Monday, August 30, 2021
Futures Up/Down % Last
Dow 22.00 0.06% 35,425
S&P 500 4.25 0.11% 4,510
Nasdaq 26.50 0.17% 15,452
Stock futures in the U.S. are looking higher, extending last week gains following Friday’s dovish address from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, where he laid out the case for the slowing of the Fed’s $120 billion in monthly bond purchases, but offered no firm time table. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index jumped 148 points to 27,789, the Shanghai Index inched higher about 6 points to 3,538 and the Hang Seng Index rose 131 points to 25,539. In Europe, the German DAX rises 35 points to 15,885, while the FTSE 100 is up about 20 points to 7,150. Shares of U.S. insurance companies, energy firms, utilities and refiners may be active when trading starts Monday after Hurricane Ida slammed ashore, hitting the Louisiana coast with winds more powerful than Hurricane Katrina. Stocks closed out last week at new all-time highs, as the S&P 500 climbed 0.9%, settling above 4,500 for the first time, while the Nasdaq Composite advances 1.2% to a new record. For the week, the S&P 500 rose 1.5%, the Dow rose about 1% and the Nasdaq rose 2.8% and the Russell 2000 index jumped 5.1%. Major averages enjoyed gains all week as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell kept rate hikes far over the horizon at the virtual Jackson Hole speech. Treasury yields slumped after Powell raised the possibility of tapering asset purchases this year but set no timetable and also said there was substantial work to do before any rate moves.
Market Closing Prices Yesterday
The S&P 500 Index gained 39.37 points, or 0.88%, to 4,509.37
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 242.70 points, or 0.69%, to 35,455.80
The Nasdaq Composite surged 183.70 points, or 1.23%, to 15,129.50
The Russell 2000 Index advanced 63.17 points, or 2.85% to 2,277.15
Events Calendar for Today
10:00 AM ET Pending Home Sales MoM for July
10:00 AM ET Dallas Fed Manufacturing for August
Earnings Calendar:
Earnings Before the Open: $CLDR, $CTLT
Earnings After the Close: $NDSN, $SOL, $ZM
Other Key Events:
Citigroup Asia Tech, Media & telecom Virtual Conference, 8/27-8/31
Piper Sandler 2021 Texas Bank Forum (virtual), 8/30-9/1
Piper Houston E&P Bus Tour, 8/30-8/31
China NBS Non-Manufacturing for August
Macro Up/Down Last
Nymex -0.35 68.39
Brent -0.10 72.60
Gold -1.25 1,816.35
EUR/USD 0.0006 1.18.01
JPY/USD -0.01 109.83
10-Year Note -0.005 1.307%
Sector News Breakdown
Consumer
Li Auto ($LI) posts Q2 revs of 5.04 bln yuan ($779.20M), vs. est. 4.41 bln yuan; Q2 vehicle sales were 4.90 bln yuan during Q2 with deliveries of Li ONE SUVs rising 166% YoY; sees Q3 deliveries of vehicles to be between 25,000 and 26,000, or an increase of 188.7%-200.2% YoY
Lululemon Athletica’s ($LULU) mentioned positively in Barron’s noting the stock hasn’t gone very far since its six-month stay as a stay-at-home darling in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic bear market. Its second-quarter earnings might just be the catalyst it needs to get moving again.
Energy, Industrials and Materials
More than 90% of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico shut down this weekend as Hurricane Ida plowed toward the Louisiana coast, threatening an area that is home to 17% of U.S. oil production, 5% of natural gas output and 15% of U.S. refining capacity. Exxon Mobil ($XOM) reportedly has cut production at its Baton Rouge refinery to 50% of its 520K bbl/day capacity
Berry Global ($BERY) a positive mention in Barron’s saying the company makes plastic containers, but writing off Berry for plastics overlooks changing practices in the industry and ignores one of the sturdiest of materials stocks. Berry could narrow the gap between its 10 times 12-month forward earnings and Sealed Air’s ($SEE) and Amcor’s ($AMCR) 15 times, which would imply a 50% gain on multiple expansion alone, the author notes
Astra Space Inc ($ASTR) shares fall over -20% after the test launch of its rocket LV0006 was ended prematurely about 2-and-a-half minutes after liftoff; said one of LV0006’s engines shut down less than a second after liftoff
United Airlines Holdings Inc. ($UAL) jets like the one that lost an engine cover over Colorado in February aren’t expected to fly until early next year, as federal regulators weigh additional safeguards, people briefed on the matter said. United had hoped to resume flying the wide-body jets this summer. Dow Jones
Financials
Freshworks Inc. (FRSH) filed for an IPO in the U.S. as the customer relations management software firm looks to compete with larger rivals such as Salesforce.com (CRM). Freshworks wrote in an S-1 filing with the U.S. SEC that it aims to raise $100M
Shares of U.S. insurance companies, energy firms, utilities and refiners may be active when trading starts Monday after Hurricane Ida slammed ashore, hitting the Louisiana coast with winds more powerful than Hurricane Katrina
Healthcare
Baxter International Inc. ($BAX) is in advanced talks to buy medical-equipment maker Hill-Rom Holdings Inc. ($HRC) for around $10 billion, the WSJ reported in a deal that values Hill-Rom at around $150 a share that could be reached by midweek assuming the talks don’t fall apart (talks follow an earlier bid from Baxter worth $144 a share that Hill-Rom rebuffed) https://on.wsj.com/38kIIY9
Catalent Inc. ($CTLT) is expected to announce Monday that it has agreed to buy closely held Bettera Holdings LLC for $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest deal involving nutritional supplement companies. https://on.wsj.com/3zs40Pi
Moderna ($MRNA) slumped after authorities in Japan suspended the use of a second batch of the drugmaker’s coronavirus vaccine following the discovery of contaminants
Vapotherm ($VAPO) said the FDA has given regulatory clearance to the company’s new respiratory-therapy device, HVT 2.0. The device would make it easier for hospitals to give breathing therapy in more areas of the hospital, not just in intensive-care units
Technology, Media & Telecom
Tesla Inc ($TSLA) Chief Executive Elon Musk has signaled competition concerns over Nvidia Corp’s (NVDA) planned purchase of British chip designer Arm, the Telegraph reported on Saturday, citing multiple sources. Amazon.com Inc and smartphone maker Samsung Electronics Co Ltd have also lodged opposition to the deal with U.S. authorities, the newspaper reported.
Barron’s noted China’s most well-known companies are starting to look cheap to some U.S. investors, though the likelihood of volatility means there will be ample opportunity to buy. Alibaba ($BABA), Tencent ($TCEHY) and Yum China ($YUMC) are among the ones to watch
HP Inc. ($HPQ) and Dell ($DELL) look attractive and cheap, according to Barron’s. One peculiar outcome of the pandemic has been a newfound appreciation for the personal computer, with the pandemic underlining the need to upgrade to hardware capable of running videoconferencing and other essential software
Globalstar ($GSAT) shares may move on a report that Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 13 will use satellite connectivity so users can make calls and texts in areas without cellular coverage https://bit.ly/3sXY2mN
