Global markets remained unnerved by the stand-off on trade between Washington and Beijing on Friday, as market participants reassessed prospects for a trade deal. This comes after Donald Trump had blacklisted China’s Huawei from dealing with US companies without prior approval, to which, Chinese state media appeared to signal a tougher line on the trade dispute, accusing the US of playing “tricks to disrupt the atmosphere”.

Underscoring these tensions, Bank of Japan Governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, had pledged to keep Japanese interest rates near zero until at least the middle of next year, noting that a weakening global economic outlook could make Japanese manufacturers more cautious about spending.

This pre-market pull-back in US equity markets looks to combat against yesterday’s session, where the S&P 500 had secured its first three-day winning streak this month, as investors retained a sense of calm towards the state of trade relations between the US and China.

The S&P finished +0.93% higher, pulling back from an intraday high of as much as +1.4%. The Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average saw similar increases in their value, ending the session up +1.0% and +0.87% respectively.

In today’s economic calendar, Friday includes; Consumer Expectation and Sentiment figures for May at 10am EST.

In corporate news; Deere (DE) is amongst the 18 companies scheduled to report for financial results today.

TODAY’S TOP HEADLINES
China & Trade: China Downplays Chances for Trade Talks While US Plays ‘Little Tricks’. (Bloomberg)
China’s state media signalled a lack of interest in resuming trade talks with the US under the current threat to escalate tariffs, while the government said stimulus will be stepped up to buttress the domestic economy.

Trade & Agriculture: US Farmers, Wanting a Trade Deal, Brace for Aid Package They Fear Will Fall Short. (The WSJ)
Stalled trade talks between Beijing and Washington are exacerbating a slump in the US Farm Belt and few farmers believe an aid package being assembled by the Trump administration will be enough to compensate for the economic damage.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR
Today’s Economical Announcements.

10:00AM – ★★☆ – Michigan Consumer Expect. (May) (Previous: 87.4)
10:00AM – ★★☆ – Michigan Consumer Sent. (May) (Previous: 97.2)

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

Pinterest (PINS): [EARNINGS] Lost $41.4 million during the first quarter in its first quarterly report since going public in April. Pinterest reported $201.9 million in revenue, but noted that expenses grew by almost a third compared to a year earlier due mostly to the cost of adding new employees. Pinterest reported a higher-than-expected number of monthly active users.

Baidu (BIDU): [EARNINGS] Misused estimates on both the top and bottom lines in its latest earnings report, the company also gave a quarterly revenue outlook that falls below analysts’ expectations.

Deere (DE): [EARNINGS] Reported quarterly profit of $3.52 per share, 10 cents a share below estimates. Revenue exceeded analysts’ expectations. Deere cut its full-year forecast, saying “persistent uncertainty” in its agricultural markets is weighing on its outlook, but that its long-term fundamentals and overall economic conditions remain positive.Applied Materials (AMAT): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of 70 cents per share, beating consensus estimates by 4 cents a share. Reported better-than-expected revenue, and its guidance for the current quarter is largely above analysts’ forecasts. The results are alleviating some concerns about a slowing semiconductor market.

Under Armour (UAA): [UPGRADE] Upgraded to “overweight” from “neutral” at J.P. Morgan Securities, following meetings with CEO Kevin Plank and other members of the apparel maker’s management team which emphasized a focus on innovation and a “stacked” product pipeline.

Nvidia (NVDA): [EARNINGS] Beat estimates by 7 cents a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of 88 cents per share, Reported slightly better-than-expected revenue. Nvidia’s results were helped by growing demand for its gaming chips.

Tesla (TSLA): [NEWS] Tesla CEO Elon Musk has told employees he will scrutinize expenses even more closely, as the electric car maker tries to cut costs further. Separately, the automaker’s Autopilot system was engaged during a fatal March 1 crash of a 2018 Model 3 in Delray Beach, Florida, in at least the third fatal US crash reported involving the driver-assistance system, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday.

Amazon.com (AMZN): [NEWS] Amazon has taken a stake in British online food delivery company Deliveroo, a competitor to Uber’s Uber Eats and other delivery services. Deliveroo said Amazon was the lead investor in a new funding round that raised $575 million.

Boeing (BA): [NEWS] Has completed a software fix for its grounded 737 Max jet fleet, but the company said regulators are asking for additional information about the fix.

Foot Locker (FL): [UPGRADE] Upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” at B. Riley, which pointed to improving trends in the retailer’s footwear business and a pullback in promotions, among other factors.

Hewlett Packard Enteurprise (HPE): [NEWS] HPE announced a deal to buy supercomputer maker Cray for $35 per share or $1.3 billion in cash. It expects the deal to be accretive to profit in the first full year after the deal closes

MOMENTUM STOCKS
GAINERS: IOVA, ZYNE, FLO, CSCO

DECLINERS: EOLS, IPHI, LITE, XLNX, OSTK

TODAY’S IPOs
Avantor (AVTR) (Price: 14) (Est. Vol: $2.896B)
Fastly (FSLY) (Price: 16) (Est. Vol: 168.8M)
Luckin Cobffee (LK) b(Price: 17) (Est. Vol: 561.0M)