From Briefing.com: 4:10 pm : The major averages began the week on a lower note as a downturn in the heavily-weighted financial sector (-1.5%) pressured the broader market. Participants also looked to move to the sidelines ahead of an oil producers meeting and the first U.S. presidential debate. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.9%) finished in-line with both the Nasdaq Composite (-0.9%) and the S&P 500 (-0.9%).
The major averages began the day under pressure as European indices led to the downside. Deutsche Bank (DB 11.85, -0.90) weighed on financial names after German Chancellor Angela Merkel indicated that the bank would not be eligible for state aid in the event of a capital shortfall. Recall that the bank has been under pressure after the U.S. Department of Justice asked Deutsche Bank to settle its mortgage-backed securities probe for $14 billion. The stock tumbled 7.1% and ended at a fresh all-time low.
Participants favored a risk-off stance throughout the session, bidding Treasuries, gold, and safe-haven currencies. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 14.49, +2.20) jumped more than two points as investors sought some portfolio insurance ahead of some key macro events. On that note, oil producers arrived in Algiers, Algeria today to kick off the International Energy Forum. The meeting is in focus as participants look for potential supply control measures from OPEC and non-OPEC members. The forum will run through September 28. WTI crude settled higher by 3.0% ($45.85/bbl; +$1.32).
The benchmark index notched a session low in the final hour of trade. Ten sectors ended in the red with consumer discretionary (-1.1%), health care (-1.2%), and financials (-1.5%) acting as the largest laggards. Conversely, defensively-oriented real estate (+0.2%) finished with the only gain.
The economically-sensitive financial sector (-1.5%) rounded out the leaderboard as the group moved lower in sympathy with European banking names. The space was also under pressure amid some flattening in the yield curve and the proposal of some stricter capital requirements for global systemically important banks. JPMorgan Chase (JPM 65.78, -1.47), Citigroup (C 45.89, -1.26), and Bank of America (BAC 15.09, -0.43) fell between 2.2% and 2.8%. The broader sector extended its 2016 loss to 1.5%, trailing the remaining sectors.
In the health care sector (-1.2%), Dow component Pfizer (PFE 33.64, -0.62) declined by 1.8% after announcing that it will not separate its Innovative Health & Essential Health divisions. Mylan Labs (MYL 41.18, -0.88) ended lower by 2.1% after reports indicated that there may be discrepancies between EpiPen profit data and previous information provided to Congress on the profitability of the device. The group also saw some selling interest ahead of this evening's debate.
Apparel name Nike (NKE 54.40, -0.75) weighed on the consumer discretionary space (-1.1%) after being removed from JP Morgan's Focus List. Meanwhile, Dow component Disney (DIS 91.96, -1.31) fell by 1.4% after headlines indicated that the company is debating making an offer to acquire Twitter (TWTR 23.37, +0.75).
The PHLX Semiconductor Index (-1.0%) finished behind the broader technology sector (-0.7%) as iPhone suppliers underperformed. Cirrus Logic (CRUS 51.32, -1.07) and Skyworks (SWKS 72.82, -1.95) finished lower by 2.0% and 2.6%, respectively.
Treasuries ended on a higher note with the long end of the curve outperforming. The yield on the 2-yr note finished lower by three basis points (0.73%) while the yield on the 10-yr note finished lower by four basis points (1.58%).
Today's participation was below the recent average as fewer than 775 million shares changed hands on the NYSE floor.
Today's economic data was limited to the New Home Sales Report for August:
New home sales declined 7.6% month-over-month in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 609,000 (Briefing.com consensus 585,000), but remained 20.6% higher than the estimate for the same period a year ago.
The annual sales pace in August was the highest since January 2008.
For more on this economic release, be sure to visit Briefing.com's Economic Calendar page.
Tomorrow's economic data will include the Case-Shiller 20-city Index for July (Briefing.com consensus 5.1%) and Consumer Confidence for September (Briefing.com consensus 98.0), which will be released at 9:00 ET and 10:00 ET, respectively.
Russell 2000: +9.3% YTD
S&P 500: +5.0% YTD
Nasdaq: +5.0% YTD
Dow Jones +3.8% YTD
DJ30 -166.62 NASDAQ -48.26 SP500 -18.59 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 689/1.544 bln/2191 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 854/774.7 mln/2169
3:30 pm :
The dollar index was -0.2% around the 95.28 level
Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, +0.6% around the 84.86 level
Crude oil erased the majority of Friday's post-rig count decline as the International Energy Forum is underway, where the informal OPEC meeting is expected to be held on the sidelines this Wed
November crude oil futures rose $1.32 (+3.0%) to $45.85/barrel
The informal OPEC meeting is scheduled to take place this Wed on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algiers, Algeria, the Forum itself is taking place from Sept 26-28
API data will be released tomorrow after the bell
Weekly EIA data will be released Wed at 10:30 am ET
Baker Hughes rig count data will be released Friday at 1 pm ET
Natural gas closed near 1.5 year highs, erasing all of Friday's losses ahead of Thursday's EIA data
November natural gas closed $0.04 higher (+1.3%) at $3.06/MMBtu
EIA weekly natural gas data will be released this Thursday at 10:30 am ET
In precious metals, gold inched higher as silver dropped, increasing the gold:silver ratio as the dollar traded nearly flat
December gold ended today's session up $2.30 (+0.2%) to $1344.20/oz
December silver closed today's session $0.23 lower (-1.2%) at $19.59/oz
The gold:silver ratio is at ~68.6, at close of pit trading on Friday the ratio was at ~67.7
Today's session began on a lower note as equities moved lower lockstep with global bourses. Japan's Nikkei (-1.3%) underperformed overnight amid continued strengthening in the yen. The move higher in the safe-haven currency came on the heels of last week's policy decisions from the Bank of Japan and recent accommodative remarks from BoJ Governor Kuroda. Separately, a downturn in Deutsche Bank (DB 11.85, -0.90 -7.06%) pressured European banking names. The stock underperforms after German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that the bank would not receive a bailout if it faced capital concerns.
The broader market extended its loss after the first hour of trade. There was a higher expectation for volatility in today's action as participants look to developments in Algiers, Algeria and keep an eye on the potential impact of this evening's U.S. presidential debate. Oil producers are meeting on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum to discuss a possible output deal, but expectations for a deal remain in flux. At the end of the day, November crude oil futures were up by $1.32 (+3.0%) to $45.85/barrel.
The lone piece of economic data today was the new home sales reading, which showed a 7.6% decline month-over-month in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 609,000, but remained 20.6% higher than the estimate for the same period a year ago.
Trading capped off Monday lower as the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed triple digits for the second session in a row, losing 166.62 points (-0.91%) today to 18094.83. The Nasdaq Composite lost 48.26 points (-0.91%) today to end 5257.49, and the S&P 500 was down 18.59 points (-0.86%) to 2146.10. .
Technology (XLK 47.21, -0.28 -0.59%) as a whole ended lower, but was not the worst performing sector in the S&P. Components Seagate Tech (STX 37.20, +0.74 +2.03%) and Western Digital (WDC 57.01, +1.08 +1.93%) resisted the broader selling, however, as favorable commentary out of Cleveland Research propped the two up. Other sectors as measured by the S&P closed XLF -1.65%, XLFS -1.60%, IYZ -1.31%, XLV -1.16%, XLY -1.10%, XLP -0.84%, XLE -0.53%, XLI -0.50%, XLB -0.47%, XLU -0.26%, XLRE +0.21%.
In the S&P 500 Information Technology (790.18, -5.17 -0.65%) sector, trading ended modestly off lows, albeit still in a losing effort. Component Alliance Data (ADS 211.44, -5.55 -2.56%) was among the worst performers in the space today following a premarket downgrade to Sector Weight from Overweight at Pacific Crest. Other names in the space which under-performed today included GOOG -1.61%, QRVO -1.60%, GOOGL -1.51%, ADI -1.50%, INTC -1.45%, CSRA -1.36%, NTAP -1.35%, EBAY -1.25%, YHOO -1.19%.
Other notable news items among sector components:
According to reports, Disney (DIS 91.96, -1.31 -1.40%) is working with an adviser to pursue a potential bid for Twitter (TWTR 23.37, +0.75 +3.32%). In later trade, Microsoft (MSFT 56.90, -0.53 -0.92%) was floated as a potential acquirer of TWTR.
LogMeIn (LOGM 89.80, +0.09 +0.10%) announced the early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR Act) for its proposed merger with Citrix Systems' (CTXS 84.56, -0.35 -0.41%) GetGo subsidiary, a wholly owned subsidiary consisting of Citrix's GoTo family of products.
Adobe (ADBE 107.26, -0.21 -0.20%) and Microsoft (MSFT) announced plans for a strategic partnership to help enterprise companies embrace digital transformation and deliver compelling, personalized experiences through every phase of their customer relationships.
Accenture (ACN 113.73, +0.64 +0.57%) has entered into an agreement to acquire DayNine. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Accenture (ACN) and Brandtone announced a next generation trade promotion solution to help consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies have access to enhanced visibility, management and control of their promotional campaigns as they seek to capitalize on the significant growth in Asia Pacific.
Elsewhere in the tech sector:
CBOE Holdings (CBOE 66.59, -3.71 -5.28%) and Bats Global (BATS 30.35, -1.45 -4.56%) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement, which has been approved by the Board of Directors of each company by unanimous votes of the members of the boards present, under which CBOE Holdings has agreed to acquire Bats in a cash and stock transaction valued at about $32.50 per Bats share, or a total of about $3.2 billion, consisting of 31% cash and 69% CBOE Holdings stock, based on CBOE Holdings' closing stock price of $70.30 per share on September 23, 2016. The transaction is expected to be accretive to CBOE's adjusted EPS in the first year following the completion of the transaction and deliver attractive returns on invested capital.
Ericsson (ERIC 6.90, -0.03 -0.43%) and Liberty Global (LBTYA 33.25, -1.18 -3.43%) confirmed a new two-year deal between VTR in Chile and Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico, both part of LiLAC Group (LILA 28.05, -0.19 -0.67%). Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Actua (ACTA 12.20, +1.93 +18.79%) entered into an agreement with an investor group led by Vista Equity Partners under which it will sell GovDelivery for $153 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments, including working capital, cash, debt and other items.
Pandora (P 13.99, -0.10 -0.71%) announced that Nick Bartle will join P as Chief Marketing Officer, effective October 3, 2016.
ON Semiconductor (ON 11.61, -0.10 -0.85%) approved the implementation of a cost-reduction plan, which is expected to result in a charge of about $21 -24 million.
TerraForm Global (GLBL 4.16, -0.04 -0.95%) and TerraForm Power (TERP 13.73, -0.75 -5.18%) made information available concerning claims against SunEdison (SUNEQ 0.05, -0.00 -2.31%). TerraForm Global previously announced that it would have to file its proofs of claim in the SunEdison bankruptcy and that it intended to begin settlement discussions to resolve claims consensually, in part to facilitate the exploration of strategic alternatives for TerraForm Global.
Analyst actions:
T was upgraded to Hold from Reduce at HSBC,
DBD was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan,
ERIC was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse,
NTAP was upgraded to Buy at Cross Research,
ACN was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Societe Generale,
IBM was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Societe Generale;
NTAP was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank,
BATS was downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette,
IDCC was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley & Co.,
ADS was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at Pacific Crest,
TWTR was downgraded to Underperform from Perform at Oppenheimer, and to Reduce from Buy at Standpoint Research,
APPS was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Roth Capital,
IMPV and HIMX were downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Nomura;
CYBR was initiated with a Market Perform at Cowen,
ETFC and AMTD were initiated with Equal Weight ratings at Morgan Stanley,
BOX and TLND were initiated with Buy ratings at Rosenblatt,
CTSH was initiated with a Buy at Societe Generale
