US stock-index futures drifted sideways this morning, failing to pick up on overnight momentum across both European and Asia-Pacific markets, where investors embraced anticipation of looser monetary policy and reacted to China’s move to lessen the trade repercussions.
China's Finance Ministry revealed, on Wednesday, that higher tariffs wouldn’t be levied against a list of 16 different US imported products for a year, starting Sept. 17, adding that officials will continue to review more US goods for exemption.
These market-supportive measures come just weeks ahead of what is expected to be a key meeting between Chinese and US trade officials, led by Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, and Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, in Washington.
Today's uncertain pre-market trading looks to be an extension of yesterday’s session, where Wall Street closed mostly flat on Tuesday, as investors awaited updates on stimulus measures from some of the world’s major central banks in the coming days.
The S&P 500 closed flat (-0.02%), erasing most of its earlier losses in the final minutes of trading, as the Technology sector fell -0.51%, while Energy shares advanced +1.18% higher.
The tech losses weighed on the Nasdaq, which ended -0.29% lower, while robust gains from Boeing (BA: +2.99%) and Caterpillar (+2.39%) helped the Dow Jones notch a +0.22% rise into the close.
Ahead, in today’s economic calendar, Wednesday includes; Producer Price Index data for August at 8:30am EST, followed by Wholesale Inventories at 10am EST and Crude Oil Inventories for the week ended Sept. 6 at 10:30am EST.
In earnings; Aurora Cannabis (ACB) and Tailored Brands (TLRD) are both scheduled to report today.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
China & Trade: China exempts 16 American products from additional tariffs. (CNBC)
China’s Ministry of Finance announced plans to exempt 16 types of US products from additional tariffs on Wednesday, including food for livestock, cancer drugs and lubricants.
Markets: Hong Kong Exchange Makes Surprise $36.6 Billion Bid for LSE. (Bloomberg)
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. made an unexpected $36.6 billion bid for London Stock Exchange Group Plc, a bold move that would upend the UK bourse’s combination with Refinitiv.
ECONOMIC CALENDAR
Today's Economical Announcements.
08:30AM - ★★☆ - Core PPI (MoM) (Aug) (Previous: -0.1%)
08:30AM - ★★☆ - PPI (MoM) (Aug) (Previous: 0.2%)
10:00AM - ★☆☆ - Wholesale Inventories (MoM) (Previous: 0.0%)
10:30AM - ★★★ - Crude Oil Inventories (Previous: -4.771M)
STOCKS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Pre-Market Movers & News Related Stocks.
GameStop (GME): [EARNINGS] Lost an adjusted 32 cents per share for its second quarter, wider than the 21 cents a share loss that Wall Street analysts were expecting. The videogame retailer’s revenue was short of forecasts, as well, with comparable-store sales falling nearly 12%. GameStop also cut its sales forecast.
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (PLAY): [EARNINGS] Beat estimates by 6 cents a share, with quarterly profit of 90 cents per share. Revenue came in slightly above Wall Street forecasts, however the operator of entertainment-oriented restaurants lowered its full-year guidance, citing a “competitive environment.”
RH (RH): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of $3.20 per share, well above the consensus estimate of $2.70 a share. The company formerly known as Restoration Hardware also saw revenue beat estimates, with the home furnishings retailer also raising earnings guidance for the third time this year.
Tilray (TLRY): [NEWS] Filed for a mixed shelf offering that includes up to $400 million of common stock.
Micron Technology (MU): [UPGRADE] Upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” at Longbow Research, which points to improving pricing fundamentals in the memory and flash storage chip market.
Charles Schwab (SCHW): [NEWS] Will cut about 600 jobs, about 3% of the discount brokerage’s workforce. Schwab is trying to cut expenses as it deals with the impact of falling interest rates.
General Electric (GE): [NEWS] Is seeking to raise up to $3 billion by selling shares of oilfield services company Baker Hughes (BHGE) and reducing its stake to a minority level. GE had a 50.4% stake in Baker Hughes as of June 30.
Philip Morris (PM): [DIVIDEND] Increased its quarterly dividend by 3 cents a share to $1.14 per share, an increase of 2.6% for shareholders of the tobacco producer.
Costco (CSCO): [DOWNGRADE] Downgraded to “perform” from “outperform” at Oppenheimer, following a 45% year-to-date gain for the warehouse retailer’s stock. Oppenheimer said it sees less upside for the shares given its premium valuation, although it remains upbeat on Costco’s long-term prospects.
ADP (ADP): [DOWNGRADE] Bank of America downgraded the provider of business outsourcing solutions to “neutral” from “buy,” noting the stock’s outperformance and saying positive fundamentals are now largely priced in. The analyst report also notes the exit of activist investor Pershing Square from its position in ADP.
MOMENTUM STOCKS
GAINERS: IMMU, PBYI, DDS, PTLA, THC, SYNA
DECLINERS: ROKU, WEN, OLED, PAYC, CVNA, NEO, CME, RGEN
TODAY'S IPOs
None.
