Liveblog Archief maandag 5 april 2021

TOP NEWS
• Tesla shares surge on record electric cars deliveries in first quarter
Shares of Tesla surged in pre-market trading, after the world's most valuable carmaker posted record deliveries as a solid demand for its electric cars offset the impact of a global shortage of chips.

• GameStop shares slide on plan for 3.5 million share sale
GameStop Corp shares fell after the video game retailer said it may sell up to 3.5 million shares as it tries to take advantage of the stock price surge following a Reddit-driven trading frenzy earlier this year.

• Biden will push through infrastructure plan if no Republican support -energy secretary says
U.S. President Joe Biden would be willing to push through his $2 trillion infrastructure plan without the support of Republican lawmakers if he cannot reach a bipartisan deal, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Sunday.

• U.S. puts J&J in charge of plant that botched COVID vaccine, removes AstraZeneca
The United States has put Johnson & Johnson in charge of a plant that ruined 15 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine and has stopped British drugmaker AstraZeneca from using the facility, a senior health official said on Saturday.

• South Korea's LG becomes first major smartphone brand to withdraw from market
South Korea's LG Electronics will wind down its loss-making mobile division after failing to find a buyer, a move that is set to make it the first major smartphone brand to completely withdraw from the market.


BEFORE THE BELL
Wall Street futures rose, and Japan's Nikkei ended in green, after robust U.S. jobs data raised hopes for a quicker economic recovery. Increased appetite for equities dented demand for gold, while the dollar was slightly up. Oil prices fell, driven by the decision of OPEC+ to gradually ease some of its production cuts and higher Iranian output. Durable goods data for February and composite and services PMI data for March are scheduled for release later during the day.


STOCKS TO WATCH
In Other News
• Alphabet Inc: The head of Alphabet’s self-driving unit Waymo said on Friday he was stepping down as chief executive and would be replaced by a pair of executives. John Krafcik, a long-time auto industry executive who has headed Waymo for more than five years, will stay on as an advisor, the company said. "This is a choice John has made after a long and successful career in the automotive industry," Waymo said in statement. Dmitri Dolgov, one of the founders of the Google self-driving car project and Tekedra Mawakana, who was Waymo's chief operating officer and has worked at a number of tech firms, will serve as co-CEOs, the company said.

• AstraZeneca Plc & Johnson & Johnson: The United States has put Johnson & Johnson in charge of a plant that ruined 15 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine and has stopped British drugmaker AstraZeneca from using the facility, a senior health official said on Saturday. J&J said it was "assuming full responsibility" of the Emergent BioSolutions facility in Baltimore, reiterating that it will deliver 100 million doses to the government by the end of May. In a separate statement late Sunday, Emergent said it expects to align with the U.S. government and AstraZeneca to ramp down manufacturing for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine at its Baltimore plant. The Department of Health and Human Services has also increased Emergent's order by $23 million for expansion of production specific to J&J's vaccine doses, Emergent added. Separately, Australia will continue its inoculation programme with AstraZeneca, health officials said on Saturday, after a blood clotting case raised concern about the safety of the vaccine.

• Ford Motor Co: The company will resume making political donations and will not rule out donations to those lawmakers who voted on Jan. 6 against certifying President Joe Biden's election win, according to a letter from Ford seen by Reuters. In the letter seen by Reuters, Ford said its political action committee (PAC) was resuming donations to lawmakers effective April 1, and had opted against imposing a blanket ban on the Republican lawmakers who voted against certification. In the letter to company employees donating to its PAC, Chief Government Relations Officer Mitch Bainwol said Ford would strengthen principles it used for supporting candidates "by adding a new principle related to 'public service and integrity.'"

• GameStop Corp: The company’s shares fell after the video game retailer said it may sell up to 3.5 million shares as it tries to take advantage of the stock price surge following a Reddit-driven trading frenzy earlier this year. The share sale would fetch the company more than $670 million at Thursday's closing price of $191.45. The shares have gained more than 900% so far this year and had at one point hit $482.95 as retail traders bet against Wall Street hedge funds that had shorted the stock. GameStop said it would use the proceeds from the share offering to speed-up the shift in its business model to e-commerce, a plan that is being led by top shareholder and board member Ryan Cohen. The company said it has filed the at-the-market equity offering prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Separately, GameStop said global sales for the nine-week period ending April 4 rose about 11%.

• General Electric Co & Icahn Enterprises LP: Former General Electric executive Aris Kekedjian will be named chief executive officer of Icahn Enterprises, activist investor Carl Icahn told the Wall Street Journal. Kekedjian, who was the U.S. conglomerate's chief investment officer until 2019, will be appointed as Icahn Enterprises's CEO and chief operating officer on Monday, Icahn said in an interview with the paper. Current CEO Keith Cozza and Chief Financial Officer SungHwan Cho are leaving the firm, which houses both Icahn's investment fund and a collection of companies he controls, the WSJ said. A new CFO will be named at a later date, the WSJ added.

• Mizuho Financial Group Inc: The company will revise its IT contingency plans by the end of June, the Japanese lender said, after it suffered four systems glitches during two weeks from February to March. "I don't see a problem at the core banking system itself for now, but some repair may be needed if necessary," Chief Executive Tatsufumi Sakai told a press briefing, adding the bank had increased staff at IT division as a preventive measure. Mizuho had said it had set up a third-party committee to investigate the series of systems troubles. Finance Minister Taro Aso said the Financial Services Agency accepted a report from Mizuho at the end of March. The contents were not disclosed to the public.

• Moderna Inc: The U.S. drug regulator gave the company clearance to speed up output of its COVID-19 vaccine by letting it fill a single vial with up to 15 doses, with the United States banking on rapid immunisation to stem the spread of the deadly virus. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also authorized vaccinators to extract a maximum of 11 doses from the current vials, instead of the ten previously permitted. Moderna said its vaccine can now can be supplied in vials containing 11 or 15 doses, and it expected to begin shipping 15-dose vials in coming weeks. "Both of these revisions positively impact the supply of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, which will help provide more vaccine doses to communities and allow shots to get into arms more quickly," Peter Marks, director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said.

• Morgan Stanley: The company plans to increase the dividend it pays shareholders when restrictions are lifted by the Federal Reserve, according to a letter Chief Executive James Gorman sent to shareholders on Thursday. Morgan Stanley said in December it would resume its share repurchase plan following the Federal Reserve's decision to allow the sector to resume stock buybacks that were suspended during the pandemic. The bank plans to buy back up to $10 billion in stock this year. In his letter posted on Morgan Stanley's website, Gorman also set a long-term goal of achieving a return on tangible common equity (ROTCE) above 17%, according to the letter.

• Nike Inc: A federal judge on Thursday sided with Nike in ordering a Brooklyn company to temporarily stop further sales of "Satan Shoes" it produced in collaboration with the rapper Lil Nas X. U.S. District Judge Eric Komitee in Brooklyn ruled three days after Nike sued MSCHF Product Studio Inc, claiming that the black-and-red, devil-themed sneakers, which carry the Nike "swoosh" logo, infringed its trademarks. The sneakers are customized versions of the Nike Air Max 97 sneakers that purport to contain one drop of human blood in the midsoles, and are printed with "Luke 10:18," a biblical passage referring to Satan's fall from heaven. Only 666 pairs, costing $1,018 each, were made. Lil Nas X, known for the song "Old Town Road," was planning to select who gets the 666th pair, but that plan was shelved following Nike's lawsuit filed on Monday. He is not a defendant in the case.

• Pioneer Natural Resources Co: The U.S. oil producer agreed on Thursday to acquire privately-held rival DoublePoint Energy for about $6.4 billion, speeding up a consolidation of shale oil producers. DoublePoint Energy will add 97,000 acres to Pioneer's holdings in the Permian Basin. The driller was formed in 2018 by serial entrepreneurs Cody Campbell and John Sellers and backed by Apollo Global Management and Quantum Energy Partners. Pioneer plans to slow DoublePoint's production growth by paring its active drilling rigs to five from seven. The deal will add to Pioneer's earnings and cash flow per share beginning this year, it said.

• Tesla Inc: Shares of the company surged in pre-market trading, after the world's most valuable carmaker posted record deliveries as a solid demand for its electric cars offset the impact of a global shortage of chips. The electric-car maker said on Friday it was encouraged by the strong reception of its Model Y crossover in China and it was quickly progressing to full production capacity. Tesla's ability to produce roughly the same amount of vehicles in the first quarter as in the fourth quarter "stands out relative to the trend in global light vehicle production", J.P.Morgan analysts wrote in a note. Tesla delivered 184,800 vehicles globally during the first quarter of 2021, above estimates of 177,822 vehicles, according to Refinitiv data.

• Twitter Inc: Russia said it would extend a punitive slowdown of Twitter until May 15 though it acknowledged the U.S. social media company had speeded up deletion of banned content. In a statement, state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said Twitter had held talks with Russian authorities on April 1, resulting in an agreement to give it more time and a recognition that banned content was being deleted quicker. Twitter confirmed the talks with Russia. "It was a productive discussion about how we can both work to ensure that reports of such illegal content are dealt with expeditiously," it said in a statement. Roskomnadzor said that on average, Twitter was removing illegal content within 81 hours of receiving a request. That is still much longer than the 24 hours demanded in law.


INSIGHT
Seduced by Archegos' growth, Nomura took a chance on Hwang comeback
U.S. investor Sung Kook "Bill" Hwang was looking for a second chance on Wall Street after falling from grace and shutting his multibillion-dollar hedge fund firm. Japan's Nomura Holdings gave him one.


ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION
• A. O. Smith Corp: Stifel cuts rating to hold from buy, saying that supply chains became stressed and product availability deteriorated along with steel inflation pressures.

• AES Corp: JPMorgan raises price target to $31 from $30, reflecting the company's leverage to greater US renewables growth driven by environmental policy, tax incentives, and broader infrastructure investment.

• Pioneer Natural Resources Co: Simmons Energy raises price target to $226 from $220, following the company's announcement of plans to acquire DoublePoint Energy for $6.4 billion.


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0945 ISM-New York Index for Mar : Prior 810.9
0945 ISM New York Business Conditions for Mar : Prior 35.5
0945 Markit Composite Final PMI for Mar : Prior 59.1
0945 Markit Services PMI Final for Mar : Prior 60.0
1000 (approx.) Employment Trends for Mar : Prior 101.01
1000 (approx.) Durables ex-defense, R mm for Feb : Prior -0.7%
1000 (approx.) Durable goods, R mm for Feb : Prior -1.1%
1000 (approx.) Factory orders mm for Feb : Expected -0.5%; Prior 2.6%
1000 (approx.) Durables ex-transport R mm for Feb : Prior -0.9%
1000 (approx.) Nondefense cap ex-air R mm for Feb : Prior -0.8%
1000 (approx.) Factory ex-transport mm for Feb : Prior 1.7%
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing PMI for Mar : Expected 58.5; Prior 55.3
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing Business Activity for Mar : Prior 55.5
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing Employment Index for Mar : Prior 52.7
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing New Orders Index for Mar : Prior 51.9
1000 ISM N-Manufacturing Price Paid Index for Mar : Prior 71.8


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)
1700 Duck Creek Technologies Inc: Q2 earnings conference call


EX-DIVIDENDS
Agilent Technologies Inc: Amount $0.19
Cerner Corp: Amount $0.22
Cousins Properties Inc: Amount $0.31
Dollar General Corp: Amount $0.42
Erie Indemnity Co: Amount $1.03
John Wiley & Sons Inc: Amount $0.34
JPMorgan Chase & Co: Amount $0.90
Quanta Services Inc: Amount $0.06
Rent-A-Center Inc: Amount $0.31