Liveblog Archief vrijdag 27 augustus 2021

TOP NEWS
• Fed Chair Powell's big moment and three ways he could play it
The stakes for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell when he delivers a speech on Friday, his fourth at the influential Jackson Hole economic symposium hosted each August by the Kansas City Fed, could not be much higher.

• Nvidia set to seek EU okay for $54 billion Arm deal -sources
Nvidia is likely to seek EU antitrust approval for its $54 billion takeover of British chip designer Arm early next month, with regulators expected to launch a full-scale investigation after a preliminary review, people familiar with the matter said.

• Contaminant in Moderna vaccines suspected to be metallic particles -NHK
A contaminant found in a batch of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines delivered to Japan is believed to be a metallic particle, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported, citing sources at the health ministry.

• Apple strikes App Store deal with small developers as it waits for 'Fortnite' ruling
Apple on Thursday agreed to loosen App Store restrictions on small developers, striking a deal in a class-action lawsuit as the iPhone maker awaits a ruling by the same judge in a separate App Store dispute brought by the developer behind "Fortnite."

• U.S. offshore oil workers flee as storm nears Gulf of Mexico
U.S. energy companies on Thursday began airlifting workers from Gulf of Mexico oil platforms and moved vessels ahead of a powerful hurricane forecast for the weekend.


BEFORE THE BELL
Wall Street futures rose, and Asian equities ended with gains, as investors awaited the U.S. Fed chief Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium later in the day for cues on bond tapering. European shares edged lower. Gold prices firmed, while the dollar was slightly down. Oil rose on supply concerns, as energy companies began shutting production in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of a possible hurricane forecast to hit on the weekend.


STOCKS TO WATCH

Results
• Dell Technologies Inc: The company beat market estimates for second-quarter revenue on Thursday as the shift to hybrid work kept demand strong for its laptops, desktops and cloud services. People globally continue to spend on computer devices even after a year of working from home. Figures from International Data Corp showed shipments of PCs rose 13% from April to June, but the pace of growth was much slower than last year's frenzy. Total revenue jumped 15% to $26.12 billion, beating the analysts' average estimate of $25.53 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Dell's net income fell to $880 million, or $1.05 per share, in the quarter ended, from $1.01 billion, or $1.37 per share, a year earlier.

• Gap Inc: The company on Thursday raised its full-year net sales forecast for the second time, betting on hot demand for its Old Navy and Athleta clothing brands as socializing makes a comeback with easing pandemic curbs. "Our customers embraced summer with optimism, hungry for mood-boosting clothing as vacations and reunions became a reality," Gap Chief Executive Officer Sonia Syngal said on an earnings call. Gap expects fiscal 2021 net sales growth of about 30%, compared with a prior forecast in the low-to-mid 20% range. Analysts expected a 24.3% growth, according to Refinitiv data. The company, which has also been sharpening its focus on marketing and inclusivity, forecast annual adjusted profit between $2.10 and $2.25 per share from $1.60 to $1.75 earlier. Analysts expected $1.80.

• Marvell Technology Inc: The company's customers have broadly been willing to accept price increases in exchange for steady chip supply, the company's chief executive said on Thursday as it reported better-than-expected quarterly sales. "It really is a discussion and engagement with each of your customers," CEO Matt Murphy told Reuters in an interview. "Ultimately, what they care about is capacity? 'Can you supply me? If you can't get me the parts, why would I agree to a price increase?'" Marvell, which makes networking chips used in data centers and vehicles, raised its third quarter sales forecast after reporting stronger-than-anticipated second quarter sales. The company expects third quarter sales and adjusted profits of $1.145 billion and 38 cents per share, versus Wall Street estimates of $1.13 billion and 37 cents per share, according to data from FactSet.

• Peloton Interactive Inc: The company said on Thursday its near-term profitability would suffer due to a decision to slash the price of its exercise bike and higher commodity and marketing costs. The fitness equipment maker also introduced monthly financing options for its Bike+ and Tread products across all regions, as it looks to prevent a slowdown in its business after last year's home fitness boom. New York-based Peloton said it expects a return to profitability on an adjusted core earnings basis by the financial year 2023. In the near term, it plans on prioritizing subscription growth and reducing the time gap between sales and delivery. Meanwhile, Peloton said the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security had subpoenaed the company for documents and information related to injuries associated with its exercise machines.

Moves
• Procter & Gamble Co: Imperial Brands named its U.S. business head and a senior manager from Procter & Gamble to its executive leadership team as part of the tobacco company's efforts to boost sales in its top five cigarette markets. The company said Kim Reed, the head of its U.S. business ITG Brands, will join as president and chief executive for the United States. Paola Pocci, who was most recently senior vice president of Procter & Gamble's personal care beauty portfolio in China, will take over as president in Africa, Asia and Australasia markets, effective Sept. 1.

Deals Of The Day
• Barclays Plc & Gap Inc: Barclays said its United States arm will buy a $3.8 billion credit card portfolio co-branded with clothing retailer Gap, as the British bank continues a strategy of partnering with big brands to grow in the U.S. Barclays is buying the portfolio from Synchrony Bank, and the deal is expected to close in the second quarter of next year. The deal comes at a time when banks worldwide are trying to expand fee-earning businesses such as credit cards, amid rock-bottom central bank interest rates that have squashed profits from their other main business of lending. The deal follows an agreement in April between Barclays and Gap under which they would issue co-branded credit cards to Gap customers in 2022.

• KKR & Co Inc: The U.S. private equity firm will purchase Ritchies Transport, one of New Zealand's largest bus companies, marking its first infrastructure investment in the island nation. The companies did not disclose the deal value, although they said KKR made the investment through its Asia-Pacific infrastructure fund. Buses offer a "highly visible opportunity to encourage the adoption of zero-emissions technology," Andrew Jennings, a director on KKR's infrastructure team, said, noting the growing demand for greener transport in New Zealand. He added buses account for 75% of public transport in the island nation. Ritchies has a fleet of more than 1,600 buses with 42 depots.

In Other News
• Alphabet Inc: The company's self-driving unit Waymo said on Thursday that it has ended a two-year effort to sell light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors to other companies. This is a reversal from its earlier strategy to sell the lidars to non-automotive customers to bring down costs of a key and expensive component of self-driving cars. "We're winding down our commercial lidar business as we maintain our focus on developing and deploying our Waymo Driver across our Waymo One (ride-hailing) and Waymo Via (delivery) units," a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson, however, said it will continue to build its lidars in-house. Separately, YouTube said on Thursday it had suspended payments to content producers from 14 channels accused of spreading fake news about next year's election by Brazil's federal electoral court, the TSE.

• Apple Inc: The company on Thursday agreed to loosen App Store restrictions on small developers, striking a deal in a class-action lawsuit as the iPhone maker awaits a ruling by the same judge in a separate App Store dispute brought by the developer behind "Fortnite." The deal includes changes in how all developers can communicate with customers, an issue highlighted by the judge herself in the Fortnite case. But Apple kept intact the vast majority of the App Store business practices that have been challenged in courts and legislatures. Instead it gave up only $100 million, a small sum for a company worth more than $2.4 trillion, and a set of email marketing restrictions that legal experts had said could be difficult to defend even under a prior U.S. Supreme Court case that allows companies to bar their business partners from steering customers toward alternative payment methods.

• DoorDash Inc & Uber Technologies Inc: The New York City Council on Thursday approved legislation to license food-delivery apps including Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats and to permanently cap commissions they can charge restaurants. The companies say the price controls are unfair and vowed to fight them. "This permanent price control is flagrantly unconstitutional and will hurt local restaurants, delivery workers and diners across NYC. We will vigorously fight this illegal action," Grubhub, a unit of Just Eat Takeaway.com, said in a statement. Mayor Bill de Blasio has 30 days to sign the legislation, which would go into effect 120 days after becoming law. The bills limit the amount that companies can charge restaurants to use their platforms to 15% of food orders for delivery services and 5% for advertising and other non-delivery services.

• General Motors Co: LG Chem shares fell to a nine-month low, as assurances from General Motors of a continued relationship with it failed to calm investor worries stemming from GM's recall of electric vehicles (EVs) powered by the South Korean firm's batteries. General Motors' CEO Mary Barra signalled on Thursday the automaker would continue its relationship with LG Energy Solution (LGES), the battery supplier at the heart of its $1.8 billion vehicle recall, Bloomberg News reported. She also said that the automaker had "multiple pathways" to secure a leading position in the transition to EVs.

• Intel Corp: Zeekr, the premium electric vehicle brand by Geely, said it raised $500 million in its first external funding from investors including Intel, battery maker CATL and online entertainment firm Bilibili. Zeekr said investors would jointly hold a 5.6% stake in the company, valuing it at around $9 billion. The company makes the Zeekr 001 model in the eastern city of Ningbo and is expected to start delivering them later this year. It aims to sell 650,000 vehicles a year by 2025. Investors also included Cathy Fortune Corporation, which invests in mining companies, and private-equity firm Boyu Capital that additionally signed long-term investment partnerships with Zeekr, the carmaker said in a statement.

• Johnson & Johnson: A U.S. judge declined to stop the drugmaker from taking steps to offload widespread Baby Powder liabilities from the rest of its business, preserving the option for the healthcare company to move thousands of claims from people who used its talc products to a unit that would file for bankruptcy. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein denied a request from plaintiffs' lawyers to block the move late Thursday. Lawyers for cancer victims wanted her to issue a restraining order against J&J as part of her role overseeing the bankruptcy proceedings of one of the company's former talc suppliers. "The court rightly denied the plaintiffs' motion aimed at preventing J&J from engaging in legitimate business transactions, in the event that it chooses to do so," said Diane Sullivan, a Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP lawyer representing J&J, in a statement.

• Kismet Acquisition One Corp: Video game developer Nexters and a Russian special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Kismet have completed their business combination to start trading Nexters shares on the U.S. Nasdaq, the two companies said. The deal, Kismet said, is the first cooperation of its kind, involving a company from Russia and a Russian SPAC to list shares in the United States. Nexters' ordinary shares and warrants will be traded on Nasdaq under the tickers GDEV and GDEVW, respectively, the company said in a statement. The transaction will deliver around $132 million in cash to Nexters and its shareholders, comprising funds from the Kismet trust account, Kismet Sponsor Limited, and PIPE investors Mubadala Investment Company and VPE Capital.

• Microsoft Corp: The company on Thursday warned thousands of its cloud computing customers, including some of the world's largest companies, that intruders could have the ability to read, change or even delete their main databases, according to a copy of the email and a cyber security researcher. The vulnerability is in Microsoft Azure's flagship Cosmos DB database. A research team at security company Wiz discovered it was able to access keys that control access to databases held by thousands of companies. Wiz Chief Technology Officer Ami Luttwak is a former chief technology officer at Microsoft's Cloud Security Group. Because Microsoft cannot change those keys by itself, it emailed the customers Thursday telling them to create new ones. Microsoft agreed to pay Wiz $40,000 for finding the flaw and reporting it, according to an email it sent to Wiz.

• Moderna Inc: A contaminant found in a batch of the drugmaker's COVID-19 vaccines delivered to Japan is believed to be a metallic particle, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported, citing sources at the health ministry. NHK, in a report published late on Thursday, cited ministry sources as saying the particle reacted to magnets and was therefore suspected to be a metal. Moderna has described it as "particulate matter" that did not pose a safety or efficacy issue. A health ministry official said the composition of the contaminant has not been confirmed. The ministry has said the suspension of the Moderna batches was a precaution but it prompted several Japanese companies to cancel worker vaccinations and the European drugs regulator to launch an investigation.

• Nvidia Corp: The chipmaker is likely to seek EU antitrust approval for its $54 billion takeover of British chip designer Arm early next month, with regulators expected to launch a full-scale investigation after a preliminary review, people familiar with the matter said. A request to the European Commission for approval of the deal will kick off a 25-working day preliminary review. Nvidia is unlikely to offer concessions during this period, the sources said, which will then prompt a 90-working day full-scale EU investigation. "This transaction will be beneficial to Arm, its licensees, competition, and the industry. We are working through the regulatory process and we look forward to engaging with the European Commission to address any concerns they may have." Nvidia said.

• Rio Tinto Plc: The mining giant is yet to pay compensation to the Aboriginal group whose ancient rock shelters it destroyed at one of its iron ore sites in Western Australia last year, company officials told a parliamentary inquiry. The incident last year destroyed the historically and culturally significant site at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region that showed evidence of human habitation 46,000 years ago into the last Ice Age. The head of Rio's Australian operations, Kellie Parker, told the inquiry the company was committed to "doing the right thing" around paying restitution but said that details around the financial component of any compensation were subject to a confidentiality agreement at the PKKP's request. Rio Tinto has rehabilitated parts of the Juukan Gorge and is working to restore the shelters in a structurally sound way, she said.

• Southwest Airlines Co: The airline will run fewer flights through the end of the year in a bid to fix issues that disrupted operations this summer and led to flight delays and cancellations. The low-cost carrier on Thursday said it will reduce an average of 27 flights a day from Sept. 7 through Oct. 6 and cut 162 flights a day from Oct. 7 through Nov. 5. It plans to adjust flight schedules in November and December as well, but said it would protect holiday bookings. "We're confident these adjustments will create a more reliable travel experience," Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said in a statement.

• Tyson Foods Inc: The company said on Thursday it is offering U.S. chicken plant workers the chance to win $10,000 once a week for the next five weeks if they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine lottery is the latest attempt to encourage vaccinations by the country's biggest meat company by sales, as the contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus drives an increase in U.S. cases. Tyson employees at nearly 50 chicken facilities are eligible for the prizes, spokesman Derek Burleson said. Tyson said on Thursday that discussions with union leaders on the mandate are ongoing. "We're already in alignment on the need to continue doing everything we can to protect our team members from the health impacts of the COVID-19 virus," Burleson said.


POLL
Runaway U.S. home price rises to slow, but affordability to worsen
Rocketing U.S. house price rises will accelerate more slowly in 2022, halving this year's double-digit pace but still climbing much faster than experts predicted three months ago, according to a Reuters poll of analysts who said homes would get even less affordable.


ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION
• Bill.Com Holdings Inc: Canaccord Genuity raises target price to $284 from $223, after the company posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and on a belief that acquisition of Divvy and Invoice2go is positive in the longer term.

• Campbell Soup Co: JPMorgan cuts target price to $45 from $46, to reflect risks to FY2022 earnings per share guidance, given the challenging cost environment and the potential difficulty in fully offsetting it with pricing.

• Dollar General Corp: CFRA cuts rating to hold from buy, saying the company raised FY2022 sales outlook but didn’t raise operating income guide, which implies weaker operating margins.

• Marvell Technology Inc: JPMorgan raises target price to $74 from $66, after the company reported strong second-quarter results.

• Workday Inc: Barclays raises target price to $309 from $282, believing that the company is back on track post the pandemic and poised to deliver 20% plus subscription growth again.


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0830 (approx) Personal income mm for July: Expected 0.2%; Prior 0.1%
0830 (approx) Personal consumption real mm for July: Prior 0.5%
0830 (approx) Consumption, adjusted mm for July: Expected 0.3%; Prior 1.0%
0830 (approx) Core PCE price index mm for July: Expected 0.3%; Prior 0.4%
0830 (approx) Core PCE price index yy for July: Expected 3.6%; Prior 3.5%
0830 (approx) PCE price index mm for July: Prior 0.5%
0830 (approx) PCE price index yy for July: Prior 4.0%
0830 (approx) Advance goods trade balance for July: Prior -$92.05 bln
0830 (approx) Wholesale inventories advance for July: Prior 1.1%
0830 (approx) Retail inventories ex-auto advance for July: Prior 0.5%
1000 U Mich Sentiment Final for Aug: Expected 70.7; Prior 70.2
1000 (approx) U Mich Conditions Final for Aug: Prior 77.9
1000 (approx) U Mich Expectations Final for Aug: Prior 65.2
1000 (approx) U Mich 1-year inflation final for Aug: Prior 4.6%
1000 (approx) U Mich 5-year inflation final for Aug: Prior 3.0%
1200 (approx) Dallas fed PCE for Jul: Prior 2.3%


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


CORPORATE EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0800 Big Lots Inc: Q2 earnings conference call
0800 Kanzhun Ltd: Q2 earnings conference call
1000 Hibbett Inc: Q2 earnings conference call
1000 Southwestern Energy Co: Shareholders Meeting
1200 Mesa Laboratories Inc: Annual Shareholders Meeting
1300 TWC Tech Holdings II Corp: Shareholders Meeting


EX-DIVIDENDS
Assurant Inc: Amount $0.66
Cactus Inc: Amount $0.10
Cathay General Bancorp: Amount $0.31
Lumen Technologies Inc: Amount $0.25
LyondellBasell Industries NV: Amount $1.13
MKS Instruments Inc: Amount $0.22
Molson Coors Beverage Co: Amount $0.34
Murphy Usa Inc: Amount $0.25
Nike Inc: Amount $0.27
Northrop Grumman Corp: Amount $1.57
Patrick Industries Inc: Amount $0.28
Valvoline Inc: Amount $0.12

Een draai kwam er na de opening van Wall Street al bleef de schade beperkt omdat het pas later op de avond doorzette, Europa kon zo nog dicht bij de slotstanden van woensdag sluiten. De Dow Jones verloor wel bijna 200 punten terwijl de Nasdaq en de Nasdaq 100 zo'n 0,6% moesten inleveren. De SOX index sluit nagenoeg vlak. Wel overal verlies net voor de FED gaat spreken, vanmiddag rond 16:00 praat Powell over de strategie van de FED en vooral over het al dan niet snel beginnen terug te draaien van het opkoop programma.

Update vrijdag 27 augustus:
Een afwachtende houding gisteren bij alle indices die dus een stapje terug moesten. Beleggers wachten op de woorden die de FED gaan uitspreken vanmiddag rond 16:00 en er werd na de stevige rally van deze week wat winst genomen. De Dow Jones die eerst nog wat omhoog kon aan het begin van de sessie verloor 192 punten, de S&P 500 verloor 26 punten terwijl de Nasdaq met 96 punten terug moest. Verder zien we ook verlies in Europa maar dat bleef beperkt tot 0,2% bij de AEX en 0,4% bij de DAX. Veel nieuws was er niet te melden behalve die bloedige aanslag in Afghanistan en het groeicijfer over de economie in de VS.

De Amerikaanse economie groeide in het 2e kwartaal van dit jaar wat meer dan werd verwacht maar dat cijfer bleef toch iets onder de verwachtingen die de economen graag hadden gezien. Het groeicijfer werd 6,6% terwijl men op 6.7% had gerekend. Het zijn allemaal wel zaken om in de gaten te houden, wat zal de FED ervan denken want de economie doet het goed in de VS, moet er langer meer geld de markt op? Of kan de FED het even laten zoals het is om waar nodig later weer bij te springen?

Marktoverzicht:
Via het overzicht zien we snel dat de markt een draai naar omlaag lijkt te maken nu, enkele indices vanaf hun recordstand terwijl andere indices dat al doen voor dat de topzone werd bereikt. De komende sessies worden zo weer belangrijk voor het vervolg, het is nu de vraag of de daling een keer wat meer dagen zal aanhouden? Of komt er weer een zeer snelle "Buy the Dip" aan? Vandaag zullen beleggers vooral gaan letten op wat de FED voorzitter zal zeggen, na 16:00 weten we meer.

Dow Jones:
De Dow Jones moet inleveren voor dat de top werd bereikt en dat is op zich geen goed teken voor de index. We blijven letten op de steun die we zien door de lijn onder de bodems en waar ook het 50-daags gemiddelde uitkomt. Deze belangrijke steunzone komt uit rond de 34.800 punten ofwel zo'n 400 punten onder de slotstand van donderdag. Onder deze steun kan de Dow snel naar de 34.200 en later naar de 34.000 punten terug.

Weerstand nu de 35.500 en de 35.620 punten, daarna de lijn over de toppen die we zien rond de 35.800 punten.

AEX index:
De AEX valt wat stil nu maar dat kon ook niet anders na dat stevige herstel vanaf de bodem van vorige week donderdag. We zien op de grafiek een draai op gang komen maar de vraag blijft natuurlijk tot waar die deze keer zal doorzetten. Wel zien we de draai duidelijk, de index kan nu op zoek naar wat bekende steunpunten. Steun nu eerst de 773-775 punten, later de 760 en de bodem van afgelopen donderdag rond de 755 punten. Verder zien we nog steun rond de 748 en de 736-738 punten.

Weerstand wordt de topzone rond de 785 punten, later de 788 en de 795 punten, dan zitten we ook niet ver meer onder de 800 punten wat dan een psychologische grens kan worden.

DAX index:
De DAX index blijft rondom de steun-weerstand hangen en die zien we duidelijk rond de 15.810 punten uitkomen, het is al sinds juni dat de DAX daar omheen blijft draaien met hier en daar een uitschieter naar omhoog of omlaag. De top zien we er zo'n 220 punten boven en op 16.030 punten, de bodemzone is ook een oude bekende en die zien we rond de 15.500-15.550 punten. Laten we grofweg met alle uitschieter eruit gefilterd zeggen dat de DAX tussen de 15.500 en de 15.810 punten een soort tradingrange heeft vastgelegd. We moeten dan ook deze belangrijke grenzen in de gaten houden de komende periode.

Weerstand blijft nu eerst die 15.810 punten, later de topzone rond de 16.030 punten. Steun zien we nu eerst rond de 15.660 punten waar het 50-daags gemiddelde nu uitkomt, later de 15.500-15.550 punten. Pas duidelijk onder die 15.500 punten kunnen we verder kijken naar doelen omlaag.

Nasdaq Composite:
De tech indices moeten ook wat inleveren deze keer, geen records meer en de Nasdaq verloor zo bijna 100 punten. Op de grafiek kun je nu duidelijk zien dat de index faalt aan de bovenkant waar de lijn over de toppen uitkomt, de bovenkant van het huidige trendkanaal. Zoals we zien is er nog voldoende ruimte richting de onderkant ofwel de steunlijn onder de recente bodems want die komt nu uit rond de 14.450-14.500 punten. We zien eerder ook nog steun rond de 14.800 en de 14.630 punten waar het 50-daags gemiddelde nu uitkomt.

Weerstand nog altijd die lijn over de toppen die nu rond de 15.050-15.060 punten uitkomt ofwel zo'n 100 punten boven de slotstand van donderdag. Later weerstand rond de 15.150 en de 15.250 punten.

Overzicht resultaat 2021 blijft goed:
Er lopen nu wat kleine posities op enkele indices en ik zoek nog naar wat andere kansen de komende sessies. Zorg in ieder geval dat u net als ons het meest gunstige momentum kunt pakken om in de markt te stappen of wordt lid zodat u de signalen ontvangt op de indexen.

Meedoen kan meteen als u lid wordt, de posities kunt u nog opnemen daarna want de details ziet u dan in onze Tradershop op de website. Schrijf u nu in via de nieuwe aanbieding tot 1 NOVEMBER voor €35 via de aanbieding., ga naar https://www.usmarkets.nl/trade... en doe meteen mee met de nieuwe posities ...

Met vriendelijke groet,
Guy Boscart

US Markets Trading