Early Look

Monday, June 8, 2020

Stock futures are higher, adding to last week’s gains which were supported on Friday after an unexpectedly strong jobs helped complete the near “V” shaped recovery off the March lows, as the Nasdaq Composite touched all-time record highs, surpassing its February total, while the S&P 500 and Dow still have a little ways to go. Data in China recently has helped the materials and industrials sector, evident again this weekend as both imports and exports data came in better than feared. Oil stocks are tracking higher this morning after OPEC+ announces production cut extensions over the weekend (as was expected), pushing prices higher. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index rose 314 points to 23,178, the Shanghai Index gained 6 points to 2,937 and the Hang Seng Index was little changed up 6 points to 24,776. In Europe, the German DAX is down over -60 points to 12,785, while the FTSE 100 is up a few points to around the 6,500 level. A number of reports on the weekend fear that the strong U.S. jobs report Friday has diminished Republican’s appetite for more fiscal stimulus while Senate Majority leader McConnell has already said the GOP will not extend the $600 per week supplemental unemployment benefit when it expires in July. What a day it was last Friday for U.S. stocks, closing the week out with massive gains following the monthly May jobs report that far surpassed expectations, adding to investors’ hopes that the economy will rebound quickly. For the week, the S&P 500 gains 4.9%, the Dow rises 6.8% and the Nasdaq climbs 3.4%, their best weekly levels in about two-months as the buying spree continued. Fear has also subsided as the CBOE Volatility index (fear index) closed below its 200-day MA for 1st time since Feb 21, lowest closing level since that day as well at 24.52. The reopening of the economy has seen financials, industrials, energy and real-estate stocks rallying along with the sectors that had been the hardest hit initially such as retail, leisure, travel and restaurants.

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index gained 81.58 points, or 2.62%, to 3,193.93

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 829.16 points, or 3.15%, to 27,110.98

·     The Nasdaq Composite jumped 198.27 points, or 2.06%, to 9,814.08

·     The Russell 2000 Index spiked 55.09 points, or 3.79% to 1,507.15

Economic Calendar for Today

·     No Major Economic Data Released

Earnings Calendar:

·     Earnings Before the Open: REVG, THO

·     Earnings After the Close: CASY, COUP, CVGW, ENZ, PHR, SFIX

Other Key Events:

·     Deutsche Bank 11th Annual Global Industrials and Materials Virtual Summit, 6/8-6/9

·     Oppenheimer virtual Software and Semiconductor Tour, 6/8-6/12

·     Stifel 2020 Virtual Cross Sector Insight Conference, 6/8-6/10

·     European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 6/6-6/8

World News

·     China saw its exports and imports both fall in May amid the coronavirus pandemic. Exports fell 3.3% to $206.8B compared to a year earlier and imports tumbled 16.7% to $143.9B, resulting in a trade surplus of $62.9B – the highest since Reuters started tracking the series in 1981.

·     Japan’s economy shrank an annualized 2.2% in January-March, revised data showed on Monday, less than the 3.4% contraction indicated in a preliminary reading and compared with a median market forecast of a 2.1% drop

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     Tesla Inc. (TSLA) sold 11,095 Shanghai-made Model 3 vehicles in China in May, more than triple the volume seen in April, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA); Tesla sold 3,635 vehicles in April, down from around 10,160 units in March,

·     American Airlines (AAL) has recently detailed severance packages for high-level employees if they are laid off when the terms of federal aid expire in the fall

·     MGM Growth Properties (MGP) mentioned positively in Barron’s calling it a safe Vegas dividend-yield play, a real estate investment trust whose majority stakeholder is MGM Resorts (MGM)

·     Dunkin Brands (DNKN) upgraded to overweight at KeyBanc

·     Sysco (SYY) and US Foods (USFD) and Performance Food Group (PFGC), should rise according to Barron’s as states allow restaurants to reopen dining rooms, and the economy gradually recovers, and even if many local restaurants never reopen, distributors could become more profitable by servicing fewer locations, gaining efficiency, and lifting operating margins,

Energy, Industrials & Materials

·     OPEC and allied nations agreed Saturday to extend a production cut of nearly 10 million barrels of oil a day through the end of July, hoping to encourage stability in energy markets. OPEC+ members met via video conference to adopt the measure, aimed at cutting the excess production (the curbed output represents some 10% of the world’s overall supply). Algerian Oil Minister Mohamed Arkab, the current OPEC president, warned meeting attendees that the global oil inventory would soar to 1.5 billion barrels by the mid-point of this year.

·     PG&E (PCG) announces $3.25B common stock investment from multiple investors; announced that it currently expects to pursue underwritten public offerings of common stock and equity units in the amount of $5.75B as part of its plan to fund its emergence from Chapter 11, subject to market conditions

·     The center of Tropical Storm Cristobal has made landfall along the coast of southeast Louisiana between the mouth of the Mississippi River and Grand Isle, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory.

·     PPG Industries (PPG) sees restructuring charges of $125M-$145M after taxes; said April sales volumes are seen down about -35% YoY

·     NASA’s inspector general is investigating whether a high-ranking NASA official earlier this year improperly guided Boeing (BA) regarding agency competition for lucrative lunar lander contracts, WSJ reports.

Healthcare

·     AstraZeneca Plc (AZN) has approached U.S. rival Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD) about a possible merger that would form one the world’s largest drug companies, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday. AstraZeneca contacted Gilead last month, but the U.S. firm was not interested in combining with another big pharmaceutical company. If combined, the two companies would have a market capitalization of about $232 billion, based on Friday’s closing stock levels (topping the market cap of both Merck and Pfizer) https://bit.ly/30iYD6b

·     Antibody drugmakers mentioned positively in Barron’s: which noted that at least three programs aim to begin testing antibodies in humans this summer: Eli Lilly (LLY) has begun testing its antibodies in a Phase 1 trial, Regeneron (REGN) is set to begin this month, and a collaboration between Vir Biotechnology (VIR) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will also begin this summer – GSK’s drug pipeline should drive stock higher

·     Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) released detailed results from its successful Phase 3 clinical trial, ILLUMINATE-A, evaluating RNAi therapeutic candidate lumasiran in patients with primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) at the European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association International Congress. The study met the primary endpoint demonstrating a statistically significant 53.5% average relative reduction in urinary oxalate versus placebo and a 65.4% mean absolute reduction from baseline. All secondary endpoints were also met.

·     Gilead Sciences (GILD) and Galapagos NV (GLPG) say two clinical analyses evaluating filgotinib in adults with psoriatic arthritis, or PsA — a Phase 2 EQUATOR study and a EQUATOR-2 open-label extension study — demonstrate filgotinib’s durable efficacy.

·     Kadmon Holdings (KDMN) files $300M mixed securities shelf

·     Bicycle Therapeutics (BCYC) files $250M mixed securities shelf

·     Jaguar Health (JAGX) files to sell 9.15M shares of common stock for holders

·     NGM Biopharmaceuticals (NGM) files $400M mixed securities shelf

Technology, Media & Telecom

·     Twitter (TWTR) mentioned positively in Barron’s saying the co.’s battle with President Trump may be good for the stock, saying it is benefiting through increased user growth. Twitter’s mobile app was downloaded a record 677K times last Wednesday, and Twitter also set a record for active daily users with 40M in the U.S.

·     ChipMOS (IMOS) reports May revenue of $59.6M (-3.5% M/M) (+4.7% Y/Y); noted that it maintained stable utilization, with healthy memory demand, including DRAM and NOR flash, offset by TV and smartphone related DDIC demand softness

·     United Microelectronics (UMC) reports revenue rose +20.45% Y/Y to NT$14.75B in May; YTD revenue grew 26.65% to NT$72.07B.