Early Look

Monday, March 15, 2021

Futures	Up/Down	%	Last
Dow	125.00	0.39%	32,791
S&P 500	8.25	0.22%	3,941
Nasdaq	24.50	0.19%	12,949

 

 

U.S. stock futures are edging higher, adding to last week’s record setting gains for major averages as bond yields turn slightly lower (10-year down at 1.61% from 1.64%) after settling around one -year highs on Friday. Also helping sentiment includes a wider roll-out of vaccines and expectations of stimulus checks reaching American this week which will be put back into the economy after the $1.9 trillion cares act was passed last week in Washington. Recent estimates suggest part of the coming $1,400 in direct stimulus payments could find its way into the stock market. Bitcoin prices slide over 1.5% to $56,000, falling from record highs of $60,572 over the weekend. Stocks last week showed gains, as the S&P 500 rose 2.64%, the Dow added 4.07%, and the Nasdaq gained 3.09%. S&P and Nasdaq show biggest weekly percentage gains since early Feb., Dow shows biggest weekly gain since November. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index rose 49 points to 29,766, the Shanghai Index fell -33 points to 3,419 and the Hang Seng Index gained 94 points to 28,833. In Europe, the German DAX is up about 30 points to 14,530, while the FTSE 100 rises over 25 points to 6,785. The Dow Jones Industrial Average looks to extend its 6-day winning streak, setting new all-time highs last week behind strength in industrials (BA, CAT) and financials (AXP, TRV, GS, JPM). Markets keeping a watchful eye on inflation, but for now, no fear.

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index gained 4.00 points, or 0.10%, to 3,9443.34

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 293.05 points, or 0.90%, to 32,778.64

·     The Nasdaq Composite dropped -78.81 points, or 0.59%, to 13,319.86

·     The Russell 2000 Index advanced 14.25 points, or 0.61% to 2,352.79

 

Events Calendar for Today

·     8:30 AM EST      Empire Manufacturing for March

·     4:00 PM EST       Net Long-term TIC Flows for January

 

Earnings Calendar:

·     Earnings Before the Open: ACEL, AGEN, AMR, CRBP, DM, NRP, OCC, RESN, STRS

·     Earnings After the Close: ACRX, AMPH, ASLE, CPRX, ENZ, FTEK, HQY, LOTZ, PANL, PAR, SHLS, VUZI, ZDGE

 

Other Key Events:

·     JPMorgan Industrials Conference (virtual), 3/15-3/17

·     Mizuho Annual Energy Summit (virtual), 3/15-3/16

·     Roth Capital Virtual Conference, 3/15-3/17

 

 

Macro	Up/Down	Last
Nymex	0.28	65.89
Brent	0.28	69.50
Gold	2.55	1,729.50
EUR/USD	-0.0029	1.1924
JPY/USD	0.05	109.08
10-Year Note	+0.015	1.609%

 

 

S&P Index changes:

·     S&P Dow Jones Indices will make the following index adjustments to the S&P 500, S&P 100, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600 to ensure each index is more representative of its market capitalization range. The changes will be effective prior to the open of trading on Monday, March 22, 2021 to coincide with the quarterly rebalance:

·     NXP Semiconductors NV (NXPI) will replace Flowserve Corp. (FLS) in the S&P 500, Flowserve will replace Edgewell Personal Care Co. (EPC) in the S&P MidCap 400, and Edgewell Personal Care will replace Exterran Corp. (EXTN) in the S&P SmallCap 600.

·     S&P MidCap 400 constituents Penn National Gaming Inc. (PENN), Generac Holdings Inc. (GNRC) and Caesars Entertainment Inc. (CZR) will all move to the S&P 500, replacing SL Green Realty Corp. (SLG), Xerox Holdings Corp. (XRX) and Vontier Corp (VNT), all of which will move to the S&P MidCap 400.

·     S&P 500 constituents Broadcom Inc. (AVGO), T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) and Linde plc (LIN) will replace Allstate Corp. (ALL), Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) and Schlumberger NV (SLB) in the S&P 100. Allstate, Kinder Morgan, and Schlumberger will remain in the S&P 500

 

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     Lordstown Motors (RIDE) rises over 6%; said it intends to respond as appropriate in due time with regards to a short-seller report written on the company by Hindenburg Research on March 12, 2021; co remains on track for start of production of its Lordstown Endurance all electric pickup truck in September 2021

·     MGM Resorts (MGM) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies and raise tgt to $50 from $36

·     FuboTV Inc (FUBO) says Jordan Fiksenbaum resigned from his position As President Of FuboTV effective immediately – Reuters

·     Southwest Airlines (LUV) said March and April 2021 operating revenues are currently expected to improve compared with company’s previous estimations; experienced increase in bookings farther out in booking curve, but currently has limited visibility to bookings beyond may 2021; estimates March 2021 load factor 65% to 70% and April 2021 load factor 70% to 75%

·     Recent IPO Coupang (CPNG) is the largest e-commerce company in South Korea Barron’s noted and it now ranks as the country’s second-largest publicly held company, trailing only Samsung Electronics (SSNLF). Coupang accounts for 4% of the country’s consumer commerce, with a broad of online retailing services, noting the company is getting close to getting profitable

·     Timeshare stocks such as Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV), Marriot Vacations (VAC) remain relative bargain according to Barron’s as they are betting heavily on growth with a series of recent acquisitions, confident that they can benefit from the economy’s reopening as the Covid vaccines are rolled out. Barron’s said shares could offer more upside, relative to other travel and leisure sectors, such as cruise lines, hotels, and casinos, despite rallying already this year.

·     Carnival’s (CCL) CEO Arnold Donald said the cruise industry is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2023, in light of prolonged lockdowns and the reputational fallout from coronavirus outbreaks on cruise ships – Financial Times

 

Energy, Industrials and Materials

·      U.S. Steel Corp. (X) said it sees Q1 adj EPS about $1.02 vs. est. 70c and said Q1 adj EBITDA is expected to be approximately $540M and excludes impacts related to acquiring the remaining stake in Big River Steel; Q1 adj net income is expected to be approximately $160M and excludes impacts related to acquiring the remaining stake in Big River Steel among other costs

·     Volkswagen plans to cut up to 4,000 jobs at its plants in Germany by offering early or partial retirement to older employees in a move that could cost several hundred million euros, company sources said on Sunday – Reuters reported

 

Financials

·     Walker & Dunlop (WD) shares are cheap with plenty of room to grow according to Barron’s noting trends in the residential mortgage market look troubling, with rising interest rates stoking fears that lending activity will slow, hitting the refinancing business hard. The article noted commercial loans for the acquisition and refinancing of apartment buildings appears to be on the upswing, which could benefit Walker & Dunlop

·     Stripe said that it raised $600 million from a group of investors that included Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency, insurers Allianz SE and AXA SA and investment managers Baillie Gifford & Co. and Fidelity Investments. The round valued Stripe at $95 billion, more than 2 1/2 times the valuation it attained in a 2019 fundraising round. https://on.wsj.com/3tkig9g

·     Wex (WEX) plans for potential debt refinancing

 

Healthcare

·     AstraZeneca Plc (AZN) said it had conducted a review of people vaccinated with its COVID-19 vaccine which has shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots. The review covered more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union and UK – Reuters

·     Eli Lilly (LLY) announced that Phase 2 TRAILBLAZER-ALZ results presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s & Parkinson Diseases and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine expand on previously reported top-line data that found donanemab met its primary endpoint and showed significant slowing of decline on the integrated Alzheimer’s Disease Rating Scale

·     Rubius Therapeutics (RUBY) said it would release initial clinical findings from the ongoing Phase 1/2 trial of RTX-240 in patients with advanced solid tumors Monday

·     Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) and Sanofi SA (SNY) said they are stopping a Phase 3 study of their anti-PD-1 cancer drug Libtayo early due to positive results in advanced cervical cancer; the co’s said it will be stopped early based on a recommendation by the independent data monitoring committee, adding that data from the study will form the basis of regulatory submissions this year.

·     Gilead Sciences (GILD) and Merck (MRK) are joining forces to develop a long-acting HIV therapy, and are planning to explore whether a combination of two experimental drugs, which the companies had been researching separately, could treat HIV even if taken every several months – WSJ

·     Ocuphire Pharma Inc. (OCUP) said a Phase 3 registration study of its lead product candidate Nyxol in the reversal of pharmacologically induced mydriasis, or dilation of the pupil for eye exams, met its key endpoints.

 

Technology, Media & Telecom

·     Flutter Entertainment (PDYPY) said on Saturday that it is considering listing a small shareholding of its U.S. online betting site FanDuel, reporter Reuters, citing a company statement. The Irish company said it was making the disclosure in response to media speculation after CNBC reported on Friday that Flutter was considering spinning out the business

·     Google (GOOGL) has to a face a $5b lawsuit that it didn’t notify users that their data can still be collected while in “incognito” mode, a judge ruled on Friday