From Briefing.com: 4:20 pm : Just like the geopolitical environment, things could have been better today for the stock market and they could have been worse. They were worse in the early going as the major indices backpedaled quickly at the start of trading. The ostensible catalysts for the opening retreat were geopolitical concerns over Israel's ground assault in Gaza and the troublesome diplomatic dealings in the wake of Malaysian Air flight MH17 being shot down over eastern Ukraine last week.
At their lows of the morning, the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 were down 126, 28, and 12 points, respectively. They would eventually battle back, though, to pare their losses, aided by the following factors:
Technical support holding at 1966 for the S&P 500
A small sense of relief that remarks from President Obama today did not include the imposition of any new sanctions against Russia
There is some underlying concern that new economic sanctions will lead to deleterious economic developments more broadly and for the European Union in particular
Relative strength in the technology and energy sectors
The inability to sustain larger losses, which prompted some buy-the-dip activity
Overall, it was a subdued start to the week for the stock market, which was also cognizant that a flood of earnings results will pour in starting on Tuesday. To that end, today's session could be characterized as a period of wait-and-see on both the geopolitical and earnings fronts. That mentality manifested itself in the low volume at the NYSE where only 530 mln shares traded hands versus a recent average of 658 mln shares.
Notwithstanding today's leading headlines, there wasn't a strong flight-to-safety trade. The 10-yr note ended up two ticks, gold prices rose a modest 0.3%, the health care (-0.4%), utilities (-0.1%), consumer staples (-0.4%), and telecom services (-0.3%) sectors all finished lower, and the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 12.49, +0.43) was ultimately reined in after an opening burst of buying interest took it up as much as 13%.
At the same time, the Russell 2000, which fell as much as 1.0% early in the day, recouped a good portion of its losses and ended the session down 0.4%.
There wasn't a lot of absolute strength in the stock market today, but pockets of strength in the large-cap universe helped limit today's losses. To that end, the likes of Intel (INTC 34.06, +0.36), Boeing (BA 128.30, +0.66), Microsoft (MSFT 44.84, +0.15), Goldman Sachs (GS 171.72, +0.25), Chevron (CVX 131.29, +0.90), and ExxonMobil (XOM 103.08, +0.35) provided some cover for a beleaguered broader market.
Every sector ended down today with the exception of the energy sector (+0.2%). It followed crude prices higher ($104.89, +$1.75) and benefited from the outperformance of its sector heavyweights in the integrated oil group. Losses for the remaining nine sectors ranged from 0.1% to 0.5%.
There wasn't any economic data today, but that will change on Tuesday with the release of the CPI (Briefing.com consensus +0.3%) and Existing Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 5.00 mln) reports. That data will be processed alongside a bevy of earnings reports that will include results from six Dow components: Coca-Cola (KO 42.40, -0.03), DuPont (DD 65.54, -0.01), McDonald's (MCD 97.55, -1.44), Travelers (TRV 95.26, -0.08), United Technologies (UTX 112.98, -0.59), and Verizon (VZ 50.70, -0.05).
S&P 500 +6.8% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +2.9% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +5.9% YTD
Russell 2000 -1.5% YTD
DJ30 -48.45 NASDAQ -7.44 SP500 -4.59 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1053/1.46 bln/1735 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1126/530 mln/1929 3:35 pm :
Aug gold rose for a fourth consecutive session as geopolitical tension over Russia and Ukraine continued. The yellow metal pulled back from its session high of $1317.90 per ounce set at pit trade open but stayed above the unchanged line.
It brushed a session low of $1310.80 per ounce and settled with a 0.3% gain at $1313.90 per ounce. Sep silver dipped to a session low of $20.92 per ounce after trading as high as $21.15 in early morning floor action. It inched slightly higher heading into the close and settled at $21.01 per ounce, or 0.5% higher.
Aug crude oil traded in positive territory, lifting from a session low of $103.48 per barrel set in early morning action.
It continued to trend higher and settled with a 1.5% gain at $104.65 per barrel, just below its session high of $104.72 per barrel.
Aug natural gas, on the other hand, spent the entire pit session in the red. It traded as low as $3.83 per MMBtu, its lowest level since November 2013. Unable to gain momentum, it settled 2.8% lower at $3.84 per MMBtu.
4:37 pm Texas Instruments beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line (TXN) : Reports Q2 (Jun) GAAP earnings of $0.62 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.59; revenues rose 8.0% year/year to $3.29 bln vs the $3.27 bln consensus.
Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees GAAP EPS of $0.66-0.76 vs. $0.68 Capital IQ Consensus; sees Q3 revs of $3.31-3.59 bln vs. $3.44 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
"Revenue for the quarter came in just above the middle of our expected range and earnings were near the top of the range, marking another quarter of solid execution. "We delivered 8 percent year-over-year revenue growth, or 13 percent when legacy wireless revenue is excluded. Analog and Embedded Processing comprised 82 percent of second-quarter revenue, 4 points higher than a year ago. "Gross margin of 57.1% (ests ~56.3%), a new record, reflects the quality of our Analog and Embedded Processing portfolio and the efficiency of our manufacturing strategy.
4:13 pm Cadence Design beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs in-line; guides FY14 EPS in-line, revs in-line (CDNS) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.21 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.20; revenues rose 4.5% year/year to $378.8 mln vs the $375.93 mln consensus.
Co downside EPS guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.23-0.25, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.26 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $390-400 mln vs. $394.65 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.Co issues in-line guidance for FY14, sees EPS of $0.90-0.98, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.97 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY14 revs of $1.57-1.59 bln vs. $1.57 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
4:12 pm Silicon Image announces new MHL 3.0 design win in nubia's flagship nubia Z7 smartphone (SIMG) : Co announced a key MHL 3.0 design win with nubia, a popular ZTE (ZTCOF) premium brand in China, for its flagship Z7 smartphone. Using Silicon Image's SiI8620 and SiI6031 MHL 3.0 chipset, the nubia Z7 is the first smartphone to implement simultaneous 4K UHD video and high speed data channel found in the latest MHL specification.
4:10 pm Rambus beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 rev midpoint below consensus (RMBS) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.16 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.15; revenues rose 32.1% year/year to $76.5 mln vs the $76 mln consensus, down 2% on a sequential basis from the first quarter of 2014 primarily due to a one-time catch-up payment from the new license agreement signed with Nanya Technology Corporation during the first quarter of 2014. As compared to the second quarter of 2013, revenue was up 32% primarily due to the license agreements signed with SK hynix, Micron Technology, Nanya Technology Corporation and Qualcomm, offset by lower royalty revenue from Samsung.
Co issues guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $68-73 mln vs. $72.54 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
4:06 pm Sanmina beats by $0.06, beats on revs; guides SepQ above consensus (SANM) : Reports Q3 (Jun) earnings of $0.53 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.47; revenues rose 7.8% year/year to $1.60 bln vs the $1.55 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q4 (Sep), sees EPS of $0.50-0.55, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.50 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $1.60-1.65 bln vs. $1.58 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
"We delivered a solid third quarter. Revenue was up 9 percent sequentially and 8 percent year over year.""Each of our end-market segments grew on a sequential basis, with notable performance from our industrial, medical and defense segment...We continue to benefit from new programs and stable demand with key customers. Our previous expectation of modest growth in fiscal 2014 is achievable and solid execution of our strategy supports a promising future."
12:14 pm Notable movers of interest (:SCANX) : The following are some of today's most notable movers of interest, categorized by market capitalization (large cap over $10 billion and mid cap between $2-10 billion) and ranked by % change (all stocks over 100K average daily volume).
Large Cap Gainers
EMC (28.01 +3.81%): WSJ reporting that Elliott Management, owner of a $1 bln+ stake, is seeking a break up of the company
BIDU (197.5 +3.31%): Upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
JNPR (24.55 +2.31%): Mentioned positively in Barron's article
Large Cap Losers
MNST (65.1 -4.00%): Downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley
BBT (37.43 -3.78%): Missed quarterly EPS by $0.05 ($0.70 ex items vs $0.75 estimate), revs fell 7.9% yoy to $2.3 bln vs $2.31 bln estimate; net interest margin was 3.43% for the second quarter, a decrease of nine basis points compared to the prior quarter
DVA (71.17 -3.63%): Downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
Mid Cap Gainers
STLD (19.8 +6.57%): To acquire Severstal Columbus to accelerate future growth, expected to be immediately accretive to earnings and cash flow per share
PT (2.47 +6.01%): MEO, through PT Portugal, entered into an agreement to deploy, swap of capacity, and share its Fibre Network with Vodafone Portugal
CBSO (34.21 +3.54%): Announced the acquisition of premium outdoor assets from Van Wagner Communications for $690 mln in cash, expected to be immediately accretive to AFFO per share
Mid Cap Losers
SIX (38.32 -6.54%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.03 ($0.67 ex items vs $0.64 estimate), revs rose 3.5% yoy to $376.55 mln vs $396.07 mln estimate
LFL (12.5 -5.45%): Lowered FY14 operating margin guidance to ~4-5% from previous guidance of 6-8%; downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill
CLF (15.02 -5.15%): Co mailed an open letter to shareholders regarding ongoing proxy fight with Casablanca Capital; said surrendering a majority of the Board will enable Casablanca to enact what it believes is a value-destructive plan
11:39 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New lows (63) outpacing new highs (62) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AB, AEM, AKS, AMH, AMTX, ARE, ATHL, BFR, BGCP, BIDU, BK, BX, CIB, CIG, CMSB, CNI, CP, CTP, DOC, ELP, EMC, ENPH, ENSV, GILD, GLUU, HAL, HURC, IMS, INN, KOG, LEA, LRCX, MANU, MIC, MITSY, MNR, NGG, NSC, NSLP, PCYO, PEIX, PHX, PTSI, RFMD, ROYL, SDLP, SHW, SKX, STLD, SUMR, SVU, SWKS, TAX, TEN, TEP, TQNT, TRCB, TWX, VIPS, WLK, WRES, ZINC
Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ACI, ADAT, AMBT, AQXP, ASNA, AVD, AVL, BAA, BAK, BAXS, BECN, BIOD, BPI, BTH, BTU, CBLI, CGA, CGG, CHCI, CHUY, CREG, CUB, CYOU, DRNA, ESI, FNJN, GFIG, GNC, GOMO, GTXI, HGSH, INTX, KOP, LIME, LPTN, LPX, MCRI, MOBL, MSN, NAUH, OGXI, PAYC, PDII, PHMD, PIKE, ROYT, RTGN, RUBI, SEAS, SODA, SQI, STML, SVT, TAXI, TCS, TROV, UUU, VGGL, VSAR, WPP, WWW, ZA, ZFGN
ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: DBB, TLT
ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: FXS, JJA, JJG, RJA, TBT
Altera (ALTR) has joined the Embedded Vision Alliance, an industry group that brings together providers of the technology used to create practical applications of computer vision.
Broadcom (BRCM) announced that its DOCSIS 3.0-based chipset is powering new high-speed broadband for Hathway Cable and Telecom, India's largest cable broadband service provider. Also, Videocon d2h has selected Broadcom's highly integrated satellite set-top box system-on-a-chip device to power their latest high definition universal serial bus digital video recorder.
Juniper Networks (JNPR 24.40, +0.55): trading higher after positive mention in this week's Barron's
7:26 am ReneSola signs framework agreement with China Seven Star to sell PV projects and MOU to sell two utility-scale projects in Bulgaria (SOL) :
Co announced it has entered a framework agreement with China Seven Star, a Hong Kong listed co, regarding a partnership in potential sales to China Seven Star of no less than 200 megawatts of existing and new PV projects within 18 months. The parties subsequently signed a MOU which stipulates that ReneSola will sell to China Seven Star two utility-scale projects, both of which are completed and connected to the grid, with a total capacity of 9.7 MW in Bulgaria. Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, China Seven Star seeks to acquire from ReneSola within 18 months no less than 200 MW of PV projects, including but not limited to four existing solar parks in Bulgaria and Romania. The series of PV project cooperation set forth in the Framework Agreement will begin with the sale of two utility-scale projects in Bulgaria by ReneSola to China Seven Star pursuant to the terms of the MOU, where China Seven Star will issue and allocate new shares to ReneSola in exchange for the entire shareholder equity of the project company. For each potential PV project sale under the Framework Agreement, including the Bulgaria projects specified in the MOU, ReneSola and China Seven Star will enter into a separate agreement.Rudolph Technologies
(RTEC) announced the availability of its new SONUS Technology, designed for measuring thick films and film stacks used in copper pillar bumps and for detecting defects, such as voids, in through silicon vias.
6:03 am Ascent Solar announces $32 mln secured convertible debt agreement; in connection with the sale of notes, co will issue to the investors warrants to purchase 26,685,729 shares of its common stock (ASTI) :
Co announced that it entered into definitive agreements on July 18, 2014 with institutional and certain investors, pursuant to which it will issue $32 million principal amount of senior secured convertible notes and warrants to purchase shares of its common stock in a private placement. WestPark Capital acted as the sole placement agent. Co will receive $7 million in gross proceeds at closing. The remaining gross proceeds of $25 million from the financing will be placed at closing into control accounts of the company. Those funds will be released for the company's use in installments over the 18-month period following the closing. The notes carry an 8% annual interest rate, subject to certain adjustments. The notes will mature on the fifth anniversary of closing. The notes are convertible, in whole or in part, at the holder's option, into shares of co's common stock at a price of $0.5246 per share, subject to certain adjustments. In connection with the sale of the notes, co will issue to the investors warrants to purchase 26,685,729 shares of its common stock. The warrants are exercisable beginning on the issuance date through the fifth anniversary of closing, at $0.5246 per share, subject to certain adjustments. Any funds received by co from exercise of the warrants would be in addition to the financing proceeds.
Semi Manufacturing (SMI) announced an upward revision of its Q2 gross margin guidance for the three months ended June 30, 2014, which was originally released by the Company in its results for the three months ended March 31, 2014 on April 28, 2014. Gross margin for the three months ended June 30, 2014 is guided to be 27% to 29% compared to the original guidance of 22% to 24%. As originally guided, revenue in the second quarter of 2014 was expected to increase 12% to 15% quarter over quarter, and non-GAAP operating expenses (excluding the effect of employee bonus accrual, funding of R&D contracts from the government and gain from the disposal of living quarters) were expected to range from $89 million to $93 million.
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