Liveblog Archief woensdag 12 augustus 2020

TOP NEWS
• Liberty Global surprises with $7.4 billion deal to buy Sunrise in latest telecoms consolidation
Liberty Global plans to take over Switzerland's Sunrise Communications in a surprise $7.4 billion deal announced by the companies.
• U.S. ban on TikTok could cut it off from app stores, advertisers -White House document
President Donald Trump's executive order banning China's TikTok could prevent U.S. app stores from offering the popular short-video app and make advertising on the platform illegal, according to a White House document seen by Reuters.
• INSIGHT-Electric carmakers seek out blank-check firms for funding as virus spooks private markets
Electric commercial truck maker Nikola Corp of Phoenix, Arizona, tried unsuccessfully to raise $1 billion in the private markets and only turned to a merger with a so-called blank-check company to go public as a way to raise the needed funds, its chief financial officer said.
• Investors revalue Chinese tech giants after U.S. ban
Stock investor Zhu Haifeng halved his once-cherished holdings in Chinese tech giants Tencent and Alibaba after the United States announced on Friday sanctions against some Chinese firms in the latest escalation between the world's two top economies.
• INTERVIEW-U.S. companies should consider slave trade reparations -Vista Equity CEO
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Black Americans especially hard after decades of social and economic injustices, but it also presents an opportunity for systemic change, said financier Robert Smith, the wealthiest African-American according to Forbes.


BEFORE THE BELL
U.S. stock index futures rose as resilient fuel demand drove up oil prices, while investors remained on edge due to a stalemate over the next coronavirus federal aid bill. European shares gained, boosted by telecom stocks following Liberty Global's takeover offer for Sunrise. Japan’s Nikkei edged higher as some investors bought shares of major exporters on the back of a weaker yen. The dollar index slipped, while spot gold rebounded in volatile trade. The U.S. consumer prices data for July is on the economic calendar.​


STOCKS TO WATCH
Deals Of The Day
• Liberty Global PLC (LBTYA). The company plans to take over Switzerland's Sunrise Communications in a surprise $7.4 billion deal announced by the companies. The agreed deal reverses Sunrise's failed bid to buy Liberty's Swiss business last year and marks a strategic reversal by the U.S. company which has been divesting European assets. The all-cash $7.43 billion deal will see Liberty Global, set up by U.S. cable pioneer John Malone, pay 110 francs per share for Switzerland's No. 2 telecoms company, a 32% premium to the company's average share price over the past 60 days. "It's a fair valuation," Freenet CEO Christoph Vilanek told Reuters. "We believe that a merger on sensible terms makes sense."

In Other News
• Best Inc (BEST). The Alibaba-backed company is seeking a Hong Kong listing for its express delivery and freight delivery businesses, keen to boost its valuation and establish an investor base closer to China, said three sources with knowledge of the matter. The plans by Best, which went public in New York in 2017 and has a market value of $1.8 billion, are preliminary and the offering size and target valuation have yet to be determined, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity as the information was private.
• Chevron Corp (CVX). The company's $5 billion offer to acquire Noble Energy emerged after the U.S. oil major first proposed taking a stake of at least 50% in Noble's Eastern Mediterranean natural-gas fields, a proxy filing on Tuesday showed. If consummated, the all-stock merger will boost Chevron's U.S. shale oil holdings and give it vast natural gas assets off the coast of Israel. Noble's Leviathan, one of the world's biggest offshore gas discoveries of the last decade, already is supplying gas to Israel, Egypt and Jordan.
• Eastman Kodak Co (KODK). The company increased spending on lobbying the U.S. government in the months before the Trump administration announced a $765 million loan to the photographic equipment maker, public disclosures filed with the Congress show. The company spent $870,000 as "expense relating to lobbying activities" from April through June, according to the lobbying disclosures. Kodak had previously not spent any money on lobbying since an expense of less than $5,000 in the first quarter of 2019.
• Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM). U.S. oil major said on Tuesday it has signed an agreement with Global Clean Energy to buy 2.5 million barrels of renewable diesel per year for five years to help reduce its carbon footprint. Investors in recent years have increased pressure on fossil fuel companies, including Exxon Mobil, to reduce emissions, spend more on low-carbon energy and make disclosures on the impact of fossil fuel production on climate change. The renewable diesel will be sourced from Global Clean Energy's refinery in Bakersfield, California, starting 2022. The plant is among several traditional oil refineries being converted to manufacture renewable diesel, as demand for the alternative fuel continues to grow.
• Moderna Inc (MRNA). The United States has entered an agreement with drugmaker Moderna to acquire 100 million doses of its potential COVID-19 vaccine for around $1.5 billion, the company and White House said on Tuesday. Moderna's price per dose comes to around $30.50 per person for a two dose regimen. With the exception of its deal with AstraZeneca, which offered a lower price per drug in exchange for upfront research and development costs, all the deals price COVID-19 vaccines between $20 to $42 for a two dose course of treatment.
• Tesla Inc (TSLA). The company on Tuesday announced a five-for-one stock split, sending the electric carmaker's recently high-flying shares up in extended trade. Tesla's stock, which traded at $1,475 after the announcement, is among the highest priced on Wall Street, and the Palo Alto, California-based company said in a press release it was looking to make its shares more accessible to employees and investors. Tesla said stock holders of record on Aug. 21 would receive four additional shares after the close of trading on Aug. 28, with the stock trading on a split-adjusted basis beginning Aug. 31.
• Vir Biotechnology Inc (VIR). The company said on Tuesday it plans to start a mid-to-late stage trial of its COVID-19 drug candidate in August, as drugmakers across the globe rush to find treatments for the highly infectious virus. The company's therapy candidate, VIR-7831, is a monoclonal antibody that binds itself to the SARS-CoV-2 live virus and neutralizes it. Vir Biotech expects initial clinical data from the study to be available before the end of 2020.
• Walmart Inc (WMT). Instacart app users in some U.S. cities will now be able to shop for their bread, milk and eggs from Walmart, a spokeswoman for the grocery delivery company confirmed on Tuesday. The pilot program in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Tulsa, is another boost for Instacart as it moves closer to a likely initial public offering amid booming demand for grocery delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Yandex NV (YNDX). Shares in the Russian internet giant have traded near a record high in recent days, buoyed by optimism for technology stocks and ahead of the company's expected inclusion in the MSCI Russia index. Yandex's core advertising business has taken a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic but surging interest in online has allowed other segments of its business to flourish, including food delivery and e-commerce. Analysts said Yandex's inclusion would be the biggest event for the MSCI Russia index in recent history.​


COLUMN
Markets second-guess policy rollback: Mike Dolan
The once resolute "whatever it takes" message of government support for pandemic-hit economies is fraying at the margins as some recovery from the COVID-19 shock emerges, leaving buoyant markets pondering the prospect of ebbing stimulus.


ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION
• 10X Genomics Inc (TXG). JPMorgan raises target price to $110 from $95, after the company's second-quarter reuslts beat estimates.
• Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR). JPMorgan raises target price to $142 from $125, following the company's better than expected fourth-quarter earnings, driven by increase in trading volume.
• Magna International Inc (MGA). Credit Suisse raises target price to $62 from $57, saying the company is well positioned to capitalize on industry recovery in the second-half of the year and through 2021.
• Nio Inc (NIO). JPMorgan raises target price to $14 from $11, as the company's loss narrowed in the second quarter due to cost control and continuous margin improvement. ​
• Open Lending Corp (LPRO). Canaccord Genuity raises target price to $25 from $20, after the company reported better-than-expected second quarter results.


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0830 Core CPI mm, SA for Jul: Expected 0.2%; Prior 0.2%
0830 Core CPI yy, NSA for Jul: Expected 1.1%; Prior 1.2%
0830 CPI Index, NSA for Jul: Expected 258.510; Prior 257.797
0830 (approx.) Core CPI Index, SA for Jul: Prior 266.07
0830 CPI mm, SA for Jul: Expected 0.3%; Prior 0.6%
0830 CPI yy, NSA for Jul: Expected 0.8%; Prior 0.6%
1400 Federal Budget for Jul: Expected -$193.00 bln; Prior -$864.00 bln​

Goedemorgen
Wat een sessie gisteren, eerst fors omhoog maar Wall Street leverde alles weer in richting het slot met opnieuw de Nasdaq voorop. Wat het meest opviel gisteren wat het verloop van de goudprijs, en het zilver, die gingen helemaal door het putje en laat het nu voor het eerst in hele lange tijd zijn dat ik ervoor koos om even wat te doen met het goud. Logisch want ik ging uit van een daling van de markt waardoor de edelmetalen zoals de afgelopen weken bleek weer zou worden opgezocht, nee dus het werd een tegenvaller en werden uitgestopt. Voor het eerst in jaren zien we zo'n grote daling bij de edelmetalen. Het zit niet echt mee dit jaar met de keuzes, maar goed we moeten vooruit en op zoek naar nieuwe kansen. Wat betreft de indices die lopen wel goed nu.

Vanmorgen zien we dat de futures iets in de plus staan, ik zal moeten zien wat we met de posities gaan doen in de loop van de dag, dat er na gisteren nog wat daling aan zit te komen is redelijk groot nu er mogelijk een top werd gezet op Wall Street. Het viel vooral op dat de S&P 500 de All Time High zo goed als bijna heeft aangetikt, die lag op 3392 punten, gisteren stond de top op 3382 punten. We kunnen dit zien als een test van de vorige top, de winstnemingen erop volgend waren behoorlijk fors. De Dow Jones lukte het niet om weer een positieve sessie achter te laten desondanks de index gedurende de sessie even bijna 400 punten in de plus stond, het slot kwam uit op 27.687 punten, de dagtop lag op 28.155 punten ofwel zo'n 450 punten hoger.

Europa begon ook sterk, liep verder uit maar het slot lag niet op de hoogste stand van de dag. De AEX zien we nu rond de 565 punten met vanmorgen wat lagere futures zal de index rond de 563 starten. De DAX zien we rond de 12.900 punten, de dagtop van gisteren kwam rond de 13.050 uit. Het verloop vandaag wordt wederom zeer belangrijk.

De markt blijft bewegen op hoop, verbeterende omstandigheden, vaccin of niet, Trump en zijn plannen maar alles blijft uiteraard zwaar overgewaardeerd. Er zijn weinig handelaren die nog veel vertrouwen hebben in het huidige verloop, iedereen weet dat we op Wall Street veel te hoog staan maar er zit een nieuwe groep in de markt die als sprinkhanen actief zijn en blijven. Dat kon je gisteren weer duidelijk zien, van het ene in het andere hoppen en weer veranderen, dat zijn meestal de momenten waar er toppen worden gezet maar in 2020 zien we dat er van alles kan gebeuren op de markten terwijl je een bepaalde beweging verwacht. We gaan het zien hoe de dag zal verlopen, in ieder geval doen de index posities het op dit moment nog goed, bij een hervatting van de daling zal ik zien wat we kunnen doen ...

Zelf neem ik mijn tijd, zoek ik naar kansen, waar het kan zal ik handelen met nog steeds kleine posities door de volatiliteit die hoog blijft. We zitten nu met wat indexen in de markt, ik wil de komende dagen zien tot waar we geraken met deze posities die gisteren werden uitgebreid.

Om mee te doen kunt u zich inschrijven via de site en via de aanbieding tot 1 oktober voor €39 ... Dan kunt u nog de posities die nu al lopen opnemen (scheelt nog niet veel met onze instap van afgelopen woensdag) en kunt u mee met de nieuwe posities. Schrijf u dus meteen in via de link https://www.usmarkets.nl/tradershop ...

Tot straks ... Guy

GLOBAL TOP NEWS
A stalemate between the Republican White House and congressional Democrats over coronavirus relief ended in a fourth day without talks on Tuesday, with each party blaming the other for intransigence.

President Donald Trump's executive order banning China's TikTok could prevent U.S. app stores from offering the popular short-video app and make advertising on the platform illegal, according to a White House document seen by Reuters.

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia had become the first country to grant regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing, a move Moscow likened to its success in the Cold War-era space race.​


EUROPEAN COMPANY NEWS
European banks committed to backing action on climate change face allegations of double standards from indigenous groups in Ecuador after a report named them as major players in the trade in oil from the Amazon rainforest.

Trafford Centre, one of Britain's major shopping centres, is being put up for sale, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters late Tuesday, in less than two months after its parent company Intu Properties collapsed into administration.

British life insurer Prudential said on Tuesday it planned to spin off its U.S. business Jackson to focus on Africa and its largest market Asia, responding to investor pressure for a split.​


TODAY'S COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS
ABN Amro Bank NV Q2 2020 Earnings Release
Admiral Group PLC HY 2020 Earnings Release
ALK-Abello A/S Q2 2020 Earnings Call
Asetek A/S Q2 2020 Earnings Release
Balfour Beatty PLC HY 2020 Earnings Release
Be Heard Group PLC Ordinary Shareholders Meeting
CLS Holdings PLC HY 2020 Earnings Release
Dfds AS Q2 2020 Earnings Release
DO & CO AG Q1 2021 Earnings Call
E.ON SE Q2 2020 Earnings Release
Evotec SE Q2 2020 Earnings Call
freenet AG Q2 2020 Earnings Call
GEA Group AG HY 2020 Earnings Release
Genmab A/S Q2 2020 Earnings Release
Geodrill Ltd Q2 2020 Earnings Call
Glanbia PLC HY 2020 Earnings Release
Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG Q2 2020 Earnings Release
Hexagon Composites ASA Q2 2020 Earnings Release
Impact Healthcare REIT PLC HY 2020 Earnings Call
Iss A/S Q2 2020 Earnings Call
JZ Capital Partners Ltd Annual Shareholders Meeting
Leoni AG Q2 2020 Earnings Call
Novozymes A/S Q2 2020 Earnings Release
Orsted A/S Q2 2020 Earnings Release
Paion AG HY 2020 Earnings Call
Premier Foods PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Salzgitter AG HY 2020 Earnings Release
Schmolz+Bickenbach AG Q2 2020 Earnings Release
SEEEN PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Simcorp A/S Q2 2020 Earnings Release
Solar A/S Q2 2020 Earnings Call
Sparebank 1 Nord-Norge Q2 2020 Earnings Release
SSE PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
St Galler Kantonalbank AG HY 2020 Earnings Release
Staffline Group PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Suominen Oyj Q2 2020 Earnings Release
Talanx AG Q2 2020 Earnings Release
Tecan Group AG HY 2020 Earnings Release
Wienerberger AG HY 2020 Earnings Release


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All times GMT)
0600 (approx.) United Kingdom Business Investment qq Prelim for Q2: Prior -0.3%
0600 (approx.) United Kingdom Business Investment yy Prelim for Q2: Prior 0.8%
0600 (approx.) United Kingdom GDP Est 3m/3m for Jun: Expected -21.2%; Prior -19.1%
0600 United Kingdom GDP Estimate mm for Jun: Expected 8.0%; Prior 1.8%
0600 United Kingdom GDP Estimate yy for Jun: Expected -18.5%; Prior -24.0%
0600 United Kingdom Services mm for Jun: Expected 8.0%; Prior 0.9%
0600 United Kingdom Services yy for Jun: Expected -18.9%; Prior -23.6%
0600 United Kingdom Industrial Output mm for Jun: Expected 9.2%; Prior 6.0%
0600 United Kingdom Industrial Output yy for Jun: Expected -12.8%; Prior -20.0%
0600 United Kingdom Manufacturing Output mm for Jun: Expected 10.0%; Prior 8.4%
0600 United Kingdom Manufacturing Output yy for Jun: Expected -15.0%; Prior -22.8%
0600 United Kingdom Construction O/P Vol mm for Jun: Expected 15.5%; Prior 8.2%
0600 United Kingdom Construction O/P Vol yy for Jun: Expected -29.5%; Prior -39.7%
0600 United Kingdom Goods Trade Balance for Jun: Expected -4.750 bln GBP; Prior -2.805 bln GBP
0600 United Kingdom Goods Trade Balance Non-EU for Jun: Prior 0.649 bln GBP
0600 United Kingdom GDP Prelim qq for Q2: Expected -20.5%; Prior -2.2%
0600 United Kingdom GDP Prelim yy for Q2: Expected -22.4%; Prior -1.7%
0730 (approx.) Sweden CPI mm for Jul: Expected 0.1%; Prior 0.6%
0730 (approx.) Sweden CPI yy for Jul: Expected 0.3%; Prior 0.7%
0730 (approx.) Sweden CPIF mm for Jul: Expected 0.0%; Prior 0.6%
0730 (approx.) Sweden CPIF yy for Jul: Expected 0.3%; Prior 0.7%
0730 (approx.) Sweden CPI NSA for Jul: Prior 336.84
0730 (approx.) Sweden CPIF Excluding Energy mm for Jul: Expected 0.1%; Prior 0.4%
0730 (approx.) Sweden CPIF Excluding Energy yy for Jul: Expected 1.2%; Prior 1.3%
0900 (approx.) Italy CPI Excluding Tobacco for Jul: Prior 102.4
0900 (approx.) Italy CPI Excluding Tobacco m/m for Jul: Prior -0.3%
0900 (approx.) Italy Consumer Prices Final mm for Jul: Expected -0.1%; Prior -0.1%
0900 (approx.) Italy Consumer Prices Final yy for Jul: Expected -0.3%; Prior -0.3%
0900 (approx.) Italy CPI (EU Norm) Final mm for Jul: Expected -0.6%; Prior -0.6%
0900 (approx.) Italy CPI (EU Norm) Final yy for Jul: Expected 0.9%; Prior 0.9%
0900 Euro Zone Industrial Production mm for Jun: Expected 10.0%; Prior 12.4%
0900 Euro Zone Industrial Production yy for Jun: Expected -11.5%; Prior -20.9%
1000 (approx.) Portugal CPI mm for Jul: Prior -1.3%
1000 (approx.) Portugal CPI yy for Jul: Prior 0.2%
1000 (approx.) Portugal CPI NSA for Jul: Prior 104.830
2301 United Kingdom RICS Housing Survey for Jul: Expected -5; Prior -15​