Liveblog Archief woensdag 17 februari 2021

De Nasdaq 100 bereikt een punt dat wel eens belangrijk kan worden, dicht bij de bovenkant van een duidelijk dubbele weerstand waar we nu onderscheid kunnen maken tussen 2 oplopende WIG formaties. De eerste blijft belangrijk, de 2e maakt alleen maar duidelijk dat de markt tegen de lijn aan de bovenkant leunt maar er niet door weet te geraken. Met andere woorden, de stijging van de markt voelt sterk aan maar in feite is het zo dat die maar weinig kracht laat zien.

Ook de afgelopen sessies wel omhoog, dan weer wat omlaag maar wel kwakkelend en zonder overtuiging. Wat ik wel wil zien is of de markt het bij de komende dalingen (ik verwacht er zeker nog 2 a 3 de komende dagen) door kan trekken omlaag met zoals we op de grafiek kunnen zien als doel eerst de 12.330 punten of de 10.950 punten. Met die TOP-7 of TOP-10 aandelen die we er dan bij pakken zijn deze niveau's sneller te bereiken dan velen denken, zelfs als de markt zoals nu het geval is van geen correctie wil weten. Juist op dat moment is het gevaarlijker dan ooit ...

Meedoen met de signalen op de Nasdaq 100? Ga naar https://www.usmarkets.nl/trade...

Grafiek Nasdaq 100 index:

Met vriendelijke groet,
Guy Boscart

TOP NEWS
• Big Tech's Democratic critics discuss ways to strike back with White House
Congressional Democrats have begun discussions with the White House on ways to crack down on Big Tech including making social media companies accountable for the spread of disinformation on matters such as the U.S. Capitol riot and addressing the abuse of market power to harm corporate rivals.

• Epic Games takes Apple fight to EU antitrust regulators
Fortnite creator Epic Games has taken its fight against Apple to European Union antitrust regulators, ramping up it dispute with the iPhone maker over its App Store payment system and control over app downloads.

• Ford's Europe car lineup to be all-electric by 2030
Ford Motor said its car lineup in Europe will be all-electric by 2030 as the U.S. automaker races to get ahead of CO2 emissions targets and looming bans in some countries on fossil fuel vehicles.

• Australian media firms squeeze more from Google as new law looms
Australia claimed an early win in a protracted licencing battle with Google as media companies lined up to announce content deals with the internet giant that were reportedly far more lucrative than their global rivals.

• Hilton posts surprise loss as surging COVID-19 cases hurt bookings
Hilton posted a surprise fourth-quarter loss as bookings took a hit from a resurgence in COVID-19 cases and renewed travel curbs, sending shares of the U.S. hotel operator down in premarket trading.


BEFORE THE BELL
U.S. stock index futures fell as investors refrained from making big bets ahead of monthly retail sales data and minutes from the U.S Federal Reserve's January meeting due later in the day. European shares slipped as concerns about a possible rise in inflation tempered optimism around a vaccine-led global economic recovery, while Japanese shares declined on profit booking. The dollar rose pushing gold prices down. Oil prices advanced due to supply disruption in the south of the United States caused by a winter storm in Texas.


STOCKS TO WATCH
Results
• American International Group Inc: The insurer posted a net loss of $60 million in the fourth quarter, mainly due to a $1.2 billion loss from derivatives, the company said, but its adjusted earnings hit analysts' targets. Quarterly adjusted profit totaled 94 cents a share, down from $1.03 a share, a year ago. Analysts had expected 93 cents a share, according to data from Refinitiv. For the full year, AIG posted a $6 billion net loss, largely due to its sale of Fortitude Group Holdings LLC last June. But it met analysts' estimates with full-year adjusted earnings of $2.2 billion, or $2.52 a share. The lower 2020 results reflected $1.1 billion in costs related to COVID-19 for the year, and higher losses on catastrophe coverage, the company said. AIG did not provide a 2021 outlook, having suspended such guidance after the first quarter of 2020.

• British American Tobacco PLC: The company forecast e-cigarette and tobacco heating devices would contribute to earnings for the first time this year as more smokers switch to products perceived as less harmful in the pandemic. It also sold more higher priced cigarettes, helping adjusted earnings to reach 331.7 pence per share (EPS), beating analysts' average estimate of 329.87 pence, according to Refinitiv data. "For the first year, new category losses will reduce and therefore new categories are going to contribute to our full year (2021) earnings growth," Chief Marketing Officer Kingsley Wheaton told Reuters. BAT forecast constant currency revenue growth of 3% to 5% this year to reach 26.55 billion-27.06 billion pounds, above the 26.1 billion pounds expected by analysts.

• Continental Resources Inc: The U.S. shale producer raised its capital budget and forecast a rise in its crude oil and natural gas output this year, building on a recent recovery in commodity prices from pandemic-led historic lows. The company said it now expects capital expenditures of $1.4 billion in 2021, up from a previous forecast of between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion. It expects annual oil production of between 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 165,000 bpd this year, compared with 2020 production of 160,505 barrels per day. Higher spending in the fourth quarter also pushed the company to an adjusted loss of 23 cents per share, much bigger than analysts' average estimate of 8 cents per share.

• Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc: The hotel operator posted a surprise quarterly loss as bookings took a hit from a resurgence in COVID-19 cases and renewed travel curbs, sending shares of the company down in premarket trading. "Rising COVID-19 cases and tightening travel restrictions disrupted the positive momentum we saw throughout the summer and fall," Chief Executive Officer Christopher Nassetta said in a statement. Hilton said fourth-quarter revenue per available room (RevPAR) - a key measure for a hotel's top-line performance - fell about 59% to $40.68, and was below the company's expectation of about $45 per room. Net loss attributable to Hilton stockholders was 80 cents per share in the quarter compared with net income of 61 cents per share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, Hilton lost 10 cents per share, missing analysts' estimates for a profit of 3 cents per share.

• Rio Tinto Plc: The miner reported its best annual earnings since 2011 and declared a record dividend payout, the second major producer to return windfalls from sky high iron ore prices to investors. "We have earned a lot of money last year," said CEO Jakob Stausholm. "But we have also done a lot of deleveraging in the year and we are down to now having less than $1 billion of net debt. So it's difficult to argue that we should hold back on dividends," Stausholm told a media briefing. Underlying earnings rose to $12.45 billion from $10.37 billion a year earlier, beating analysts' estimates of $12.02 billion. The global miner declared a record final dividend of $3.09 per share, up from $2.31 in 2019, and announced a special dividend payout of 93 cents a share.

• Westpac Banking Corp: The bank reported a rebound in first quarter profit, benefiting from a reversal in bad debt charges as the Australian economy and the housing market recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Westpac's profit for the three months to Dec. 31 stood at A$1.97 billion, 16% higher than the A$1.70 billion profit of a year earlier. Earnings were boosted by a A$501 million impairment benefit due to a better-than-expected outlook. The quarterly result from Australia's third-largest bank was also more than double the quarterly average of A$808 million in the second half of fiscal 2020, the lender said. "The economy is recovering, consumer and business confidence is strong, and the labour market has been much more resilient than expected," said Chief Executive Officer Peter King.

• Wix.com Ltd: The company, which helps small businesses build and operate websites, fell to a loss in the fourth quarter but revenue jumped on strong demand by businesses to strengthen their online presence. The Israeli company reported a quarterly net loss excluding one-time items of 3 cents per share, compared with a profit of 39 cents per share a year earlier. Revenue grew 38% to $282.5 million, while research and development and other expenses rose sharply. Analysts had forecast Wix would lose 11 cents a share ex-items on revenue of $270.2 million. For all of 2020, Wix posted revenue of nearly $1 billion. For all of 2021, it expects 29-30% growth in revenue to $1.272-$$1.286 million.

Deals Of The Day
• Energy Transfer LP & Enable Midstream Partners LP: Energy Transfer said it would acquire Enable Midstream for $2.6 billion, as the oil and gas pipeline company looks to expand its natural gas liquids transportation business. Enable common unitholders will receive 0.8595 Energy Transfer common units for each unit they own. In addition, each outstanding Enable Series A preferred unit will be exchanged for 0.0265 Series G preferred units of Energy Transfer. The transaction will also include a $10 million cash payment for Enable's general partner and the deal was valued at about $7.2 billion, including debt. Energy Transfer expects the combined company to generate more than $100 million of annual run-rate cost and efficiency synergies.

• KKR & Co Inc: The company said it has agreed to acquire industrial firm Flow Control Group from private equity firm Bertram Capital. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a person familiar with the matter said the deal values Flow Control at more than $1 billion, including debt. About 1,200 Flow Control employees are expected to benefit from KKR's signature stock ownership program, which has been implemented across all the firm's eight industrial portfolio companies and was devised by Pete Stavros, co-head of Americas private equity at KKR. KKR's investment in Flow Control was made out of the $13.9 billion KKR Americas XII Fund.

• Tribune Publishing Co: The company said its largest shareholder, Alden Global Capital, will buy shares it does not already own in the company at $17.25 each in cash and turn the owner of the Chicago Tribune into a privately held firm. Alden's offer represents a premium of 45% to the closing price of Tribune common stock on Dec. 11, the publisher said. The hedge fund had a 32% stake in Tribune prior to the transaction. The company's board approved the buyout following a recommendation by a special committee it had formed in December to act on its behalf in respect of Alden's offer. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, the publisher said.

• Western Alliance Bancorp, Apollo Global Management Inc & Athene Holding Ltd: Western Alliance said it would buy mortgage servicer AmeriHome for about $1 billion in cash, in a deal that would strengthen the bank's home finance business. Backed by private equity firm Apollo Global Management and its insurance affiliate Athene Holding, Thousand Oaks, California-based AmeriHome acquires and services mortgages originated by a network of brokers and financial institutions across the United States. The deal, partially funded by a $275 million sale of new Western Alliance shares, would boost the bank's fee income and generate enough revenue to quickly cover the purchase price, Western Alliance Chief Executive Ken Vecchione told Reuters.

Moves
• La-Z-Boy Inc: The company said Chief Executive Kurt Darrow will retire in April and will be replaced by finance chief Melinda Whittington. Darrow, who has led the firm for 17 of his 40 years at the furniture maker, will remain its chairman in a non-executive role. Robert Lucian, vice president of finance at La-Z-Boy, will succeed Whittington as CFO, the company said.

In Other News
• Alphabet Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Facebook Inc & Twitter Inc: Congressional Democrats have begun discussions with the White House on ways to crack down on Big Tech including making social media companies accountable for the spread of disinformation on matters such as the U.S. Capitol riot and addressing the abuse of market power to harm corporate rivals. The conversations between lawmakers and Biden aides represent the first sign that the White House has begun actively getting involved in considering how to take on Big Tech. They also show how lawmakers are trying to get Biden staffers on board as part of the lengthy lawmaking process on a wide range of issues. Several congressional aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, said members of Biden's team are listening to concerns raised by lawmakers on issues involving Big Tech, asking questions and participating in conversations about potential future action. The White House declined comment on these discussions.

• Alphabet Inc: Australia claimed an early win in a protracted licencing battle with Alphabet’s Google as media companies lined up to announce content deals with the internet giant that were reportedly far more lucrative than their global rivals. A month after Google threatened to shut down its search engine in Australia to avoid what it called "unworkable" content laws, the country's two largest free-to-air television broadcasters have struck deals collectively worth A$60 million a year, according to media reports Google and Nine declined to comment on unsourced reports in Nine's newspapers on Wednesday that said the companies had reached an agreement. Seven and Google said two days earlier they had struck a deal, without giving financials.

• Alpha Healthcare Acquisition Corp: Humacyte Inc, a developer of universally implantable bioengineered human tissues and organs, has agreed a deal to go public through a merger with the blank-check acquisition company, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal would be a rare instance of a company focused on developing human tissue in laboratories coming to the public market. The merger would give Humacyte a pre-money valuation of $800 million with the company potentially worth around $1.1 billion upon closing of the deal, the sources said. Humacyte declined to comment.

• Amazon.com Inc: New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Amazon.com over its handling of worker safety issues around the COVID-19 pandemic at two warehouses, just days after the retailer filed its own lawsuit seeking to block her case. In a complaint filed in a New York state court in Manhattan, James said Amazon's drive for faster growth and higher profits led to its "flagrant disregard" of steps needed to protect workers from the coronavirus at a Staten Island fulfillment center and a Queens distribution center, both in New York City. James also accused Amazon of illegally retaliating when employees began to complain, including last March when it fired activist Christian Smalls purportedly for violating a paid quarantine when he led a protest over conditions at the Staten Island warehouse. Separately, Daimler unit Torc Robotics said it has selected Amazon's cloud computing division to handle huge amounts of data in real time as it prepares to test self-driving test trucks in New Mexico and Virginia.

• Apple Inc: Fortnite creator Epic Games has taken its fight against Apple to European Union antitrust regulators after failing to make headway in a U.S. court in a dispute over the iPhone maker's payment system on its App Store and control over apps downloads. Epic Games founder and Chief Executive Tim Sweeney said Apple's control of its platform had tilted the level playing field. "The 30% they charge as their app tax, they can make it 50% or 90% or 100%. Under their theory of how these markets are structured, they have every right to do that," he told reporters. "Epic is not asking any court or regulator to change this 30% to some other number, only to restore competition on IOS," he said. Apple said its rules applied equally to all developers and that Epic had violated them.

• Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc: The investment firm called on French food group Danone to separate its medical nutrition business from its baby foods unit to boost returns, French daily Le Figaro reported. Danone, touted as a prime target for an activist fund, has come under pressure in recent weeks to make management changes as some investors criticised weak returns at the food group and demanded it split the roles of chief executive and chairman. Artisan Partners, which said it had built up a stake of more than 3% in the maker of Activia yoghurt, also said that Danone's Asian Mizone unit could be offloaded.

• Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Verizon Communications Inc & Chevron Corp: Warren Buffett's Berkshire announced two major new investments, revealing an $8.6 billion stake in the phone company Verizon Communications and a $4.1 billion stake in oil company Chevron. The investments were disclosed in a regulatory filing detailing Berkshire's U.S.-listed stock holdings as of Dec. 31. Berkshire also disclosed a new $499 million stake in the professional services company Marsh & McLennan. Tuesday's filing signals where Buffett and his portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler see value, without saying who bought what. Buffett normally handles larger investments such as Verizon and Chevron. The filing also shows Berkshire deploying some of its cash hoard, which totaled $145.7 billion as of Sept. 30.

• Boeing Co: The planemaker Tuesday backed first-ever fuel efficiency standards for new airplanes finalized by the Trump administration in its waning days that a dozen U.S. states have challenged as too lenient, and that President Joe Biden's administration is reviewing. The company asked a U.S. appeals court in Washington for approval to intervene on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is being sued over its decision to finalize the first-ever standards regulating greenhouse gas emissions from airplanes. The plaintiffs, 12 states, the District of Columbia and three environmental groups, want tougher emissions rules. The planemaker argued that it is "essential" rules "be reasonably achievable, given the billions of dollars it costs to design, build, and certify new airplanes." "Attempts to overturn regulation directly aligned with successful cooperative international efforts to combat climate change, supported by more than 190 countries, will only discourage future international agreements," Boeing said in a statement.

• BlackRock Inc: Polluting companies must disclose the full scope of their greenhouse gas emissions or risk confrontation with investors at their annual shareholders meetings, the world's biggest asset manager said. The warning is the first time BlackRock has publicly sought the release of so-called Scope 3 emissions data, part of its plans to hold companies more to account over climate change. "Where corporate disclosures are insufficient to make a thorough assessment, or a company has not provided a credible plan ... we may vote against the directors we consider responsible for climate risk oversight," BlackRock said.

• BP Plc: The oil major is launching its first share award scheme to rally its more than 60,000 employees around CEO Bernard Looney's plan to shift to renewable energy following a bruising year of mass layoffs, bonus suspensions and spending cuts. The distribution of the shares, which will be locked for four years, will take place throughout 2021. The cost of the programme was not yet clear but BP said it would not impact its $2.5 billion cost savings target or plans to reduce debt to $35 billion this year. BP is also expected to return to paying bonuses to around 30,000 employees for 2021 after suspending all bonuses last year in response to the collapse in energy prices due to coronavirus, Looney said in the company-wide town hall meeting last week.

• EHang Holdings Ltd: The drone manufacturer’s shares plunged after an investment research firm said it had shorted the stock and questioned the accuracy of what the Chinese company has said about its business. Guangzhou, China-based EHang's shares closed 62.7% lower at $46.30 on Nasdaq. Wolfpack Research, which specializes in short-selling, or betting that shares will fall, said EHang is "an elaborate stock promotion" and that the producer of unmanned aerial vehicle technology has lied about its products, manufacturing, revenues and partnerships. In response, EHang said the Wolfpack report contains "numerous errors, unsubstantiated statements, and misinterpretation of information."

• Ford Motor Co: The automaker said its car lineup in Europe will be all-electric by 2030 as the company races to get ahead of CO2 emissions targets and looming bans in some countries on fossil fuel vehicles. The carmaker said it will invest $1 billion to convert its vehicle assembly plant in Cologne, Germany, to become the U.S. automaker's first electric vehicle facility in Europe. Ford said its first European-built, all-electric passenger vehicle will be produced at the facility from 2023 and is considering building a second model there. The automaker said that by 2026 it will have electric versions of all its passenger cars on sale in Europe and that by 2030 two-thirds of its commercial vehicle sales in Europe will be fully electric or plug-in hybrids.

• GameStop Corp & Airbnb Inc: Hedge fund Melvin Capital Management disclosed it had raised the put option on Class A shares of U.S. video game chain GameStop to 6 million shares for the quarter ended Dec. 31, from 5.4 million shares in the past quarter. The disclosure - which comes after a flood of retail trading drove GameStop and other shares to extreme highs in late January and squeezed hedge funds like Melvin Capital that had bet against it - does not reflect January's moves when Melvin said it liquidated its GameStop position. Separately, the hedge fund reported a stake of 300,000 Class A shares in Airbnb as of Dec. 31, according to a regulatory filing.

• Honda Motor Co Ltd: The automaker will name Toshihiro Mibe, head of its research and development arm, as the new chief executive officer of the company, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. It will announce the decision after a board meeting as early as Friday, the people said, requesting anonymity because the information is not public. Mibe will be confirmed as president and representative director at an annual shareholders' meeting in June, they said. Mibe, who is a director at Honda, will replace Takahiro Hachigo, who has held the CEO role for six years. Honda said in a statement that it is not true the company has decided to change its CEO.

• JetBlue Airways Corp & American Airlines Group Inc: JetBlue Airways pilots voted to reject a tentative agreement that would have given the airline contractual relief to implement its planned partnership with American Airlines, their union said in a statement. Budget carrier JetBlue and international major American Airlines announced plans for a strategic tie-up in July to give them more muscle in the U.S. Northeast as the industry plots its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. For any agreement to proceed, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) representing JetBlue pilots said management must provide assurances over job safety. "Job security, especially during turbulent points in our industry, is a main concern of every pilot,” Chris Kenney, chairman of the JetBlue unit of ALPA, said. "We are disappointed in the results of the vote," a JetBlue spokesman said.

• Pfizer Inc: The company has not yet delivered to the European Union about 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses that were due in December, EU officials said, leaving it about one-third short of the supplies it had expected by now from the U.S. company. The delay is another blow to the EU, which has also faced earlier delays on the Pfizer vaccine. By the middle of last week, Pfizer had delivered to the EU 23 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with German firm BioNTech 22UAy.DE, said an EU official who is directly involved in talks with the U.S. company. That was about 10 million doses less than Pfizer had promised to supplied by mid-February, said a second official who is also involved in the talks. Pfizer declined to comment, saying schedules of its deliveries were confidential. The executive European Commission did not respond to a request for comment on delivery shortfalls.

• Restaurant Brands International Inc: Burger King will launch a new crispy chicken sandwich this year in the United States after successful tests, it said, the only major fast-food burger chain that plans to bread its fillets by hand in restaurants. The company, a unit of Restaurant Brands, is competing against rival hamburger brands, including McDonald's Corp for consumers' increasing cravings for chicken. The company would not confirm exactly when the sandwich will launch. The item will be rolled out to 1,000 Burger King locations at a time, according to Ellie Doty, chief marketing officer, Burger King North America.

• Ryanair Holding Plc: The airlines lost its fight against the state aid granted to rivals including Air France and Sweden's SAS after a top European court said such schemes were not discriminatory amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The court said the French and Swedish schemes were in line with the bloc's rules. Ryanair said it would appeal to the EU Court of Justice in a process likely to take several years. The company had taken issue with the European Commission for clearing a French scheme allowing airlines to defer certain aeronautical taxes and Sweden's loan guarantee scheme for airlines. Both schemes benefited their flag carriers.

• Salesforce.com Inc & Slack Technologies Inc: The companies’ have received requests for additional information from the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice related to their $27.7 billion merger, regulatory filings showed on Tuesday. The two companies were also asked to provide documentary material, the filings showed. The deal is still expected to be completed during the fiscal quarter ending July 31.

• Warner Music Group Corp: The company has invested in Rotana Music, the Middle East's largest record label owned by Saudi Arabia's billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Warner said in a statement. The value of the transaction was not disclosed. The deal will see Warner Music distribute Rotana Music's releases globally. Signed to Rotana are some of the biggest music stars in the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia's Mohamed Abdo, Egypt's Amr Diab and Lebanon's Elissa.


SPECIAL REPORT
Amazon documents reveal company's secret strategy to dodge India's regulators
It was early 2019, and senior Amazon.com executive Jay Carney was preparing for an important meeting. The former press secretary to U.S. President Barack Obama, Carney was scheduled to talk with India's ambassador to the United States in Washington, D.C. In Delhi, the Indian government had just announced foreign direct investment regulations that threatened to disrupt Amazon's business in the world's second most populous country.


ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION
• Advance Auto Parts Inc: JPMorgan raises target price to $199 from $195, citing the company's improving trends in its Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets and stimulus driven retail sales.

• Agilent Technologies Inc: Evercore ISI raises target price to $145 from $130, stating the company’s robust 2021 revenue guidance and organic growth potential.

• Intuit Inc: Oppenheimer raises target price to $436 from $416, anticipating the company's organic growth in coming years and revenue synergies from the Credit Karma acquisition.

• Kraft Heinz Co: JPMorgan raises target price to $41 from $37, stating the company’s focus on improving its supply chain and innovating impactful products creating a favourable outlook.

• Kroger Co: Stephens raises target price to $35 from $30, citing the company's higher EPS estimate for 2021 and improving margins post-COVID.


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0830 PPI Machine Manufacturing for Jan : Prior 142.8
0830 (approx.) PPI final demand yy for Jan : Expected 0.9%; Prior 0.8%
0830 (approx.) PPI final demand mm for Jan : Expected 0.4%; Prior 0.3%
0830 (approx.) PPI exfood/energy yy for Jan : Expected 1.1%; Prior 1.2%
0830 (approx.) PPI exfood/energy mm for Jan: Expected 0.2%; Prior 0.1%
0830 (approx.) PPI ex food/energy/transport yy for Jan: Prior 1.1%
0830 (approx.) PPI ex food/energy/transport mm for Jan : Prior 0.4%
0830 (approx.) Retail sales mm for Jan : Expected 1.1%; Prior -0.7%
0830 (approx.) Retail sales ex-autos mm for Jan : Expected 1.0%; Prior -1.4%
0830 (approx.) Retail ex gas/autos for Jan : Prior -2.1%
0830 (approx.) Retail control for Jan : Expected 0.8%; Prior -1.9%
0830 (approx.) Retail sales YoY for Jan : Prior 2.90%
0915 (approx.) Industrial production mm for Jan : Expected 0.5%; Prior 1.6%
0915 (approx.) Capacity utilization SA for Jan : Expected 74.8%; Prior 74.5%
0915 (approx.) Manufacturing output mm for Jan : Expected 0.7%; Prior 0.9%
0915 (approx.) Industrial production YoY for Jan : Prior -3.58%
1000 (approx.) Business inventories mm for Dec: Expected 0.5%; Prior 0.5%
1000 (approx.) Retail inventories ex-auto rev for Dec: Prior 1.1%
1000 NAHB Housing Market Index for Feb : Expected 83; Prior 83


COMPANIES REPORTING RESULTS
Albemarle Corp: Expected Q4 earnings of $1.10 per share
Analog Devices Inc: Expected Q1 earnings of $1.32 per share
CF Industries Holdings Inc: Expected Q4 earnings of 11 cents per share
Garmin Ltd: Expected Q4 earnings of $1.39 per share
Genuine Parts Co: Expected Q4 earnings of $1.35 per share
Marathon Oil Corp: Expected Q4 loss of 20 cents per share
Mosaic Co: Expected Q4 earnings of 20 cents per share
Progressive Corp: Expected Ja earnings of $1.64 per share
Synopsys Inc: Expected Q1 earnings of $1.47 per share


CORPORATE EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0800 Endava PLC: Q2 earnings conference call
0800 Royalty Pharma PLC: Q4 earnings conference call
0830 American International Group Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
0830 Charles River Laboratories International Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
0830 Blueprint Medicines Corp: Q4 earnings conference call
0900 Owens Corning: Q4 earnings conference call
0900 Eversource Energy: Q4 earnings conference call
1000 Devon Energy Corp: Q4 earnings conference call
1000 Henry Schein Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1000 Analog Devices Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1000 Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1000 Wingstop Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1030 EQT Corp: Q4 earnings conference call
1100 NiSource Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1100 Genuine Parts Co: Q4 earnings conference call
1100 Invitation Homes Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1130 Choice Hotels International Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1200 Continental Resources Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1630 SunPower Corp: Q4 earnings conference call
1630 Grand Canyon Education Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1630 Globus Medical Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1630 Veracyte Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1630 Invitae Corp: Q4 earnings conference call
1630 10X Genomics Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1700 Pegasystems Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1700 Boston Beer Company Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1700 Synopsys Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
1700 Stamps.Com Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1700 Energy Transfer LP: Q4 earnings conference call
1700 Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1700 Workiva Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1700 Twilio Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1700 Tilray Inc: Q4 earnings conference call
1700 Fastly Inc: Q4 earnings conference call


EX-DIVIDENDS
CenterPoint Energy Inc: Amount $0.16
Discover Financial Services: Amount $0.44
International Paper Co: Amount $0.51
Littelfuse Inc: Amount $0.48
Microsoft Corp: Amount $0.56
OneMain Holdings Inc: Amount $3.95
Reinsurance Group of America Inc: Amount $0.70
Xylem Inc: Amount $0.28

Goedemorgen
De Europa kan vandaag een verdeelde opening laten zien met kleine verschillen gemeten naar de stand van de futures voorbeurs. De futures op Wall Street die in de nacht even lager stonden trekken ook al weer bij naar vlak op moment van schrijven.

De brede S&P 500 verloor gisteren niet veel, een verliesje van 0,1%, de beide Nasdaq indices verloren wat meer met 0,35% voor de Nasdaq Composite terwijl de Nasdaq 100 met 0,25% omlaag moest. De Dow Jones kon wel nog een kleine winst laten zien, de Dow won 0,2% met een nieuwe recordstand op 31.522,75 punten. Intraday werd wel nog een hogere stand bereikt gisteren, het echte record staat dus op 31.608,63 punten.

Lange rente loopt op in de VS:
Vooral de stijgende rendementen op obligaties en hogere energieprijzen doen beleggers twijfelen over de inflatie en dat is iets waar we het al langer over hebben. Op zich de eigen schuld van de overheid en de FED die veel te veel geld op de markt hebben gebracht waardoor er een onaangename rijkdom bij een grote groep nieuwe spelers op gang kwam en dat wakkert de inflatie behoorlijk aan. En om de inflatie aan te vallen moet de rente omhoog hetgeen er nu ook gaande is.

De rente op een tienjarige Amerikaanse staatslening in de VS steeg naar 1,31% vanmorgen, vrijdag stond die rente nog op 1,2%. Ook de 30 jaars rente loopt verder op naar 2,1%. Als we een stijging zien van de rente bij de obligaties duurt het meestal niet lang voor dat de FED met maatregelen in dezelfde richting komt. Toch iets om rekening mee te houden de komende periode. Vooral de technologiesector is gevoelig voor hogere rentestanden.

Wat wel zo is momenteel is dat er veel oude rotten in het vak daar totaal anders over denken want iedereen weet, of zou moeten weten, dat de markt zich momenteel hoe we het ook willen ervaren in een BUBBEL bevindt waar er momenteel amper verkopers te vinden zijn terwijl veel bedrijven zijn die in een gevaarlijke situatie zitten. En de weging van de TOP-7 of laten we zeggen de TOP-10 is veel te groot geworden het afgelopen jaar. Dus nee er komt geen CRASH zegt nu zeker 90 tot 95% van de beleggers, we gaan het zien maar het blijft vreemd allemaal.

Waardering, technische conditie markt en correctie:
Ik blijf vooral kijken naar hoe de markt er momenteel voorstaat en hoe die fundamenteel in elkaar zit. Ook technisch zie ik overal moeilijkheden ontstaan. Vrijwel alle indices die ik volg staan bovenaan in de bekende WIG, de vraag is hoeveel ruimte er nog overblijft en vooral vanaf waar de draai kan komen. Normaal gezien komt er een draai net als de vorige keren dat de indices bovenaan in de WIG stonden, dus normaal gezien zou die er redelijk snel moeten komen. De meer voor de hand liggende vraag is en blijft of die steun het ook deze keer kan houden?

Dus er komt zeer waarschijnlijk weer een terugval van minimaal 2 tot 3% maar als de markt onder leiding van de tech sector verder doorzakt groeit de kans op een 8 tot 12% correctie. Het gevaar zit hem dan vooral in het feit dat iedereen door dezelfde deur naar buiten wil zodra er onrust komt, de bekende flessenhals. We gaan het snel zien, mogelijk vanaf vandaag al ... Hieronder de grafiek van de AEX index.

Koers winst verhoudingen Wall Street en weging TOP-7:
Blijf vooral letten op de torenhoge koers-winst verhoudingen die de Nasdaq en dan vooral ook bij de grote 7 momenteel laten zien, de gemiddelde KW op de S&P 500 staat sinds gisteren op 40,06. Om u een beeld te geven waar deze KW op stond in februari 2020 net voor de crisis begon op 26. Aan u om te beoordelen of waar we nu op staan gezond is? Let wel, als er naar het gemiddelde van de afgelopen jaren wordt gekeken dan ligt de KW rond de 18 ...

Neem ik die TOP-7 er dan even bij dan zien we dat deze aandelen rond de 25% van de totale S&P 500 voor hun rekening nemen en bijna de helft (48%) van de Nasdaq bevatten, de weging bedoel ik daarmee. U zal begrijpen dat als er een correctie komt op deze 7 aandelen van pakweg 10-15% of zelfs 20% dat de grote en bepalende indices een behoorlijke correctie gaan doormaken. Dat moment komt steeds dichterbij, hou er dus rekening mee. Het gaat bij het huidige verloop van de markt in het bijzonder over deze 7 aandelen en dat zijn Apple, Microsoft, Google, Tesla, Amazon, Facebook en Nvidia.

Gedurende de afgelopen week wat kleine posities opgenomen:
Deze maand heb ik tot nu toe nog niet zoveel kunnen doen, wel hier en daar wat kleine posities kunnen afsluiten en we staan op winst deze maand en dit jaar (2021). Nu zitten we nog met wat kleine posities in de markt, die kunnen nog opgenomen worden uiteraard.

De markt bereikt wel duidelijk de bovenkant van de bekende WIG waar er eerder telkens winstnemingen op gang kwamen ... Wel blijf ik uiteraard voorzichtig en handel ik nog steeds met kleine aantallen bij de huidige marktomstandigheden.

De LIVEBLOG en. Twitter:
Via de LIVEBLOG en tussendoor ook via mijn Twitter account laat ik gedurende de dag ook wat grafiekjes met korte uitleg voorbij komen over de markt. Op Twitter kunt u mij volgen via @USMarkets dan kunt u deze snelle informatie die ik deel uiteraard ook inzien .... https://twitter.com/USMarkets , ook opvallende beursfeiten komen er vaak langs !

Euro, olie en goud:
De euro zien we nu rond de 1.2075 dollar, de prijs van een vat Brent olie komt uit op 63,65 dollar terwijl een troy ounce goud nu op 1790 dollar staat.

Inter Market overzicht op slotbasis ...

We hebben wat strategische posities open staan:
Zodra u lid wordt ontvangt u de signalen en kunt u meteen als er posities open staan zien welke dat zijn via onze Tradershop op de website. Ik probeer ook in deze markt zo goed als dat kan om te gaan met de posities, wel is mijn verwachting dat de markt volatiel zal blijven de komende periode. Dat zal kansen bieden maar het vraagt ook om goed met de posities om te gaan zodra die lopen.

Blijven schakelen tussen long en short blijft daarbij belangrijk de komende weken. Ook deze maand komen er nog genoeg kansen, we zitten nu met wat kleine posities in de markt.

Doe nu in ieder geval mee met de proef aanbieding voor nieuwe leden, die loopt tot 1 MEI en dat met een mooie korting !! ... €39 tot 1 MEI 2021 ... en voor Polleke €49 tot 1 MEI 2021 !!!

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Hieronder het resultaat tot nu toe dit jaar (2021) ...

Met vriendelijke groet,
Guy Boscart

GLOBAL TOP NEWS
A historic winter storm has killed at least 21 people, left millions of Texans without power and spun killer tornadoes into the U.S. Southeast on Tuesday.

China will pay a price for its human rights abuses, U.S. President Joe Biden warned on Tuesday, responding to queries at a televised event on the Asian nation's handling of Muslim minorities in its far western region of Xinjiang.

Opponents of Myanmar's military coup called for more big protests on Wednesday to show that the army's assertion of widespread public support for overthrowing elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and holding new elections was false.


EUROPEAN COMPANY NEWS
Oil major BP is launching its first share award scheme to rally its more than 60,000 employees around CEO Bernard Looney's plan to shift to renewable energy following a bruising year of mass layoffs, bonus suspensions and spending cuts.

Nestle said it would sell Pure Life and some other struggling North American water brands to two private equity firms for $4.3 billion, as the food giant doubles down on its premium offerings including Perrier.

German sportswear maker Adidas plans to sell or spin-off its underperforming Reebok brand, 15 years after it bought the U.S. fitness label to help compete with arch-rival Nike.


TODAY'S COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Aeroports de Paris SA FY 2020 Earnings Release
Aker ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Akzo Nobel NV Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Arcus ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Beiersdorf AG Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Bonesupport Holding AB FY 2020 Earnings Call
British American Tobacco PLC FY 2020 Earnings Release
Capgemini SE FY 2020 Earnings Release
Carmila SA FY 2020 Earnings Release
Ceconomy AG Annual Shareholders Meeting
CNP Assurances SA FY 2020 Earnings Release
Covivio SA FY 2020 Earnings Release
Doro AB FY 2020 Earnings Call
Eastnine AB (publ) FY 2020 Earnings Call
Elmos Semiconductor SE FY 2020 Earnings Call
Epic Gas Ltd Q4 2020 Earnings Call
Eramet SA FY 2020 Earnings Call
FLEX LNG Ltd Q4 2020 Earnings Call
Garmin Ltd Q4 2020 Earnings Call
Green Landscaping Group AB Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Hexagon Composites ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Imerys SA FY 2020 Earnings Release
Immunovia AB (publ) FY 2020 Earnings Call
Jpmorgan Asia Growth & Income PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Kering SA FY 2020 Earnings Call
Kid ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Call
KKV Secured Loan Fund Limited Annual Shareholders Meeting
Klepierre SA FY 2020 Earnings Release
Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Koninklijke Vopak NV FY 2020 Earnings Release
MagnaChip Semiconductor Corp Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Mowi ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Multiconsult ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Call
Nattopharma ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Call
Nexans SA FY 2020 Earnings Call
Nibe Industrier AB Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Norma Group SE Preliminary Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Norwegian Finans Holding ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Call
NRC Group ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Play Magnus AS Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Poste Italiane SpA FY 2020 Earnings Call
Rio Tinto PLC FY 2020 Earnings Call
Saga Pure ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Call
Scandic Hotels Group AB FY 2020 Earnings Call
Schindler Holding AG FY 2020 Earnings Release
Selvaag Bolig ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Societe BIC SA FY 2020 Earnings Release
Temenos AG Q4 2020 Earnings Release
TietoEVRY Corp Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Ultimovacs ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Release
Unicorn AIM VCT PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Vallourec SA FY 2020 Earnings Release
Webstep ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Call
Wilh Wilhelmsen Holding ASA Q4 2020 Earnings Call


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All times GMT)
0700 (approx.) Germany Car Registration mm for January: Prior 7.3%
0700 (approx.) Germany Car Registration yy for January: Prior 9.9%
0700 (approx.) France Car Registration mm for January: Prior 47.8%
0700 (approx.) France Car Registration yy for January: Prior -11.8%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom Car Registration mm for January: Prior 16.6%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom Car Registration yy for January: Prior -10.9%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom Core CPI mm for January:Expected -0.7%; Prior 0.3%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom Core CPI yy for January: Expected 1.3%; Prior 1.4%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom CPI mm for January: Expected -0.4%; Prior 0.3%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom CPI yy for January: Expected 0.6%; Prior 0.6%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom RPI mm for January: Expected -0.4%; Prior 0.6%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom RPI yy for January: Expected 1.3%; Prior 1.2%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom RPI-X (Retail Prices) mm for January: Prior 0.6%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom RPI-X yy for January: Prior 1.4%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom RPI Index for January: Prior 295.4
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom CPI NSA for January: Prior 109.2
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom PPI Input Prices mm NSA for January: Expected 0.5%; Prior 0.8%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom PPI Input Prices yy NSA for January: Expected 0.6%; Prior 0.2%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom PPI Output Prices mm NSA for January: Expected 0.2%; Prior 0.3%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom PPI Output Prices yy NSA for January: Expected -0.4%; Prior -0.4%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom PPI Core Output mm NSA for January: Prior 0.1%
0700 (approx.) United Kingdom PPI Core Output yy NSA for January: Prior 1.2%
0700 (approx.) Italy Car Registration mm for January: Prior -13.7%
0700 (approx.) Italy Car Registration yy for January: Prior -14.9%
0700 (approx.) Netherlands Car Registration mm for January: Prior 27.9%
0700 (approx.) Netherlands Car Registration yy for January: Prior 2.9%
0700 (approx.) Sweden Money Market CPIF Inflation 1 Year for February: Prior 1.1%
0700 (approx.) Sweden Money Market CPIF Inflation 5 Years for Februay: Prior 1.8%
0700 (approx.) Luxembourg Car Registration mm for January: Prior -11.9%
0700 (approx.) Luxembourg Car Registration yy for January: Prior 7.3%
1000 (approx.) Euro Zone Construction Output mm for December: Prior 1.41%