Liveblog Archief donderdag 3 december 2020

TOP NEWS
• ANALYSIS-More U.S.-listed Chinese firms seen seeking backup listings as new audit law looms
The rush by U.S-listed Chinese companies to secure a secondary listing in Hong Kong or China is only set to intensify as the United States readies a new law allowing it to kick firms off its exchanges if they do not comply with U.S. auditing rules.

• American Airlines goes full throttle to restore Boeing MAX fleet
American Airlines' maintenance team is scrambling to complete safety changes to its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX jets ahead of a phased return to service, while deliveries of new jets are set to begin as early as this week.

• U.S. states plan to sue Facebook next week - sources
A group of U.S. states led by New York is investigating Facebook for possible antitrust violations and plans to file a lawsuit against the social media giant next week, four sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

• EU envoys hope for a Brexit trade deal in days, UK sees progress
European Union diplomats said they hoped a Brexit trade deal with Britain could be agreed by Friday or at the weekend, and EU officials said negotiators were likely to review progress in the next two days.

• OPEC+ working on compromise for 2021 oil policy, sources say
OPEC and Russia have moved closer to a compromise over oil supply policy for 2021 after talks earlier this week failed to yield a decision on how to tackle weak oil demand amid a second coronavirus wave, OPEC+ sources told Reuters.​


BEFORE THE BELL
U.S. stock futures were muted ahead of weekly jobless claims data and surveys on the services sector and as investors awaited additional fiscal stimulus from the U.S. Rising risk appetite pushed the dollar to a more-than-two-year low, while gold prices rose. European equity markets fell on downbeat business activity data from the euro zone and nervousness surrounding Brexit negotiations. Japan shares held close to a 29-1/2-year high on growing optimism of a coronavirus vaccine. Oil prices fell, as major producers locked horns over the need to extend record production cuts.​


STOCKS TO WATCH
Results
• Snowflake Inc (SNOW). The Warren Buffett-backed data warehouse firm reported a bigger third-quarter loss on Wednesday, in its first quarterly results following a blockbuster market debut in September, sending its shares more than 5% lower after the bell. Snowflake said product revenue, or sales from services on its platform, more than doubled to $148.5 million, accounting for 93% of total revenue in the quarter. Net loss for the quarter ended Oct. 31 widened to $168.9 million from $88.1 million a year earlier, the company said. Total revenue for the quarter more than doubled to $159.6 million. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $147.5 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Deals Of The Day
• Owl Rock Capital Corp (ORCC). Dyal Capital Partners and the company are in talks to merge with a blank-check company, the asset managers said on Wednesday, sending Owl Rock's shares nearly 10% higher in extended trading.The combined company would be valued at about $13 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Wednesday. Dyal and Owl Rock did not respond to requests for comment on the deal's value.

• Waddell & Reed Financial Inc (WDR). Australia's Macquarie Group said it would buy the U.S. wealth manager for $1.7 billion, its first major deal under a new CEO that expands its presence in the world's largest retail finance market.As part of the deal, Macquarie will sell Waddell & Reed's wealth management platform to U.S. investment adviser LPL Financial Holdings for $300 million, and then begin a partnership with the firm. Waddell & Reed had in recent years become a "diversified and growth-oriented financial services enterprise (and) the long-term partnership between Macquarie and LPL as part of this transaction accelerates that transformation", the target company's CEO Philip J. Sanders said.

In Other News
• American Airlines Group Inc (AAL) & Boeing Co (BA). The airlines' maintenance team is scrambling to complete safety changes to its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX jets ahead of a phased return to service, while deliveries of new jets are set to begin as early as this week. American's maintenance base, the largest in the world, has housed its 24 MAX planes during a 20-month safety ban that followed the second of two fatal crashes for the aircraft in March 2019, forcing some 400 MAX jets in service to be grounded. Following a Nov. 18 order from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) detailing necessary changes for the jet to fly again, 260 American Airlines' specialists divided into three shifts are working round the clock, seven days a week to roll out two jets every seven to 10 days.

• AstraZeneca PLC (AZN). South Korea has reached a deal with the company to purchase its coronavirus vaccine candidate as it seeks to secure supplies amid a resurgence of outbreaks, local media reported. The JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said health authorities signed a contract with the Britain-based company on Nov. 27, and were nearing agreements with Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, citing an unidentified government official. "The AstraZeneca deal has been done, and a memorandum of understanding was reached with both Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. But further negotiations are needed to finalise the amount of supplies and the timing of shipment," the official was quoted as saying.

• Del Taco Restaurants Inc (TACO). The company agreed to pay $1.25 million and enter a three-year consent decree to settle a U.S. agency's lawsuit accusing the fast-food chain of failing to stop sexual harassment and retaliation against female employees. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said on Wednesday that the decree requires Del Taco to retain an employment monitor, train employees on anti-discrimination laws with an emphasis on sexual harassment, and make it easier for employees to report discrimination and harassment. Del Taco said it cooperated with the EEOC, took harassment allegations very seriously, and was "committed to providing a safe environment for all employees and customers, free from harassment of any kind."

• Eli Lilly and Co (LLY). The company said on Wednesday the U.S. government has purchased 650,000 additional doses of its COVID-19 antibody drug for $812.5 million. The doses will be delivered through Jan. 31, with at least 350,000 delivered in December, the company said. The experimental drug has been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use for helping newly-diagnosed, high-risk patients avoid hospitalization, and the government bought 300,000 doses in October. The treatments belong to a class of drugs called monoclonal antibodies that are manufactured copies of antibodies created by the body to fight against an infection.

• Facebook Inc (FB). A group of U.S. states led by New York is investigating the company for possible antitrust violations and plans to file a lawsuit against the social media giant next week, four sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. More than 40 states plan to sign on to the lawsuit, one source said, without naming them. The Federal Trade Commission, whose commissioners met on Wednesday, could file a related complaint with an administrative law judge or in district court. It is not known what the states plan to include in their complaint. One allegation often made against Facebook is that it has strategically sought to buy small potential rivals, often at a big premium. These include Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.

• International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). The company is sounding the alarm over hackers targeting companies critical to the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, a sign that digital spies are turning their attention to the complex logistical work involved in inoculating the world's population against the novel coronavirus. The information technology company said in a blog post that it had uncovered "a global phishing campaign" focused on organizations associated with the COVID-19 vaccine "cold chain" - the process needed to keep vaccine doses at extremely cold temperatures as they travel from manufacturers to people's arms. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency reposted the report, warning members of Operation Warp Speed - the U.S. government's national vaccine mission - to be on the lookout.

• JD.com Inc (JD). JD Logistics has asked banks to pitch for the lead role in its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) of up to $3 billion as it moves towards launching the deal in the first half of 2021, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.The logistics business, the offshoot of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, would be the latest subsidiary of the parent company to be spun off and listed in Hong Kong. The IPO could raise between $2 billion and $3 billion, said the sources, adding the company was yet to set a firm target.

• Pfizer Inc (PFE). Australia's pharmaceutical regulator said it is on course to review the company's COVID-19 vaccine by January 2021, with the country sticking to a March timetable to start vaccinations. But John Skerritt, the head of Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said it would likely complete its review by "late January" and has told staff not to plan a holiday to get the work done. Pfizer's is one of the four COVID-19 vaccines Australia has agreed to buy, including from Novavax, AstraZeneca and CSL Ltd should trials prove successful. Health Minister Greg Hunt said the January timetable does not accelerate plans to begin vaccinations.

• Rio Tinto PLC (RIO). An Australian inquiry into the company's destruction of ancient rock shelters is likely to criticise the miner's procedures and recommend legal and sector reforms when it issues its findings next week, according to legal, Indigenous and mining sources. The inquiry into the lawful destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters for an iron ore mine expansion in May has heard dozens of testimonies and seen more than 140 submissions from miners, heritage specialists and Aboriginal and civil society groups. It is due to report on Dec. 9.

• Walmart Inc (WMT). PhonePe, the digital payments unit of company's Indian e-commerce arm Flipkart, said it would sell a stake to existing investors for $700 million, helping it fuel growth in a crowded market that includes Google and Amazon. PhonePe's fundraising, from Flipkart investors led by Walmart, will give it a valuation of $5.5 billion, the company said in a statement. PhonePe is also using the opportunity to assert its independence from the Flipkart Group which runs a successful e-commerce business in India rivalling Amazon's local unit. It will have its own board of directors, which will include founder and CEO Sameer Nigam and former Flipkart boss Binny Bansal, who is no longer at the company he co-founded. PhonePe will also have employee stock ownership plans separate from Flipkart, which will continue to be its majority shareholder, the statement said.

• Westpac Banking Corp (WBK). The bank agreed to a court-backed undertaking with Australia's banking regulator to address "long-standing weaknesses" in its risk controls and poor oversight. The enforceable commitment follows two years during which Westpac failed to improve its risk governance, the regulator said, contributing to a lawsuit and fine for enabling millions of improper payments, including to people exploiting children.In a statement, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) said it had concluded Westpac had "failed to deliver the expected risk governance improvements despite almost two years of remediation". "This has undermined APRA's confidence in Westpac's ability to remediate these weaknesses in a timely manner."

• XPO Logistics Inc (XPO). The company said on Wednesday it plans to spin off its warehousing and logistics business into a separate publicly traded company.The freight transportation and truck brokerage businesses will remain with XPO, while the new company will focus on e-commerce fulfillment, owning about 200 million square feet of warehouse space. The company, which has about 58,000 employees globally, said it intends to structure the separation as a tax-free transaction to XPO shareholders, and expects to complete it in the second half of 2021.

• Ziopharm Oncology Inc (ZIOP). Proxy adviser Glass Lewis has urged the company's shareholders to elect all three of investment firm WaterMill Asset Management's proposed board members and vote to remove four incumbents, WaterMill said on Wednesday. WaterMill has said there was a need for a board shakeup at Ziopharm after the company's shares fell over 75% during a five-year period. "Glass Lewis ... has endorsed its case for meaningful change at Ziopharm Oncology and recommended shareholders vote for all five proposals on WaterMill's WHITE consent card," WaterMill said. Ziopharm asked shareholders to resist calls from WaterMill to remove the four board members.


INSIGHT
How American investors are gobbling up booming bitcoin
Bitcoin has grabbed headlines this week with its dizzying ascent to an all-time high. Yet, under the radar, a trend has been playing out that could change the face of the cryptocurrency market: a massive flow of coin to North America from East Asia.​


ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION
• Aerovironment Inc (AVAV). Canaccord Genuity raises target price to $98 from $88, citing long-term growth opportunities for the company.

• Blackbaud Inc (BLKB). D.A. Davidson raises target price to $56 from $45, after the company announced its long-term financial goals.

• Discovery Inc (DISCA). Evercore ISI raises target price to $30 from $26, after the company announced partnership with Verizon to distribute new streaming service.

• Guess Inc (GES). Jefferies raises target price to $20 from $15, after the company reported upbeat third-quarter results.

• ​Zscaler Inc (ZS). Credit Suisse raises target price to $175 from $160, after the company reported strong first-quarter earnings, benefitted from an acceleration of digital transformation catalyzed by COVID related disruption.


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0730 Challenger layoffs for Nov: Prior 80,666
0830 Initial jobless claims: Expected 775,000; Prior 778,000
0830 Jobless claims 4-week average: Prior 748,500
0830 Continued jobless claims: Expected 5.915 mln; Prior 6.071 mln
0945 Markit Composite Final PMI for Nov: Prior 57.9
0945 Markit Services PMI Final for Nov: Prior 57.7
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing PMI for Nov: Expected 56.0; Prior 56.6
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing Business Activity for Nov: Expected 60.9; Prior 61.2
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing Employment Index for Nov: Prior 50.1
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing New Orders Index for Nov: Prior 58.8
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing Price Paid Index for Nov: Prior 63.9


COMPANIES REPORTING RESULTS
Cooper Companies Inc (COO). Expected Q4 earnings of $3.09 cents per share
Kroger Co (KR). Expected Q3 earnings of 67 cents per share
Ulta Beauty Inc (ULTA). Expected Q3 earnings of $1.49 cents per share


CORPORATE EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0800 SecureWorks Corp (SCWX). Q3 earnings conference call
0830 GMS Inc (GMS). Q2 earnings conference call
0900 Michaels Companies Inc (MIK). Q3 earnings conference call
0900 PVH Corp (PVH). Q3 earnings conference call
0930 Paylocity Holding Corp (PCTY). Annual Shareholders Meeting
1000 Azek Company Inc (AZEK). Q4 earnings conference call
1000 BancFirst Corp (BANF). Shareholders Meeting
1000 Dollar General Corp (DG). Q3 earnings conference call
1000 Donaldson Company Inc (DCI). Q1 earnings conference call
1000 Kroger Co (KR). Q3 earnings conference call
1000 Liberty Latin America Ltd (LILA). Annual Shareholders Meeting
1100 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc (CBRL). Q1 earnings conference call
1100 Methode Electronics Inc (MEI). Q2 earnings conference call
1100 Vail Resorts Inc (MTN). Annual Shareholders Meeting
1200 Bill.com Holdings Inc (BILL). Annual Shareholders Meeting
1630 Cloudera Inc (CLDR). Q3 earnings conference call
1630 DocuSign Inc (DOCU). Q3 earnings conference call
1630 Medallia Inc (MDLA). Q3 earnings conference call
1630 Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc (OLLI). Q3 earnings conference call
1630 Yext Inc (YEXT). Q3 earnings conference call
1700 Cooper Companies Inc (COO). Q4 earnings conference call
1700 Domo Inc (DOMO). Q3 earnings conference call
1700 PagerDuty Inc (PD). Q3 earnings conference call
1700 Science Applications International Corp (SAIC). Q3 earnings conference call
1700 Ulta Beauty Inc (ULTA). Q3 earnings conference call
1700 Zumiez Inc (ZUMZ). Q3 earnings conference call
1700 Zuora Inc (ZUO). Q3 earnings conference call


EX-DIVIDENDS
Acushnet Holdings Corp (GOLF). Amount $0.15
American National Group Inc (ANAT). Amount $0.82
Amerisafe Inc (AMSF). Amount $0.27
Analog Devices Inc (ADI). Amount $0.62
Arthur J Gallagher & Co (AJG). Amount $0.45
Bank of America Corp (BAC). Amount $0.18
Baxter International Inc (BAX). Amount $0.24
BlackRock Inc (BLK). Amount $3.63
Brooks Automation Inc (BRKS). Amount $0.10
Brown-Forman Corp (BFa). Amount $0.17
Churchill Downs Inc (CHDN). Amount $0.62
D.R. Horton Inc (DHI). Amount $0.20
Dominion Energy Inc (D). Amount $0.63
Eaton Vance Corp (EV). Amount $4.25
Exponent Inc (EXPO). Amount $0.19
First Merchants Corp (FRME). Amount $0.26
Genuine Parts Co (GPC). Amount $0.79
Hancock Whitney Corp (HWC). Amount $0.27
Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG). Amount $0.02
Kimberly-Clark Corp (KMB). Amount $1.07
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc (KNX). Amount $0.08
LCI Industries (LCII). Amount $0.75
ManTech International Corp (MANT). Amount $0.32
Mueller Industries Inc (MLI). Amount $0.10
Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ). Amount $0.49
National Beverage Corp (FIZZ). Amount $6.00
Navient Corp (NAVI). Amount $0.16
NIC Inc (EGOV). Amount $0.09
NVIDIA Corp (NVDA). Amount $0.16
Old Republic International Corp (ORI). Amount $0.21
PepsiCo Inc (PEP). Amount $1.02
Regions Financial Corp (RF). Amount $0.15
Sealed Air Corp (SEE). Amount $0.16
SLM Corp (SLM). Amount $0.03
Trico Bancshares (TCBK). Amount $0.22
Waste Management Inc (WM). Amount $0.54
Weyerhaeuser Co (WY). Amount $0.17

Goedemorgen
De stijging zet zich nog even door op Wall Street met opnieuw een nieuwe All Time High bij de SP 500 en de Nasdaq 100, de Nasdaq Composite moest wel een paar puntjes omlaag.

Nu was het de hoop op extra stimuleringsmaatregelen wat boven kwam drijven en de markten positief hielden, zoals u merkt pakt men alles wat een op hoop is gericht aan om aandelen te kopen. Dat de economie nog altijd ver achterblijft doet er niet zo toe merken we ook aan het ADP banen rapport dat nogal tegenviel. Men had gehoopt op 410.000 banen maar het werden er slechts 307.000, vorige maand waren er nog 404.000. Weer een opvallend feit dat het bij lange na nog niet loopt zoals men dat zou willen.

In de VS werden er gisteren 100.000 ziekenhuis opnames geregistreerd en werd het hoogste aantal sterfgevallen gemeld sinds de uitbraak er kwam (2658). En de nieuwe gevallen na het Thanksgiving weekend moeten nog komen. Het loopt behoorlijk uit de hand in de VS momenteel waar de top er nog lang niet staat. Alle hoop op een snel vaccin dus, daar zet men in ieder geval op in.

Aandelen die het goed deden gisteren waren de olie gerichte bedrijven en de bedrijven rondom een vaccin, zo won Exxon bijna 4% terwijl Chevron met 3% winst sluit. Shell won binnen de AEX ook 3% gisteren. Verder zien we dat bijna Pfizer 4% hoger sluit terwijl Moderna 1,5% winst boekte. BioNTech won 8% gisteren. Het VK laat nu toe om te beginnen met het gebruik van het vaccin van Pfizer samen met BioNTech en dat gaf weer een impuls aan de sector die al zoveel winst boekte de afgelopen weken. Wat we ook zien is dat insiders bij deze vaccin bedrijven beginnen te verkopen, vooral bij Moderna zien we dat massaal al een tijdje. Ook dat wil zeggen dat men moet opletten met de extreme stijging van deze sector, eens de pandemie weg is dan vallen deze bedrijven natuurlijk in het bekende gat.

Zelf ga ik op deze niveaus in ieder geval niet kopen, ik denk er niet aan ... We bouwen nu posities op voor wanneer het gaat dalen, en ik denk eraan om er in ieder geval voor een tijdje in te blijven zitten. Wat betreft 2021 dan zien ik zeker mooie kansen om er een goed jaar van te maken ...

U kunt mij en dus @USMarkets uiteraard ook volgen via onze Twitter account, ga naar ... https://twitter.com/USMarkets waar ik tussentijds wat charts over de markt en sentiment plaats, ook opvallende beursfeiten komen er vaak langs !

Euro, olie en goud:
De euro zien we nu rond de 1.212 dollar, de prijs van een vat Brent olie staat op 48,35 dollar terwijl een troy ounce goud nu terugvalt tot 1843 dollar.

Maak nu gebruik van de aanbieding op US Markets Trading:
Denk eraan, ik sta hoe dan ook klaar om me te herpakken in 2021 wat mijn jaar zal worden wat betreft Trading, lid worden is dus belangrijk om alles optimaal te volgen.

Doe nu mee via de proef aanbieding voor €39 tot 1 FEBRUARI. Dan pakt u december mee en de start van 2021 meteen ook. Polleke Trading is dan €49 ... Schrijf u vandaag nog in via de link https://www.usmarkets.nl/tradershop en dan staat u meteen op de lijst, en ontvangt u de updates en signalen meteen !!

Met vriendelijke groet,
Guy Boscart

GLOBAL TOP NEWS
Britain approved Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, jumping ahead of the rest of the world in the race to begin the most crucial mass inoculation programme in history.

President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday promised a group of workers hit by the raging COVID-19 pandemic that more aid would be on the way, while President Donald Trump hinted he may be ready to begin planning another run for the White House in 2024.

Growth in China's services sector accelerated in November as new business rose at the fastest pace in over a decade, a private survey showed, pointing to a further recovery in consumer demand after the country curbed its coronavirus outbreak.​


EUROPEAN COMPANY NEWS
The London Stock Exchange is set to win EU antitrust approval for its $27 billion takeover of data company Refinitiv, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, bolstering its footprint in a rapidly consolidating sector.

TUI secured a third bailout on Wednesday, striking a deal with the German government, private investors and banks for an extra 1.8 billion euros as the world's largest holiday company tries to ride out the coronavirus-linked travel slump.

British supermarket group Morrisons on Wednesday joined market leader Tesco in deciding to pay government business rates for the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.


TODAY'S COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Atlassian Corporation PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Baillie Gifford Japan Trust PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Coloplast A/S Annual Shareholders Meeting
Countryside Properties PLC FY 2020 Earnings Call
CQS New City High Yield Fund Ltd Annual Shareholders Meeting
Ferguson PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Jubilee Metals Group PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
La Francaise de l Energie SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Marwyn Value Investors Ltd Annual Shareholders Meeting
Nanoco Group PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Ormonde Mining PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Paragon Banking Group PLC FY 2020 Earnings Release
Pipehawk PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
SAS AB Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Seadrill Ltd Annual Shareholders Meeting​


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All times GMT)
0700 United Kingdom Reserve Assets Total for Nov: Prior $177,702.46 mln
0730 Sweden PMI Services for Nov: Prior 55.0
0815 Spain Services PMI for Nov: Expected 36.6; Prior 41.4
0845 Italy Markit/IHS Services PMI for Nov: Expected 41.3; Prior 46.7
0845 Italy Composite PMI for Nov: Prior 49.2
0850 France Markit Services PMI for Nov: Expected 38.0; Prior 38.0
0850 France Markit Composite PMI for Nov: Expected 39.9; Prior 39.9
0855 Germany Markit Services PMI for Nov: Expected 46.2; Prior 46.2
0855 Germany Markit Composite Final PMI for Nov: Expected 52.0; Prior 52.0
0900 Euro Zone Markit Services Final PMI for Nov: Expected 41.3; Prior 41.3
0900 Euro Zone Markit Composite Final PMI for Nov: Expected 45.1; Prior 45.1
0930 United Kingdom Markit/CIPS Services PMI Final for Nov: Expected 45.8; Prior 45.8
0930 United Kingdom Composite PMI Final for Nov: Expected 47.4; Prior 47.4
1000 Euro Zone Retail Sales mm for Oct: Expected 0.8%; Prior -2.0%
1000 Euro Zone Retail Sales yy for Oct: Expected 2.7%; Prior 2.2%