHW): [EARNINGS] Issued weaker-than-expected preliminary quarterly results, citing weak sales growth by its North American stores in October and November.
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (PLAY): [GUIDANCE] Raised its revenue guidance for the fiscal year ending Feb. 3.
PG&E (PCG): [NEWS] Pressured following the utility’s announcement Monday that it intended to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Exelixis (EXEL): [NEWS] The drugmaker received FDA approval for its Cabometryx tablets designed to treat patients with a rare form of liver cancer.
Canopy Growth (CGC): [NEWS] Was granted a license to produce hemp products in New York state.
Tilray (TLRY): [NEWS] The lockup on share sales by insiders at the cannabis producer expires Tuesday. Separately, Tilray announced a revenue sharing partnership with Authentic Brands group to develop and market consumer cannabis products.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM): [EARNINGS] Reported quarterly profit of $1.98 per share, below the consensus estimate of $2.20, revenue essentially in line.
Delta Air Lines (DAL): [EARNINGS] Beat forecasts by 3 cents with adjusted quarterly earnings of $1.30 per share, revenue in line with forecasts.
CVS Health (CVS): [NEWS] CVS said it expects Walmart pharmacies to leave its pharmacy-benefit-management network in a dispute over pricing.
Oracle (ORCL): [DOWNGRADE] Downgraded to “equal-weight” from “overweight” at Morgan Stanley, which said it does not see the catalysts needed to drive the stock higher this year.
Wells Fargo (WFC): [EARNINGS] Reported earnings per share of $1.21, above estimates, revenue beat forecasts.
Apple (AAPL): [NEWS] A German court threw out a patent suit against Apple by Qualcomm, reversing a recent decision that banned the sale of some iPhones in Germany.
UnitedHealth Group (UNH): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of $3.28 per share, 7 cents above consensus, revenue beat forecasts.
Take-Two Interactive (TTWO): [NEWS] Signed a licensing deal with the NBA players union for its “NBA 2K” franchise, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Ford Motor (F): [NEWS] For and Volkswagen are set to announce an alliance today at the Detroit auto show that will focus on commercial vehicles and expand into electric and self-driving technology, according to Reuters.
Energizer Holdings (ENR): [NEWS] Announced preliminary first-quarter net sales of about $572 million, above the consensus Refinitiv estimate of $570.7 million.
Intel (INTC): [NEWS] Chief Strategy Officer Aicha Evans is leaving the chipmaker to become CEO at autonomous vehicle startup Zoox.
Viacom (VIAB): [UPGRADE] Viacom was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Pivotal Research in a valuation call.
MOMENTUM STOCKS:
GAINERS: GCI, BBBY
LOSERS: PCG, TLRD, HOME, M
TODAY’S IPOs
None.