Liveblog Archief dinsdag 17 november 2020

TOP NEWS
• Walmart beats same-store sales estimates on buoyant online demand
Walmart posted a bigger-than-expected increase in quarterly same-store sales as a 79% surge in its online business powered overall rises in spending on electronics, apparel and groceries.

• Tesla value set to jump $40 billion as S&P 500 beckons
Shares of Tesla rose 11% before the bell, adding around $40 billion to the value of the electric carmaker and giving another boost to the fortune of billionaire Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk.

• Facebook, Twitter CEOs to testify Tuesday to U.S. Senate panel over content moderation decisions
The chief executives of Facebook and Twitter are set to testify before a congressional hearing on Tuesday that will explore their content moderation practices as Republicans accuse social media companies of censoring conservative speech.

• Amazon launches online pharmacy in new contest with drug retail
Amazon.com launched an online pharmacy for delivering prescription medications in the United States, increasing competition with drug retailers such as Walgreens, CVS and Walmart.

• Does vaccine promise put U.S. consumers in a shopping mood? Retailers may have clues
As positive coronavirus vaccine news makes strategists more optimistic about the future for retailers, investors will look to earnings results and forecasts from these companies in the coming days for clues about consumer spending.


BEFORE THE BELL
Futures tracking the S&P 500 and the Dow were down, after the indexes closed at record highs in the previous session following news of another promising COVID-19 vaccine. European stocks were lower as tighter coronavirus-driven restrictions across the continent hit travel stocks. Asian equities ended higher. The euro climbed against the dollar, while gold prices were little changed. Oil edged lower with investors focusing on updates from OPEC and its allies on tightening supplies. The U.S. retail sales numbers and industrial production data are scheduled to release later in the day.


STOCKS TO WATCH

Results
• Baidu Inc (BIDU) & JOYY Inc (YY). Chinese search engine leader booked a 1% rise in quarterly revenue, beating market estimates, and said it will buy streaming platform YY Live from social media firm JOYY for about $3.6 billion to help diversify revenue sources. "Our revenue growth turned positive in the third quarter," said Chief Executive Robin Li in an earnings briefing. Baidu also benefited from a 7% on-year increase in membership revenue at streaming affiliate iQIYI, where subscriber numbers touched 104.8 million in September. Overall, Baidu's July-September revenue hit 28.23 billion yuan. That compared with the 27.45 billion yuan analyst estimate average. The firm said it expects October-December revenue of 28.6 billion yuan to 31.3 billion yuan, versus analyst estimates of 28.98 billion yuan.

• Home Depot Inc (HD). The company said it would spend about $1 billion more annually on employees' compensation as the home improvement chain benefits from a sustained surge in demand for tools, paint and building materials. To compensate employees working through the health crisis, Home Depot was providing temporary weekly bonuses and more hours of paid time off. The company said it will change some of those programs to permanent additional compensation. The company posted a 24.1% rise in same-store sales for the third quarter ended Nov. 1, and beating analysts' average estimate of a 14.8% increase. Net earnings rose to $3.43 billion, or $3.18 per share, from $2.77 billion, or $2.53 per share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected a profit of $3.06 per share. Overall net sales jumped 23.2% to $33.54 billion, beating analysts' average estimate of $32.04 billion.

• Walmart Inc (WMT). The retailer posted a bigger-than-expected increase in quarterly same-store sales as a 79% surge in its online business powered overall rises in spending on electronics, apparel and groceries. Sales at U.S. stores open at least a year rose 6.4%, excluding fuel, in the third quarter ended Oct. 31. Analysts had estimated an increase of 4.16%. Walmart said it had incurred about $600 million in additional COVID-19 expenses that included higher wages for warehouse workers and bonuses for store employees, as well as spending more on keeping its facilities clean. The retailer had recorded about $1.5 billion in such expenses in the second quarter. Still, operating income jumped 22.5% to $5.79 billion in the third quarter, while Walmart reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.34. Total revenue rose 5.2% to $134.71 billion, beating estimates of $132.23 billion.

Deals Of The Day
• Autodesk Inc (ADSK). The company said it acquired Spacemaker, a Norwegian firm whose software is used by architects to create and evaluate buildings or urban developments, for $240 million. In an interview, Andrew Anagnost, chief executive of Autodesk, said what drew the company to Spacemaker was the use of artificial intelligence "to help maximize the return for all the stakeholders in the process" of an urban development. The software can be used to try to maximize the return on investment for developers while also meeting other goals, such as giving future tenants the best possible natural lighting or views in a given landscape or minimizing additional traffic congestion generated by a project. "You can actually put all of these constraints into the system and dial in which one you want the most attention for," Anagnost said.

In Other News
• Albemarle Corp (ALB) & Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM). Albemarle has accused its top rival Chilean miner SQM, and local regulators of seeking to keep secret a coveted report about the environmental impact of lithium mining in Chile's Salar de Atacama, according to a filing made by its lawyers. Chilean regulator Corfo, which oversees lithium mining in the Atacama, in August denied a request from Albemarle to review the long-awaited report, according to filings obtained by Reuters under Chile's Transparency Act. In the filings, Corfo told Albemarle it was unable to provide the report because it was still under review and contained confidential business information. Both SQM and Albemarle, the only two lithium miners on the flat, contributed to the report. But whereas SQM's contract with Corfo allows it to review working drafts of studies commissioned by the agency and related to water in the Salar, Albemarle's contract does not include this clause. SQM objected to the study's release, the filings show, arguing the data it contained was "sensitive and confidential."

• Amazon.com Inc (AMZN). The company launched an online pharmacy for delivering prescription medications in the United States, increasing competition with drug retailers such as Walgreens, CVS and Walmart. Called Amazon Pharmacy, the new store lets customers price-compare as they buy drugs on the company's website or app. Shoppers can toggle at checkout between their co-pay and a non-insurance option, heavily discounted for members of its loyalty club Prime. The move builds on the web retailer's 2018 acquisition of PillPack, which Amazon said will remain separate for customers needing pre-sorted doses of multiple drugs. TJ Parker, PillPack's CEO and vice president of Amazon Pharmacy, said in a statement the retailer aimed to bring "customer obsession to an industry that can be inconvenient and confusing." Should Prime members prefer buying in person, Amazon said its discounts on non-insurance purchases apply at more than 50,000 brick-and-mortar pharmacies - including those run by rivals. Inside Rx, a subsidiary of Cigna's Evernorth, administers that benefit, Amazon said.

• AT&T Inc (T). Elliott Management, which last year took a $3.2 billion stake in AT&T and pushed the company to sell some assets, has itself exited the telecommunications and media company, according to a regulatory filing on Monday. The hedge fund liquidated its investment when it sold 5 million shares during the quarter that ended Sept. 30. It had first bought into the stock during the third quarter 2019, according to another filing.

• Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa). Warren Buffett's company said on Monday it has begun investing in the stocks of four large drugmakers, betting on an industry that could benefit when the world begins emerging from the coronavirus pandemic. In a regulatory filing detailing its U.S.-listed stock holdings as of Sept. 30, Berkshire disclosed $5.7 billion of new healthcare stakes, including more than $1.8 billion each in Abbvie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck and $136 million in Pfizer. During the third quarter, Berkshire also took a $276 million stake in wireless phone company T-Mobile US. It sold a $1.3 billion stake in Costco Wholesale, which benefited as people stocked up on groceries and home supplies during the pandemic, and pared holdings in four banks: JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, PNC and M&T. The stake in JPMorgan fell by 96%. Berkshire also bought more stock in the grocer Kroger, sold some stock in mining company Barrick Gold, and confirmed it bought more Bank of America stock while trimming its Apple stake.

• Bristol Myers Squibb Co (BMY). The drugmaker said on Monday the U.S. health regulator has deferred a decision on an experimental blood cancer therapy that it acquired in the $74 billion buyout of Celgene due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was unable to inspect a third-party manufacturing facility in Texas, a step required before the approval of the drug liso-cel, the company said. Bristol Myers said on Monday the agency had deferred its application until the inspection can be completed. The FDA was earlier expected to complete the review process by Nov. 16.

• Cinemark Holdings Inc (CNK) & Comcast Corp (CMCSA). Movie theater operator Cinemark struck a deal that will allow Comcast-owned Universal Pictures to offer its movies in U.S. homes as soon as 17 days after they debut in theaters, the companies said on Monday. Under the arrangement, Universal could offer movies for sale via premium video-on-demand after they have played for at least three weekends in theaters, a statement from the companies said. That would shrink the exclusive window a movie plays in theaters from the roughly 74 days that was typical before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down cinemas. Movies that open with more than $50 million at box offices would be exclusive to theaters for at least five weekends, or 31 days, before they could be offered on demand. That would likely include Universal's big franchises such as "Fast & Furious" and "Jurassic World." It is unclear if Cinemark also will earn a percentage of Universal's on-demand revenue. Financial terms of their arrangement were not disclosed.

• Eli Lilly and Co (LLY). Samsung BioLogics said it is mass-producing a COVID-19 antibody treatment developed by Eli Lilly, as the United States began distributing the drug last week after emergency-use approval. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug bamlanivimab earlier this month after clinical trials showed it reduced the need for hospitalisation or emergency room visits in COVID-19 patients at high risk of disease progression. Samsung said it has a long-term manufacturing contract with Lilly. It did not disclose details. The South Korean firm said it initially struggled to secure raw materials due to tight supplies. It expedited the technology transfer process, allowing it to begin shipments to Lilly five months after agreeing a production deal in May.

• Facebook Inc (FB) & Twitter Inc (TWTR). The chief executives of the social media companies are set to testify before a congressional hearing on Tuesday that will explore their content moderation practices as Republicans accuse social media companies of censoring conservative speech. In October, Republican lawmakers on the U.S. Senate Judiciary committee voted unanimously to approve formal summons for Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter's Jack Dorsey. Democrats on the panel did not vote on the subpoena. Tuesday's hearing is expected to be highly political. Separately, the Solomon Islands is planning to ban the use of Facebook for an indeterminate period after inflammatory critique of the government was aired on the social media platform, the Solomon Times reported.

• Pfizer Inc (PFE). The drugmaker has launched a pilot delivery program for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in four U.S. states, as the company seeks to address distribution challenges facing its ultra-cold storage requirements. "We are hopeful that results from this vaccine delivery pilot will serve as the model for other U.S. states and international governments, as they prepare to implement effective COVID-19 vaccine programs," Pfizer said in a statement on Monday. It picked Rhode Island, Texas, New Mexico, and Tennessee for the program after taking into account their differences in overall size, diversity of populations, immunization infrastructure, and need to reach individuals in varied urban and rural settings. The four states will not receive vaccine doses earlier than other states by virtue of the pilot, nor will they receive any differential consideration, Pfizer said.

• Tesla Inc (TSLA). The company is set to join the S&P 500 in December, a major win for Chief Executive Elon Musk that boosted the electric car maker's shares in extended trade on Monday in anticipation of a $51 billion trade by index funds adjusting their holdings. S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that the company would join the S&P 500 index prior to the opening of trading on Dec. 21, potentially in two tranches making it easier for investment funds to digest. "(Tesla) will be one of the largest weight additions to the S&P 500 in the last decade, and consequently will generate one of the largest funding trades in S&P 500 history," S&P Dow Jones Indices said. Many investors believe Tesla's stock is in a bubble, and some have warned against adding it to the S&P 500 at current levels. "(Monday's) price jump means the retirees and other individual investors who put their money into index funds will see some of their money go into Tesla stock at a price even higher than its controversially high pre-S&P price. It's a downside of index investing for conservative investors," Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, warned in an email.


ANALYSIS
Despite vaccine progress, investors eye Fed support as coronavirus surges
Investors are weighing the chances the Federal Reserve will increase its purchases of U.S. government debt in coming weeks to counteract the economic fallout of a COVID-19 resurgence, an intervention that could reverse a recent rise in Treasury yields to multi-month highs.


ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION
• American Express Co (AXP). Piper Sandler raises price target to $133 from $113, following a net write-off rate that was higher than expectations in October while credit metrics were stable with an improved outlook for domestic spending after recent vaccine announcements.

• Eli Lilly and Co (LLY). Mizuho cuts price target to $156 from $164, citing weaker-than-expected earnings for the third quarter that prompted many questions from investors, particularly around pricing pressure seen with the company’s flagship diabetes drug 'Trulicity'.

• Metlife Inc (MET). Credit Suisse raises price target to $55 from $46, noting that the company can achieve targeted returns in a variety of interest rate environments, given a diverse set of capabilities, products, geographies, risk exposures, and sources of earnings.

• Moderna Inc (MRNA). Needham raises price target to $110 from $94, following impressive data from the first interim analysis of the ongoing Phase 3 trial of mRNA-1273 as a COVID-19 vaccine and supply agreements with several entities, including the U.S., E.U. Japan, and Canada, among others.

• Mondelez International Inc (MDLZ). JPMorgan raises price target to $66 from $62, highlighting the rapidity with which the company undertook its SKU rationalization and a conservative guidance for the fourth quarter that does not account for the potential for sales as COVID-19 worsens.


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0830 (approx.) Import prices mm for Oct: Expected 0.2%; Prior 0.3%
0830 (approx.) Export prices mm for Oct: Expected 0.3%; Prior 0.6%
0830 (approx.) Import prices yy for Oct: Prior -1.1%
0830 (approx.) Retail sales ex-autos mm for Oct: Expected 0.6%; Prior 1.5%
0830 (approx.) Retail sales mm for Oct: Expected 0.5%; Prior 1.9%
0830 (approx.) Retail ex gas/autos for Oct: Prior 1.5%
0830 (approx.) Retail control for Oct: Expected 0.5%; Prior 1.4%
0830 (approx.) Retail sales YoY for Oct: Prior 5.36%
0915 Industrial production mm for Oct: Expected 1.0%; Prior -0.6%
0915 Capacity utilization SA for Oct: Expected 72.3%; Prior 71.5%
0915 Manufacturing output mm for Oct: Expected 1.0%; Prior -0.3%
0915 (approx.) Industrial production YoY for Oct: Prior -7.28%
1000 (approx.) Business inventories mm for Sep: Expected 0.6%; Prior 0.3%
1000 (approx.) Retail inventories ex-auto rev for Sep: Prior 0.9%
1000 NAHB Housing Market Index for Nov: Expected 85; Prior 85


COMPANIES REPORTING RESULTS
No major S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report for the day.


CORPORATE EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0800 Walmart Inc (WMT). Q3 earnings conference call
0830 Aramark (ARMK). Q4 earnings conference call
0900 Home Depot Inc (HD). Q3 earnings conference call
1100 Corelogic Inc (CLGX). Shareholders Meeting
1200 Jack Henry & Associates Inc (JKHY). Annual Shareholders Meeting
1900 Nio Inc (NIO). Q3 earnings conference call


EXDIVIDENDS
Aflac Inc (AFL). Amount $0.28
Bunge Ltd (BG). Amount $0.50
Chevron Corp (CVX). Amount $1.29
Consolidated Edison Inc (ED). Amount $0.76
Equinix Inc (EQIX). Amount $2.66
Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC). Amount $0.58
Target Corp (TGT). Amount $0.68
Valero Energy Corp (VLO). Amount $0.98

Goedemorgen
Een sterke start van de week wederom door vaccin nieuws, er staan er nu al 2 klaar die goed blijken te werken. De vraag blijft natuurlijk wanneer ze bij het volk aankomen en dan in grote hoeveelheden, dat schijnt nog wel een tijdje te duren. Wel goed dat er iets is, het zal nodig zijn om alles weer een beetje richting het normale leven te krijgen. Mijn bezorgdheid is dat de beurzen er wel heel fel op reageren, vergeet niet dat we tegen de hoogste standen ooit staan op slotbasis, de Dow Jones en de SP 500 zetten zelfs een nieuw record neer op slotbasis, de Dow op 29.950 punten nu, de SP 500 op 3626,91 punten. Nooit eerder sluiten deze 2 indices zo hoog de sessie af.

Volg US Markets via Twitter @USMarkets ...

Verder kwam er nieuws dat Tesla in de SP 500 komt, het aandeel won nabeurs maar liefst 54 dollar ofwel 13%, zo zie je ook via deze waarneming dat de markt puur op sentiment draait en eigenlijk op nieuwsberichten die wat betreft de economische ontwikkeling totaal geen connectie meer vertoont. Door de opname in de S&P 500 komt het aandeel Tesla in de portefeuilles van fondsen en volgers van de index terecht en moet dus gekocht worden, let wel het moet nog gebeuren, nu zien we een reactie op de actie die nog moet komen. Vreemd allemaal, nabeurs werd dat nog zeker niet gedaan, dat komt er nog aan dus. Er werden nabeurs 8 miljoen stukken verhandeld, tijdens de sessie 27 miljoen.

De markt is volop bezig met het ontwikkelen van een nieuwe bubbel en er was al sprake van een bubbel. Nu zien we die op elk vlak tot stand komen want de Dow rond de 30K en de SP 500 rond de 3625 past niet echt bij het huidige verloop van de economie (bij lange na niet). Een grote correctie ligt er nu toch echt op de loer maar waar zal die deze keer zijn start vinden. Amper 2 weken geleden was het nog kommer en kwel, nu groeien de bomen weer tot in de hemel. Het is 2020 en het jaar loopt nog even door, laat is zeggen nog een wee of 6 te gaan ...

De Dow Jones won gisteren 1,6% met dus een recordslot op 29.950,44 punten, de S&P 500 sluit 1,16% hoger en zet het nieuwe record op 3626,91 punten. De Nasdaq kreeg dat niet voor elkaar, de index sluit op 11.924 punten wat goed is voor 0,8% winst. De AEX sluit dan weer boven de 600 punten, deze keer een slot op 601,67 punten wat een plus van 4,8 punten opleverde (+0,8%). De DAX sluit 61 punten hoger (+0,5%) terwijl de CAC 40 het best voor de dag kwam met een plus van 1,7%. Vanmorgen zien in Azië ook weer plussen, de Nikkei gaat er met 107 punten op vooruit terwijl de Hang Seng 35 punten hoger geraakt. De Shanghai index verliest iets vanmorgen (-0,2%).

De futures moeten wat inleveren vanmorgen, de SP fut staat 12 punten lager, de Nasdaq future vlak terwijl de Dow future 80 punten lager staat vanmorgen. Ook de AEX en de DAX laten iets liggen via de futures ...

Euro, olie en goud:
De euro zien we vanmorgen rond de 1.186 dollar, de prijs van een vat Brent olie staat nu op 44 dollar. Een troy ounce goud kost vanmorgen 1886 dollar.

US Markets Trading nu voor €39 tot 1 JANUARI 2021:
Maak gebruik van de aanbieding die loopt tot het einde van dit beursjaar, ofwel tot 1 januari 2021 ... Ik blijf zoeken naar kansen in de markt, we hebben strategisch al wat kleine posities open staan.

Meedoen kan nu via de speciale aanbieding tot 1 JANUARI voor €39, na uw inschrijving staat u meteen op de verzendlijst en ontvangt u de updates, de signalen en kunt u inloggen op onze Tradershop om alle posities LIVE te volgen.

Schrijf u in via de link: https://www.usmarkets.nl/tradershop

Tot later,

Guy Boscart

GLOBAL TOP NEWS
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said on Monday it was concerned the United States was being left behind after 15 Asia-Pacific economies on Sunday formed the world's largest free-trade bloc, cementing China's dominant role in regional trade.

Moderna's experimental vaccine is 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on interim data from a late-stage trial, the company said on Monday, becoming the second U.S. drugmaker to report results that far exceed expectations.

Tesla is set to join the S&P 500 in December, a major win for Chief Executive Elon Musk that boosted the electric car maker's shares on Monday in anticipation of a $51 billion trade by index funds adjusting their holdings.


EUROPEAN COMPANY NEWS
BBVA and smaller rival Sabadell said on Monday they are in talks to create Spain's second-biggest domestic lender by assets, the latest move in the accelerating consolidation of the Spanish banking sector.

Groupe ADP, operator of Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, on Monday estimated that traffic in 2021 would be 45% to 55% of 2019 levels based on a gradual pick up from April.

Wirecard's insolvency administrator Michael Jaffe on Monday said the payment system provider's technology platform had been sold to Spain's Banco Santander.


TODAY'S COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Bergenbio ASA Q3 2020 Earnings Call
BMO Real Estate Investments Ltd Annual Shareholders Meeting
Capelli SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Demire Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG Nine Months 2020 Earnings Call
Dunelm Group PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Eagle Eye Solutions Group PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
EAM Solar ASA Q3 2020 Earnings Call
FLEX LNG Ltd Q3 2020 Earnings Call
Fortum Oyj Q3 2020 Earnings Call
Grieg Seafood ASA Q3 2020 Earnings Call
Hibernia REIT PLC HY 2021 Earnings Call
HomeServe PLC HY 2021 Earnings Release
Imperial Brands PLC FY 2020 Earnings Release
Intermediate Capital Group PLC HY 2020 Earnings Release
Mulberry Group PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Ninety One PLC HY 2021 Earnings Presentation
Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC Q3 2020 Earnings Call
Paradox Interactive AB (publ) Q3 2020 Earnings Call
Physiomics PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Scancell Holdings PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
SG Company SpA Shareholders Meeting
Shaftesbury PLC Shareholders Meeting
SIG PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Telecom Plus PLC HY 2021 Earnings Call
Trinity Biotech PLC Q3 2020 Earnings Call


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All times GMT)
0830 Sweden Industrial Inventories qq for Q3: Prior 2.1 bln SEK
0900 (approx.) Italy Trade Balance EU for Sep: Prior 0.348 bln EUR
0900 (approx.) Italy Global Trade Balance for Sep: Prior 3.928 bln EUR
1000 (approx.) Euro Zone Construction Output mm for Sep: Prior 2.57%