A shaken and disoriented Wall Street looks to wake up in recovery this morning, treated for trade-related trauma, which had recently shown minor signs of subsiding, after the US Commerce Department took actions to ease restrictions on Huawei, soothing concerns of an all-out tech battle between Washington and Beijing.

Following Google’s recent suspension in providing software and services to China’s leading telecommunications equipment maker, Huawei Technologies, the White House – late on Monday, had issued a license that will effectively allow US companies to keep doing business with Huawei for the next three months, in a bid to contain the fallout from the export restrictions on the company.

Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, said Huawei will be able to access US technology and purchase equipment from American companies for up to 90 days in order to maintain existing network and update handsets. US corporations, meanwhile, will use this time to source alternative suppliers and prevent domestic systems, especially in rural areas, from crashing.

These pre-market moves had retraced much Monday’s losses, where Technology (-1.74%) stocks dragged on Wall Street as investors measured these implications on trade between China and the US.

The S&P 500 lost -0.66%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite nursed a -1.69% decline, following losses in Apple (AAPL: -3.13%), Alphabet (GOOGL: -2.06%) and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX: -3.99%), the sector now having its worst month since the 2008 financial crisis.

In today’s earnings calendar; Existing Home Sales data for April is expected to be released at 10am EST.

In corporate news; Home Depot (HD), Kohl’s (KSS), Nordstrom (JWN), TJX Cos. (TJX), J.C. Penney (JCP), Toll Brothers (TOL), Autozone (AZO), Williams-Sonoma (WSM) and Urban Outfitters (URBN) are expected to release earnings this Tuesday.

TODAY’S TOP HEADLINES
China & Trade: US Slows Hiring of Chinese Nationals by Chip Makers. (The WSJ)
The US has sharply slowed approvals for the nation’s semiconductor companies to hire Chinese nationals for advanced engineering jobs, according to industry insiders, who say the delays are limiting access to vital talent.

China & Trade: All-Out Trade War Could Cost Global Economy $600 Billion. (Bloomberg)
The escalation of the US-China trade war adds to risks for an already-stumbling global economy, denting expectations of a stronger second half to the year. In an all-out trade war, global GDP would be lower by 0.6%, close to $600 billion, relative to a no trade war scenario.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR
Today’s Economical Announcements.

10:00AM – ★★★ – Existing Home Sales (Apr) (Previous: 5.21M)
10:00AM – ★★☆ – Existing Home Sales (MoM) (Apr) (Previous: -4.9%)

STOCKS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Pre-Market Movers & News Related Stocks.

Kohl’s (KSS): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of 61 cents per share, missing consensus by 7 cents a share. Revenue was above forecasts, but comparable-store sales were down 3.4% versus estimates of a 0.2% drop. Kohl’s also cut its full-year forecast, saying the year had gotten off to a slower start than it had expected.

Tesla (TSLA): [REVIEW] Cut its “worst case scenario” for the automaker’s shares to $10 per share from $97 a share, citing Tesla’s rising debt levels and geopolitical exposure.

AutoZone (AZO): [EARNINGS] Reported profit of $15.99 per share for its fiscal third quarter, beating the $15.14 a share consensus estimate. Revenue also came in above analysts’ forecasts, with comparable-store sales rising 3.9%.

J.C. Penney (JCP): [EARNINGS] Lost an adjusted 46 cents for the first quarter, 8 cents a share more than Wall Street had anticipated. Revenue was in line with expectations, but a same-store sales drop of 5.5% was more than the 4.2% decline that analysts had predicted.

Home Depot (HD): [EARNINGS] Reported first quarter profit of $2.27 per share, 9 cents a share above estimates. Revenue came in very slightly above forecasts. Global comparable-store sales were up 2.5% during the quarter, with U.S. comparable sales up 3%.

QEP Resources (QEP): [NEWS] Has attracted takeover interest from several parties, according to a Bloomberg report. Blackstone is among those said to be interested in the drilling company, which had said earlier this year it would explore a sale.

Broadcom (AVGO): [NEWS] Broadcom is the target of a US investigation focusing on the company’s chip sales, according to a Bloomberg report.

Snap (SNAP): [NEWS] Snap named Derek Andersen as chief financial ara Sweet as chief people officer, completing an overhaul of the Snapchat parent’s leadership team. Both of those positions had been vacant since January.

Boeing (BA): [NEWS] Boeing was formally asked for compensation by China Eastern Airlines for the grounding of the carrier’s 14 737 Max jets. China Eastern has also delayed delivery of future Boeing orders.

American Airlines (AAL): [NEWS] Is suing two mechanics unions, asking the court to stop what it is calling an illegal slowdown. The airline said the slowdowns had caused 650 flight cancellations and numerous delays over the past three months.

General Motors (GM): [NEWS] GM is winding down its car-sharing service Maven in eight of 17 North American cities. The shutdown includes such major markets as Chicago and Boston, although the three-year-old service will continue to operate in cities like Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Merck (MRK): [NEWS & BUYOUT] Did not meet its primary goal in a study which tested the best-selling treatment as a standalone therapy for a certain type of breast cancer. Separately, Merck announced the acquisition of cancer drugmaker Peloton Therapeutics for $1.05 billion in cash plus possible milestone payments.

DowDupont (DWDP): [NEWS] The company said that when its split-up is completed next month, the unit that will be known as simply DuPont will announced a $2 billion share repurchase program. Dow Inc. was spun out of DowDupont earlier this year.

Legg Mason (LM): [NEWS] Legg Mason appointed Trian’s Nelson Peltz and Ed Garden to its board of directors, increasing the size of the board to 12 from 10.

Ascena Retail (ASNA): [NEWS] Ascena will shut down its Dressbarn women’s apparel division, closing all 650 stores. The parent of Ann Taylor, Loft, and other women’s apparel brands said that despite revival efforts, Dressbarn’s profitability was still short of acceptable levels.

MOMENTUM STOCKS
GAINERS: –
DECLINERS: CREE, KEYS, LSCC, CDNS, LRCX, SNPS, QRVO

TODAY’S IPOs
None.