From Briefing.com: 4:20 pm FedEx misses by $0.11, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY17 EPS guidance (FDX) :
Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $2.80 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.11 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $2.91; revenues rose 19.2% year/year to $14.9 bln vs the $14.91 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
FedEx Express- Revenue increased 2% due to increased base rates and higher package volume. U.S. domestic revenue per package increased 3% and U.S. freight revenue per pound increased 6%, both due to higher base rates. International export revenue per package increased 1% as higher base rates were partially offset by unfavorable currency exchange rates and lower fuel surcharges.
FedEx Ground- Revenue increased due to higher volume and yields. FedEx Ground average daily volume grew 5% in the second quarter, driven by e--commerce and commercial package growth. FedEx Ground yield increased 4% due to higher base rates.
FedEx Freight- Revenue increased 3% due to growth in less-than-truckload average daily shipments, partially offset by lower weight per shipment. Operating results decreased due to the impact from lower average weight per shipment and higher information technology expenses.
Co reaffirms guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $11.85-12.35, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $12.06 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Capital spending forecast for the fiscal year, which includes TNT Express, remains $5.6 billion
4:05 pm Agilent will acquire Multiplicom for approx. EUR 68 mln in cash (A) :
Multiplicom develops, manufactures and commercializes molecular-diagnostic solutions, provided as kits, which enable personalized medicine.
Co is acquiring Multiplicom for ~ EUR 68 million in cash. The acquisition is expected to be completed by mid-January, subject to local laws and regulations and customary closing conditions. Multiplicom employs about 90 people, all of whom will be offered employment opportunities with Agilent.
4:10 pm : The stock market registered its second consecutive advance, but intraday price action followed yesterday's pattern, suggesting the post-election rally may be running out of steam. The S&P 500 hit a session high shortly after the open, but narrowed its gain to 0.4% by the close.
The key indices raced out of the gate with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.5%) setting its sights on the 20,000 mark. The price-weighted index hit a session high roughly 15 points below that level during the opening hour, slowly backing off into the afternoon.
Most cyclical sectors displayed strength from the start with three exhibiting relative strength into the close, which kept the market in the green despite the afternoon dip from highs. The financial sector (+1.1%) spent the day in the lead after underperforming yesterday. Meanwhile, the largest sector by weight-technology (+0.3%)-kept pace with the S&P 500.
However, the underperformance in technology was offset by solid gains in consumer discretionary (+0.8%) and industrials (+0.6%). The discretionary sector received broad support from retail stocks with the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 46.79, +0.67) climbing 1.5%. In earnings news, CarMax (KMX 66.16, +3.80) and Carnival (CCL 52.49, +1.17) advanced 6.1% and 2.3%, respectively, after beating earnings estimates.
As for industrials, the sector was underpinned by transport stocks, evidenced by the Dow Jones Transportation Average (+0.8%). Dow component Caterpillar (CAT 94.32, +1.61) also stood out, climbing 1.8%, after the company released its November sales figures, which showed a 17.0% year-over-year decline in total machine orders. Total energy & transportation orders declined 25.0% year-over-year, representing a slight slowdown from a 28.0% decline in October.
On the downside, the energy sector (-0.2%) spent the day in negative territory even though crude oil rose 0.3% to $53.24/bbl. Elsewhere, the consumer staples sector (-0.3%) remained at the bottom of the leaderboard throughout the day, weighed down by General Mills (GIS 61.45, -1.61). The sector heavyweight lost 2.6% after missing earnings/revenue estimates and lowering its organic sales guidance. Another countercyclical sector-health care (-0.1%)-surrendered an opening gain to end with a modest loss even though biotechnology outperformed into the close. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 270.76, +1.97) added 0.7%.
On the M&A front, Fred's (FRED 20.19, +9.04) agreed to acquire 865 Rite Aid (RAD 8.61, +0.44) stores for $950 million in cash. The transaction more than doubled Fred's store footprint, sending its shares higher by 81.1%.
The Treasury market ended on a mostly lower note with the 10-yr yield rising two basis points to 2.56% while the 2-yr yield held unchanged at 1.22%.
Investor participation was above average with nearly 970 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.
Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be released at 7:00 ET while November Existing Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 5.50M) will be reported at 10:00 ET.
Russell 2000 +21.7% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +14.6% YTD
S&P 500 +11.1% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +9.5% YTD
DJ30 +91.56 NASDAQ +26.50 SP500 +8.23 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1965/1.53 bln/1006 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1923/968.8 mln/1034 3:30 pm :
In precious metals, silver bounced off this morning's 8-month low & closed at its highest level of the session as the dollar index retreated from a 14-year high
Feb 2017 gold ended today's session down $9.20 (-0.8%) to $1133.40/oz
Mar 2017 silver closed today's session $0.02 higher (+0.1%) at $16.11/oz
The dollar index was +0.2% around the 103.30 level, just below this morning's 14-year high
Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, were -0.5% around the 86.16 level
Crude oil futures closed near a 17-month high ahead of tomorrow's EIA petroleum storage data
Jan 2017 crude oil futures rose $0.17 (+0.3%) to $53.24/barrel
Weekly EIA petroleum data will be released at 10:30 am ET.
API data will be released today after the bell.
Baker Hughes rig count data will be released on Friday at 1 pm ET.
Natural gas ended at its lowest level in 2 weeks on updated near-term warmer weather forecasts
Jan 2017 natural gas closed $0.13 lower (-3.8%) at $3.26/MMBtu
The weekly EIA natural gas data will be released on Thursday at 10:30 am ET.
Weekend forecasts extended the warm streak expected at the end of the month, with above-normal temp expected across much of the country within the next 2 weeks.
When the bell rang on Tuesday, the markets registered another session of gains. Leading the positive bias, the Nasdaq Composite added 26.50 points (+0.49%) to 5483.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 91.56 points (+0.46%) to 19974.62, and the S&P 500 gained 8.23 points (+0.36%) to 2270.76.
Investor participation was above average with nearly 970 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.
The key indices raced out of the gate with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.5%) setting its sights on the 20,000 mark. The price-weighted index hit a session high roughly 15 points below that level during the opening hour, slowly backing off into the afternoon.
Most cyclical sectors displayed strength from the start with three exhibiting relative strength into the close, which kept the market in the green despite the afternoon dip from highs.
Technology (XLK 49.12, +0.18 +0.37%) finished Tuesday relatively quietly but with a positive bias for a second session in a row. Component NVIDIA (NVDA 105.17, +3.54 +3.48%) was the best performer today after being added to the Conviction Buy List at Goldman premarket. Other sectors as measured by the S&P closed the session XLF +1.24%, XLY +0.77%, IYZ +0.71%, XLI +0.57%, XLU +0.16%, XLB +0.08%, XLRE +0.07%, XLV -0.12%, XLP -0.19%, XLE -0.22%.
In the S&P 500 Information Technology (823.25, +2.61 +0.32%) sector, trading stepped higher again today as action held above flat lines for the entirety of the day. Component Automatic Data (ADP 102.33, +1.24 +1.23%) was strong today after a premarket initiation at Barclays. Other names in the space which XLNX +2.32%, YHOO +1.91%, VRSN +1.63%, FISV +1.60%, MU +1.47%, AKAM +1.39%, XRX +1.10%, FFIV +0.97%, MA +0.97%, GLW +0.94%, GPN +0.90%, AVGO +0.88%, TSS +0.88%.
Other notable news items among tech stocks:
Cree (CREE 27.58, +0.11 +0.40%) reached settlement in its patent infringement and false advertising lawsuit with Feit Electric Company. As a result CREE expects to exceed previously announced revenue, net income, and EPS targets for Q2 of FY17.
According to TechCrunch, Nintendo's (NTDOY 26.41, +0.37 +1.42%) Super Mario Run had 37 million downloads in its first three days.
Interdigital Comm (IDCC 92.15, +0.85 +0.93%) acquired Hillcrest Labs. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Qualcomm's (QCOM 66.91, -0.11 -0.16%) Qualcomm Technologies, Ericsson (ERIC 5.81, -0.14 -2.35%), and SK Telecom (SKM 21.89, +0.22 +1.02%) announce plans to conduct interoperability testing and over-the-air field trials based on 5G New Radio (NR) standards being developed based on specifications in 3GPP. The trials intend to drive the mobile ecosystem toward rapid validation and commercialization of 5G NR technologies at scale, enabling timely commercial network launches based on 3GPP Rel-15 standard compliant 5G NR infrastructure and devices.
TripAdvisor (TRIP 48.79, +2.34 +5.05%) to begin adding hotel inventory from select Expedia (EXPE 117.09, +0.87 +0.75%) brands to the TripAdvisor instant booking platform.
Harman's (HAR 111.00, +0.34 +0.31%) pending acquisition by Samsung (SSNLF 1250.00, flat) was cleared by the FTC.
AT&T (T 42.47, +0.35 +0.83%) reached three tentative agreements with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in negotiations covering CWA-represented former DIRECTV employees in five call centers.
Autobytel (ABTL 14.00, -0.03 -0.21%) to sell its specialty finance leads product to Internet Brands for $3.2 million in cash and $1.6 million in transition licensing income. The company expects specialty finance leads revenues of $6.4 million in FY16.
Gogo (GOGO 10.22, +0.23, +2.30%) commenced $50 million private offering of additional 12.50% senior secured notes due 2022.
CVD Equipment (CVV 8.23, +0.13 +1.60%) acquired certain assets formerly owned by Tantaline A/S. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
NeoPhotonics (NPTN 10.79, -1.70 -13.61%) announced a deal to sell its low speed transceiver business to APAT Optoelectronics. In light of the sale, NPTN lowered its Q4 outlook - now sees Q4 EPS of $0.03-0.11, down from $0.13-0.21; also lowered revenue guidance to $105-109 million from $109-115 million.
Guidewire Software (GWRE 51.33, -1.03 -1.97%) to acquire ISCS. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cognizant (CTSH 56.42, -0.27 -0.48%) announced that it has become the exclusive digital systems, technology and operations services partner for multiple portfolio companies of Norwegian industrial investment company, Aker (AKAAF 36.25, flat).
Aixtron (AIXG 3.21, -0.28 -8.02%) to voluntarily delist its American Depositary Shares from The NASDAQ Global Select Market and deregister and terminate its reporting obligations.
Following quarterly results:
BlackBerry (BBRY) reported better than expected Q3 EPS of $0.02 on worse than expected revenues of $301 million. BBRY also guided FY17 EPS ahead of market expectations; not expects to be profitable from the prior range of breakeven to a loss of ($0.05).
FactSet (FDS) reported better than expected Q1 EPS of $1.75 on revenues of $288.1 million. For Q2, the company sees EPS ahead of market expectations at $1.78-1.80 and revenues of $293-298 million.
Analyst actions:
AMD was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Mizuho,
WDC was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman;
INOV was downgraded to Sector Weight form Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Mkts,
MITL was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Mkts;
TWLO and CRM were initiated with Buy ratings at Drexel Hamilton,
SQ, FDC and GPN were initiated with Buy ratings at Guggenheim,
VNTV was initiated with a Neutral at Guggenheim,
CAFD was initiated with an Outperform at FBR & Co.,
TRVG and ECHO were initiated with Neutral ratings at Susquehanna,
ADP was initiated with an Overweight at Barclays,
PAYX was initiated with an Equal Weight at Barclays,
TCEHY was initiated with a Buy at Evercore ISI,
BIDU was initiated with a Hold at Evercore ISI,
CIEN was initiated with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray,
SQ was initiated with a Buy at Instinet,
COMM was initiated with a Buy at Citigroup
