New York stock futures traded lower on Friday, as positive sentiment drawn from yesterday’s strong session on Wall Street was offset by resurfacing trade tensions and a batch of uninviting Chinese data.
Earlier this morning, Bloomberg had reported that the White House is holding off on licensing decisions for American companies to restart business with Huawei Technologies, a US trade-blacklisted company. This follows Beijing’s recent halt on purchasing US farming goods.
As the protectionist showdown drags on, China's economy looks to have stuttered according to recent data.
The country’s producer-price index contracted for the first time in nearly three years today, suggesting that Chinese companies were having to cut prices in order to deal with rising tariffs, a development which further complicates efforts made by the People's Bank of China to support the world's second-largest economy.
The news fittingly draws an end to a wild week for global markets, where aggressive moves from both Beijing and the US had investors fearing that the trade fight could evolve into a currency war.
Today's moves in pre-market trading look to counteract yesterday’s advance, where US stocks had notched their biggest jump in two months, following upbeat Chinese trade data amid tumultuous fears over global growth.
The S&P 500 finished the day +1.96% higher, extending Wednesday’s recovery. The gain marks the index’s biggest one-day gain since June 4 and temporarily put the gauge back in positive territory for the week.
Ahead, in today’s economic calendar, Friday includes; the Producer Price Index for July at 8:30am EST.
While in corporate news; Tidewater (TDW), E. W. Scripps (SSP) and Tribune Media (TRCO) are amongst the companies scheduled to report today.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
China & Trade: US Holds Off on Huawei Licenses as China Halts Crop-Buying. (Bloomberg)
The White House is holding off on a decision about licenses for US companies to restart business with Huawei Technologies after Beijing said it was halting purchases of US farming goods, according to people familiar with the matter.
UK & Brexit: UK Economy Shrinks for First Time Since 2012. (The WSJ)
The US economy contracted in the three months through June, its first drop in economic output since the end of 2012, as the country faces an uncertain future over its planned departure from the European Union at Halloween.
ECONOMIC CALENDAR
Today's Economical Announcements.
08:30AM - ★★☆ - Core PPI (MoM) (Jul) (Previous: 0.3%)
08:30AM - ★★★ - PPI (MoM) (Jul) (Previous: 0.1%)
STOCKS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Pre-Market Movers & News Related Stocks.
Farfetch (FTCH): [EARNINGS] Lost 15 cents per share for its latest quarter, smaller than the 21 cent loss predicted by analysts. Farfetch, a technology platform provider for the luxury fashion industry, also saw revenue beat estimates, but lowered its full-year guidance for a key growth metric. Separately, Farfetch announced the acquisition of luxury brand platform maker New Guards Group for $675 million.
Amarin (AMRN): [NEWS] The Food and Drug Administration will hold an advisory committee meeting on whether labeling for Amarin’s heart disease drug Vascepa should be expanded. Amarin wants an expanded label to reflected upbeat results from clinical trials, but the scheduling of that meeting means a three-month delay in a final decision.
Uber Technologies (UBER): [EARNINGS] Lost $4.72 per share for the second quarter, larger than the loss of $3.12 per share that analysts were anticipating. The ride-hailing service’s revenue also came in below estimates, as growth in its ride business slowed.
Yelp (YELP): [EARNINGS] Beat earnings estimates by 4 cents per share with quarterly profit of 16 cents per share, while the online review site operator’s revenue was essentially in line with analyst forecasts. Yelp said a change in its operations is allowing it to expand sales without having to add to its sales force.
Dropbox (DBX): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of 10 cents per share, 2 cents above estimates, with revenue also above forecasts. The cloud storage company saw paying users rise by 14% compared to a year ago, although revenue per user fell below Street forecasts.
Activision Blizzard (ATVI): [EARNINGS] Beat estimates by 12 cents with adjusted quarterly profit of 38 cents per share, and the video game publisher’s revenue also came in slightly above Wall Street estimates. Activision also raised its full-year outlook, with the company saying key franchises like “Call of Duty” are showing momentum.
Beyond Meat (BYND): [NEWS] Abandoned plans to enter the Japanese market, according to Reuters quoting Japan trading house Mitsui & Co. Mitsui has a small stake in the plant-based burger maker, but said a joint venture plan is no longer in the works.
CBS (CBS): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.16 per share, beating estimates by 4 cents, while revenue also came in above forecasts. Results were boosted by strong ad sales for the March NCAA men’s basketball tournament, as well as an increase in content licensing and distribution fees.
News Corp. (NWSA): [EARNINGS] Reported adjusted quarterly earnings of 7 cents per share, 4 cents above estimates, though the Wall Street Journal publisher’s revenue fell below forecasts. Revenue was impacted by lower ad revenue and falling sales at its book publishing unit, among other factors.
Broadcom (AVGO): [NEWS] Struck a deal to buy Symantec’s (SYMC) enterprise security business for $10.7 billion. It had been reported Thursday that a deal was close.
MOMENTUM STOCKS
GAINERS: STMP, CVNA, ROKU, NTRA, AMD, PTLA, LITE, GH, ALNY, FLT
DECLINERS: GDOT, WMGI, VIRT, Z, ARNA, CTL, MUR, ANDX
TODAY'S IPOs
Thunder Bridge (THBRU) (Price: 10) (Est. Vol: $300.0M)
