U.S. futures are edging higher, looking to add to the gains from Thursday, but major averages remain on track to snap their 5-week winning streak after a sharp pullback Wednesday off all-time highs due to rising inflation fears renewed concerns the economy is going to quick too fast and the Fed may need to “pump the brakes” sooner than later with interest rate hikes (fed fund futures now pointing to a June ’22 star). The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended higher on Thursday, boosted by chipmakers after high inflation numbers dampened investor sentiment and put the brakes on a streak of record closing highs.
U.S. Treasury bond yields remain calm after reopening (closed yesterday for Veteran’s Day), with the 10-year yield still under 1.6%. European stocks were steady with U.S. futures, while Asian shares rose at the end of a volatile week. Meanwhile, U.S. officials have warned European Union counterparts that Russia may be weighing a potential invasion of Ukraine, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index rose 1.1% to 29,609, the Shanghai Index gained +0.18% to 3,539, and the Hang Seng Index gained about 0.32% to settle at 25,327. In Europe, the German DAX is up about +0.2% to 16,110, while the FTSE 100 is down roughly-0.4% at 7,350.
Market Closing Prices Yesterday
The S&P 500 Index gained 2.56 points, or 0.06%, to 4,649.27
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -158.71 points, or 0.44%, to 35,921.23
The Nasdaq Composite jumped 81.58 points, or 0.52%, to 15,704.28
The Russell 2000 Index advanced 19.56 points, or 0.82% to 2,409.14
Events Calendar for Today
10:00 AM ET University of Michigan Confidence, Nov-P
10:00 AM ET JOLTs Job Openings for September
1:00 PM EST Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data
Earnings Calendar:
Earnings Before the Open: BKKT, EMAN, HYZN, MOTS, MRAM, NXTD, PLXP, ROLL, SOHO, SPB, TH, VIVO
Other Key Events:
American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Meeting, 11/12-11/15 ($virtual)
American Academy of Ophthalmology 2021 Conference, 11/12-11/15, New Orleans
Baird 51st Annual Global Industrial Conference, 11/9-11/12 ($virtual)
Jefferies 2nd Annual Global Interactive Entertainment Conference, 11/11-11/12 ($virtual)
Morgan Stanley Global Chemicals, Agriculture & Packaging Conference, 11/10-11/12 ($virtual)
REITWorld 2021 Annual Conference, 11/9-11/12 ($virtual)
Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, 11/10-11/14, in Washington D.C.
World News
The U.S. has warned that Russian forces are amassing near the Ukrainian border. The U.S. has sounded the alarm, warned EU allies that Moscow may be planning to invade Ukraine, though Russia said the military deployments are on its territory and denies any aggressive intentions
Eurozone Sept Industrial Production beat: -0.2% m/m vs -0.5% consensus, 5.2% y/y vs 4.1% consensus
German Oct Wholesale Prices higher: 1.6% m/m vs 0.8% previous, 15.2% y/y vs 13.2% previous
**Sector News Breakdown**
**Consumer**
Blink Charging ($BLNK) 3Q EPS ($0.36) vs est. ($0.29) on revs $6.4Mm vs est. $4.7Mm, says 3,016 charging stations contracted or sold in 3Q +351% YoY
Lordstown Motors ($RIDE) Q3 EPS ($0.54) vs est. ($0.59); now expect commercial production and deliveries of its Endurance pickup truck will begin in Q3 of 2022
Volkswagen AG ($VWAGY) reports October global sales slumped 33.5% to 600,900 vehicles; YTD global sales up 2% to 7.55M vehicles; China sales slipped 37.2% to 236,500 vehicles for the month.
**Energy, Industrials and Materials**
Astra Space, Inc., ($ASTR) Q3 EPS ($6c) vs est. ($16c), adj EBITDA ($32.9M) vs est. ($33.5M); preparing to perform a test launch for the SpaceForce in coming week or so, subject to readiness of launch conditions; sees Q4 adj EBITDA ($44M)-($40M) vs est. ($33.7M)
Ballard Power Systems ($BLDP) agrees to buy 100% of Arcola Energy, a UK-based systems engineering company specializing in hydrogen fuel cell powertrain and vehicle systems integration for total upfront and earn-out cash and share consideration of up to $40M
Sundial Growers ($SNDL) rises after the Canadian cannabis producer announced a $100m share buyback alongside quarterly results
**Healthcare**
Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) plans to split into two companies, according to the WSJ. The company’s consumer division, which includes Band-Aid and Tylenol, will be separated from the pharmaceutical and medical-devices businesses under the plan, according to the report. J&J will shed its consumer division in 18 to 24 months
Biogen Inc’s ($BIIB) said late-stage studies found that its Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm significantly lowered blood levels of an abnormal form of the protein tau. Tau forms toxic tangles of nerve fibers associated with the mind-wasting disease and is a target of experimental Alzheimer’s drug
AstraZeneca ($AZN) Q3 core Ebit of $2.28 billion was 14% below consensus, reflecting a lower gross margin while sales were 1% below consensus, with many key growth drivers shy of expectations
Co-Diagnostics ($CODX) Q3 EPS $0.38 vs. est. $0.21; Q3 revs $30.1M vs. est. $24.32M; guides FY21 EPS $1.07-$1.16 vs. est. $0.98; sees FY21 revenue $96.0M-$100.0M vs. est. $95.21M.
**Technology, Media & Telecom**
Luminar Technologies Inc. ($LAZR) 3Q adj EPS ($0.10) vs est. ($0.10) on revs $8Mm vs est. $8.9Mm; Cash, Cash Equivalents and Marketable Securities were $544.9M as of September 30, 2021, putting the company on track to meet its goal of ending the year with more cash than starting cash of $485.7M
Phunware ($PHUN) 3Q EPS $0.01 vs est. ($0.04) on revs $2.2Mm vs est. $2.3Mm; says raised more than $65Mm and now holds approx 129 Bitcoin, committed to growing and digital currency holdings in future; says expect to add decentralized finance (defi) to corporate treasury activities
