$KREF

Monday, July 26, 2021 Futures Up/Down % Last Dow -112.00 0.32% 34,839 S&P 500 -10.25 0.23% 4,393 Nasdaq -20.50 0.14% 15,077 Stocks are pulling back after another record high for stocks on Friday as markets ready for the biggest week of quarterly earnings (about 1/3 of the S&P 500 report this week) including mega-cap giants including Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Alphabet, Tesla, and Boeing among them. Sentiment was hurt by China’s widening crackdown of the technology sector and a statement from Beijing that the U.S.-China relationship was “now in a stalemate and faces serious difficulties” as high-level talks began. The comment sunk Asian markets as The Nikkei Index rose 285 points to 27,833, but the Shanghai Index tumbled -82 points to 3,467 and the Hang Seng Index plunged -1,129 points (or 4.13%) to settle at 26,192. In Europe, the German DAX is down over -60 points to 15,600, while the FTSE 100 dips about -0.25% to hold just above the 7,000 level. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury fell to 1.246% as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s outlook. The FOMC 2-day meeting begins Tuesday and ends Wednesday with a policy statement/press conference from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Stock averages posted strong returns last week as the S&P 500 rose 1.96%, the Dow rose 1.08%, and the Nasdaq added 2.84% in a big comeback (and then some) as the major indices rode a rally back into record territory, posting four-straight up days after a big selloff to start the week. The S&P, Nasdaq and Dow closed at all-time highs to make it four winning weeks out of five with the Dow ending above 35,000. It took 69 trading days to go from 34k to 35k, which is the longest since 29k to 30k took 218 days. The 10-year Treasury yield also had a big comeback, but ended the week around 1.29%, just below where it was last Friday (it had dropped to as low on 1.12% on Tuesday). Bitcoin prices rose above its 50-day moving average on Saturday for the first time since May 12. It rose again Sunday, its sixth consecutive day of gains, to above $38K. Bitcoin traded above the technical level after comments from Ark Investment Management LLC’s Cathie Wood and Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk helped boost its momentum. Prices took off yesterday after London’s City A.M. newspaper said Amazon ($AMZN) is looking to accept bitcoin payments by year-end – the story is boosting shares of Bitcoin miners, banks etc.: $SI, $MARA, $RIOT, $MSTR, $COIN. Market Closing Prices Yesterday The S&P 500 Index gained 44.31 points, or 1.01%, to 4,411.79 The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 238.20 points, or 0.68%, to 35,061.55 The Nasdaq Composite surged 152.39 points, or 1.04%, to 14,836.99 The Russell 2000 Index advanced 10.17 points, or 0.46% to 2,209.65 Events Calendar for Today 10:00 AM ET New Home Sales MoM for June 10:30 AM ET Dallas Fed Manufacturing for July Earnings Calendar: Earnings Before the Open: $ARLP, $BOH, $CBU, $HAS, $LII, $LMT, $OTIS, $PETS, $RPM Earnings After the Close: $ACC, $ADC, $AGNC, $AGRX, $AMKR, $AMP, $ARE, $ARI, AXTA, $BDN, $BRO, $CALX, $CATY, $CDNS, $CR, $FFIV, FRME, $FSTX, $HLX, $HMST, $HSII, $HTLF, $HXL, $IRT, $JJSF, KREF, MEDP, MEDS, $NBTB, $PKG, $RBB, $RRC, $SSD, $SUI, $TBI, $TNET, $TSLA, $UHS Other Key Events: Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2021 (virtual), 7/26-7/30 Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery, 7/23-7/27, in Las Vegas Macro Up/Down Last Nymex -0.56 71.51 Brent -0.48 73.62 Gold 6.30 1,808.45 EUR/USD 0.0023 1.1794 JPY/USD -0.28 110.27 10-Year Note -0.04 1.245% World News Germany July IFO climate8 vs 102.1 cons; Expectations 101.2 vs 103.3 consensus; Assessment 100.4 vs 101.5 consensus; German IFO: Supply problems are weighing on economy in both industry & retail; majority of firms complain of materials shortage and “massive” price increases; industry says it is short of production targets Sector News Breakdown Consumer Hasbro ($HAS) Q2 adj EPS $1.05 vs. est. $0.48; Q2 revs $1.32B vs. est. $ 1.17B Travel and leisure stocks rallied in the initial reopening stage of the pandemic, but the surge has fizzled with the spread of the delta variant. Barron’s identifies six stocks that can be bargains during the next leg of the reopening. Hilton ($HLT), Host Hotels & Resorts ($HST), MGM Growth Properties ($MGP), Royal Caribbean ($RCL), Travel + Leisure ($TNL), and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts ($WH) have some attributes to withstand uncertain stretches amid the rise in Covid variant, according to Barron’s China confirmed that the country is banning for-profit school tutoring companies after a report on the possible move sent shares of tutoring firms TAL Education ($TAL), New Oriental ($EDU) and Gaotu Techu ($GOTU) plunging on Friday. Companies that teach school subjects can no longer accept overseas investments, according to a Bloomberg report, which cited a notice from China’s State Council. Listed firms can no longer raise capital through stock markets Airbnb ($ABNB) CEO told Barron’s that the industry still has room to grow despite the delta variant. The pandemic has opened up a whole new business, such as monthly rentals, as people work from new places. He expects longer stays to be the bread and butter at some point TripAdvisor ($TRIP) is the cheapest online travel stock to buy according to Barron’s saying while it has struggled to make the most of its hundreds of millions of users, that could soon change as the company has started a new travel subscription service that offers discounted hotel rates and other benefits; shares now around $36, look inexpensive, having fallen from a March peak of $65 Amazon ($AMZN) is said to be looking to accept bitcoin payments by the end of the year and its exploring its own token for next year. Amazon has been working on the plan since 2019, according to a City A.M. report, which cites an unidentified insider General Motors ($GM) and its Cruise robo-taxi subsidiary have filed a lawsuit to stop Ford Motor ($F) from using the name “BlueCruise” to market its hands-free driving technology Energy, Industrials and Materials RBC Bearings ($ROLL) is in advanced talks to buy ABB Ltd.’s ($ABB) mechanical power transmission business, for between $2.5 billion and $3 billion Bloomberg reported this weekend Lithium Americas ($LAC) rises after a U.S. federal judge ruled that LAC may conduct excavation work at its Thacker Pass lithium mine site in Nevada, which could become one of the country’s biggest lithium mines producing 30,000 tonnes Otis Worldwide ($OTIS) Q2 adj EPS 79c vs. est. 71c; Q2 revs $3.7B vs. est. $3.45B; Q2 new equipment orders were up 23.9% and backlog was up 10%; raises FY21 adjusted EPS view to $2.89-$2.93 from $2.78-$2.84 (est. $2.87) and boosts FY21 revs view to $14.1B-$14.2B from $13.6B-$13.9B Canada’s Unifor union says ~900 workers have gone on strike at Rio Tinto’s ($RIO) Kitimat aluminum smelting plant and Kemano power generating facility in British Columbia over labor contracts with the company Seadrill ($SDRLF) said it entered into agreements with creditors to raise $350 million in new financing and reduce its liabilities by over $4.9 billion Financials Robinhood ($HOOD) IPO coming soon, and Barron’s cautious on shares; notes Robinhood is a truly transformational company, but its problem is the quality and sustainability of its revenue, notes is also highly dependent on cryptocurrency trading, another area under close review by the SEC KeyCorp ($KEY), M&T Bank ($MTB) among bank stocks with yields above 3%, according to Barron’s noting this year’s rally in bank stocks appears to have slowed to a sputter, but investors should stick around given banks’ reliable dividends Healthcare Bristol Myers ($BMY) decided to voluntarily withdraw the indication for Opdivo as a single agent for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma Incyte Corporation ($INCY) said the FDA issued a Complete Response Letter regarding its Biologics License Application (BLA) for retifanlimab, an intravenous PD-1 inhibitor, for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCAC) who have progressed on, or who are intolerant of, platinum-based chemotherapy. Genetron Holdings ($GTH) announces that its Ayvakit (avapritinib) companion diagnostic (CDx) kit, developed in partnership with CStone Pharmaceuticals has entered the priority review and approval process in China. PerkinElmer, Inc. ($PKI) entered into an agreement to acquire BioLegend, a leading, global provider of life science antibodies and reagents, for approximately $5.25 billion in a combination of cash and stock, subject to certain adjustments Tonix Pharmaceuticals ($TNXP) said it will stop enrollment in the Phase 3 Rally study of TNX-102 SL 5.6 mg for the management of fibromyalgia, sending shares lower by over 30% Technology, Media & Telecom Tencent Music ($TME) shares fall -14% after Chinese regulators ordered the company to give up exclusive music streaming rights and pay half a million yuan in fines Check Point ($CHKP) Q2 EPS $1.61 vs., est. $1.56; Q2 revs $526.1M vs. est. $523.7M Consumer spending on videogames in the second quarter eked out a 2% gain against very tough pandemic comps, as data from NPD Group’s Q2 2021 Games Market Dynamics report show overall spending hit $14B for the April-June quarter, with gains across PC, cloud and non-console VR content, mobile and subscription spending as well as hardware.

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