From Briefing.com: The markets closed the beginning of the week with sharp losses. Leading the way down, the Nasdaq Composite sliced 142.53 (-3.04%) points off Friday's close, ending the session at 4543.97. Notable weakness in tech names AAPL and MSFT took the index lower. The S&P 500 was also quite weak on the session, closing Monday trade down 49.57 points (-2.57%) to 1881.77. Weakness in components GE, FB and JNJ helped the index close near session lows. The most shallow of losses were seen today in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which closed lower by 312.78 points (-1.92%) to 16001.89. Notable names which took that index lower included CAT, CVX and DD.
In addition, market data in the form of Pending Home Sales Index disappointed. For August, the index fell 1.4% year-over-year. Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) was up just 0.3% year-over-year while the core PCE Price Index, which excludes food and energy, was up 1.3% and fell well short of the Fed's 2.0% inflation target.
The bears ruled that market today, as the all three major indices traded lower from bell to bell. Champion of the downtrend today was the Biotech sector, which as a heavily-weighted section of the Nasdaq Composite, took that index lower by worse than 3.3% at the worst point.
Every sector was down on the day. We finished XLE -3.99%, XLV -3.87%, IYZ -3.31%, XLB -3.11%, XLY -2.88%, XLF -2.32%, XLK -2.29%, XLI -1.97%, XLP -1.50%, with not a single sector posting gains. The best performing sector was Utilities-XLU -0.49%, which posted the shallowest of losses, but did not manage to stay out of the red.
Declines were helped by pressure relating to reports that industrial profits in China declined 8.8% year-over-year in August and an acknowledgment from International Monetary Fund (IMF) head Christine Lagarde that the IMF's global growth forecasts of 3.3% this year and 3.8% next year are no longer realistic.
In the S&P 500 Information Technology sector (652.43, -15.75 -2.36%), gains were only had by a handful of names. Only Symantec (SYMC 20.00, +0.06 +0.30%) managed to slip out of the weakness. Today's session cannot go without mentioning the notable beat on expectations by Apple (AAPL 112.44, -2.27 -1.98%) today in regards to iPhone 6S and 6S Plus model sales. The tech-giant reported the sales of more than 13 million new models just three days after launch. Shares traded lower however, as the broader market brought the stock down.
Other notable news items among sector components:
Apple (AAPL) announced the sale of more than 13 million new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus units. "Sales for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first weekend sales results in Apple's history."
Microsoft (MSFT 43.29, -0.65 -1.48%) acquired Adxstudio, a provider of Web portals. Financial terms of said deal were not disclosed.
Qualcomm (QCOM 52.54, -0.68 -1.28%) announced its intention to invest up to $150 million in Indian startup companies across all stages as part of its commitment to India during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Digital Economy event in San Jose.
IBM (IBM 142.52, -2.90 -1.99%) announced plans to globally expand its business solutions capabilities with new, cloud-based Industry Platforms to simplify and accelerate clients' digital transformation journeys.
Elsewhere in the technology space:
Yelp (YELP 21.38, -0.79 -3.56%) elected Diane Irvine as non-executive board chairperson effective immediately.
Cabot Micro (CCMP 38.40, -2.59 -6.32%) announced the acquisition of NexPlanar Corporation for about $142 million. Under the acquisition agreement, Cabot Microelectronics will purchase 100% of the stock of NexPlanar for a purchase price of approximately $142 million, plus up to an additional $2.3 million depending upon treatment of certain unvested stock options held by NexPlanar security holders.
Elephant Talk (ETAK 0.47 flat) announced Chairman and CEO roles will be separated and also announced the addition to the Board of Directors.
Sprint (S 3.98, -0.32 -7.44%) announced it will not participate in the 600 MHz incentive auction.
Aspen Tech (AZPN 37.07, -1.06 -2.78%) named Karl Johnsen as CFO effective October 1, 2015.
MiX Telematics (MIXT 4.95, +0.01 +0.20%) announced Basic Energy (BAS 3.61, -0.42 -10.42%) renewed the contract for the next five years for the fleet management and driver behavior solutions.
Park City (PCYG 10.43, -0.17 -1.60%) announced the appointment of Todd Mitchell as the new CFO effective September 28, 2015.
Liquidity Services (LQDT 6.79, -0.74 -9.83%) announced the agreement to sell its Jacobs Trading business to Tanager Acquisitions for about $17 million.
Vodafone PLC (VOD 31.12, -1.70 -5.18%) announced that the discussions with Liberty Global (LBTYA 43.09, -4.87 -10.15%) regarding a possible exchange of selected assets have terminated.
Lumentum (LITE 16.92, -0.06 -0.35%) announced it inadvertently filed a draft of its 10-K due to an administrative error.
Alpha and Omega Semi (AOSL 7.88, +0.12 +1.55%) announced the preliminary agreement with the state authority of Chongqing, China. The company formed a joint venture for a new power semiconductor manufacturing facility.
QLogic (QLGC 9.73, -0.06 -0.61%) sees $5-6 million pre-tax charges, including $3-4 million of cash charges, in connection with restructuring plan.
Alteva (ALTV 4.46, -0.06 -1.35%) announced the resignation of CFO Brian Callahan. Following this executive management move, Andrea McHugh was appointed interim CFO.
Unisys (UIS 12.12, -0.99 -7.55%) announced it will not proceed with the previously announced senior secured notes offering.
Analyst actions:
ATML was upgraded to Strong Buy from Mkt Perform at Raymond James,
INFY was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Societe Generale,
KN was upgraded to Mkt Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital;
MELI was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup,
QRVO was downgraded to Sector Perform from Overweight at Pacific Crest,
MB was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley,
TEO was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman
4:32 pm Microsoft change the reporting of its financial results (MSFT) : Beginning in fiscal year 2016, the company will report revenue and operating income based on three operating segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. To aid investors with the transition, for the first quarter results only, revenue and gross margin will also be provided for the operating segments that Microsoft reported during fiscal year 2015.
4:20 pm : The new week got off to a very poor start for the major indices, which experienced steady selling pressure from the opening bell in a trend-down day. Global growth concerns were at the heart of Monday's pullback along with another dastardly performance by the biotechnology sector.
The growth concerns were triggered anew by a caustic research note on the business prospects for commodity producer Glencore (GLCNF 1.07, -0.41), an 8.8% year-over-year decline in China's industrial profits, a disappointing 1.4% monthly decline in pending U.S. home sales for August, and a declaration from International Monetary Fund (IMF) head Christine Lagarde that the IMF's forecasts for global growth of 3.3% this year and 3.8% next year are no longer realistic due principally to the weakness in emerging markets.
These factors, and an allegation from famed investor Carl Icahn that there could be another financial catastrophe looming with the persistence of the Federal Reserve's policy rate near the zero bound, cast a pall on investor sentiment that hung over the capital markets all day.
To that end, oil (-2.7% to $44.47 per barrel) and other commodity prices got knocked back noticeably, high-yield bond prices continued to weaken, cyclical sectors like the energy (-3.6%), materials (-3.2%), and consumer discretionary (-2.9%) sectors were among the hardest hit areas, and Treasuries rallied in a flight-to-safety bid.
In turn, investors sought downside protection, evidenced by the 17% surge in the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 27.58, +3.96), and generally shied away from buying much of anything in the equity market.
All ten sectors finished lower. The health care sector (-3.8%) fared the worst as price control concerns continued to percolate on the back of reports that lawmakers in Washington are working to get a subpoena to obtain documents from Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX 166.50, -32.97) that discuss big price increases for two heart drugs.
That news compounded the recent selling pressure in the biotech group, which had to contend with the double whammy of valuation concerns. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 290.61, -19.63) dropped 6.3% and is now down 27.5% from its July high.
The weakness in the biotech space took a heavy toll on the Nasdaq Composite (-3.0%) and Russell 2000 (-2.9%). Separately, the weight of large losses in market darlings Facebook (FB 89.21, -3.56), Amazon.com (AMZN 504.06, -20.19), Netflix (NFLX 99.47, -2.77), and Google (GOOG 594.89, -17.08) -- the so-called "FANG" stocks -- took a big bite out of the Nasdaq and the broader market.
Today's negative disposition was cemented in the fact that Apple (AAPL 112.44, -2.27) couldn't escape the selling pressure even though it announced record sales of more than 13 million units of its iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus just three days after launch.
The Personal Income and Spending report for August was decent, showing a 0.3% increase in income (Briefing.com consensus +0.4%) and a 0.4% jump in spending (Briefing.com +0.3%) on top of modest upward revisions to July's data for both series. The report also revealed subdued inflation pressures, which were painted by a miniscule 0.3% year-over-year increase in the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) and a modest 1.3% year-over-year increase excluding food and energy.
The latter news also helped underpin the Treasury market and particularly the back end of the curve. The 10-yr note yield dropped seven basis points to 2.09%.
There were two Fed officials who gave speeches today during market hours -- New York Fed President Dudley and Chicago Fed President Evans. Both men are voting members on the 2015 Federal Open Market Committee, yet their somewhat opposing views failed to alter today's downtrend. To wit, stocks traded lower after both presentations in which Mr. Dudley said he thinks the Fed should be able to raise rates before the end of the year and Mr. Evans said a later liftoff would create better positioning for economic challenges.
The major indices closed just off their worst levels of the day on heavy volume. Reflecting the entrenched negative bias, decliners led advancers by nearly a 9-to-1 margin at the NYSE and a nearly 6-to-1 margin at the Nasdaq.DJ30 -312.78 NASDAQ -142.53 SP500 -49.57 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 455/2.15 bln/2520 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 320/1.03 bln/2808
3:45 pm :
Commodities sold off today and held losses. Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, extended losses from this morning and are now -1.3%
Nov crude oil finished today's session -2.7% at $44.47/barrel. In other energy, Nov nat gas rose +1.5% to $2.67/MMBtu
Metals lost steam today, led by silver
Dec silver closed up today's pit session -3.6% at $15.08/oz
Dec gold fell -1.2% to end at $1131.40/oz, while Dec copper ended -1.3% at $2.28/lb.
11:58 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session- New lows (125) outpacing new highs (1) (SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: FLO
Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ACAS, ALXN, AMT, AR, BAX, BBBY, BBL, BBRY, BBVA, BEN, BHP, BKD, BUFF, CAT, CBL, CBS, CCJ, CF, CFX, CIE, CIT, CMI, CNHI, CNX, CPGX, CYH, DAN, DB, DE, DFS, DO, DRH, DSW, DVA, EMN, EPD, EQT, ESV, ETE, ETP, FAST, FLR, FMC, GLNG, GPOR, GPRO, GPS, GRPN, GRUB, GSK, HES, HOT, HP, HPQ, HST, HUN, IP, IR, IVZ, KMI, KOS, KSS, LHO, LUK, M, MDVN, MJN, MNK, MOS, MPEL, MT, MTW, MUR, MWE, MYL, NE, NRF, NRG, NSAM, NUE, NWS, NWSA, NYLD, PAA, PAGP, PAH, PCAR, PH, PHG, POT, PPG, RAX, RDS.A, RDS.B, RIO, SAN, SBH, SDRL, SHO, SLM, STWD, STX, SUNE, SWFT, SWN, SXL, TCK, TERP, THC, TIF, TRMB, TRP, TRQ, TTM, TV, TWX, VALE.P, WDC, WMB, WPZ, WYNN, XPO, YHOO, YPF, ZBH
ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: none
ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: AMJ, BJK, DBB, EWU, EZA, HYG, IDX, IYM, JNK, KOL, MOO, PPLT, REMX, SEA, SLX, VGK, XLB, XME, XOP
8:30 am Apple has sold more than 13 mln new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models a new record (and above ests near 10-12 mln) (AAPL) :
Co has sold more than 13 million new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models, a new record, just three days after launch. Expectations were for sales in the 10-12 million range, so this number surpassed expectations."Sales for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first weekend sales results in Apple's history."iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will be available in more than 40 additional countries beginning October 9 including Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain and Taiwan. The new iPhones will be available in over 130 countries by the end of the year. Analyst comments: QRVO -4% (downgraded to Sector Perf at Pac Crest), MB -2.8% (downgraded to Equal Wt at Morgan Stanley)
ATML +6.6% (Cypress Semi (CY) is considering offer to acquire ATML, according to Reuters)
SunEdison (SUNE) announced the completion of three solar canopy systems for the City of Fremont, Calif. The systems are expected to generate 1.2 megawatts DC of clean, reliable electricity for the city.
Finisar (FNSR) announced the world's first 100G QSFP28 SWDM4 module, which operates over standard, duplex multimode fiber.
JinkoSolar Holding (JKS) announced that it will supply TSK Electrnica y Electricidad, S.A. with 49.8MW of PV solar modules for the largest solar PV plant in Mexico.
5:28 am Cabot Micro to acquire NexPlanar Corporation for ~$142 mln (CCMP) :
NexPlanar Corporation is a privately-held, U.S. based company that specializes in the development, manufacture and sale of advanced CMP pad solutions for the semiconductor industry.
Under the acquisition agreement, Cabot Microelectronics will purchase 100% of the stock of NexPlanar for a purchase price of approximately $142 million, plus up to an additional $2.3 million depending upon treatment of certain unvested stock options held by NexPlanar security holders. Its trailing four quarter revenue is approximately $22 million, and it has nearly tripled its revenue over the past two years.Qualcomm (QCOM) announced its intention to invest up to $150 million in Indian startup companies across all stages as part of its commitment to India during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Digital Economy event in San Jose. STMicroelectronics (STM) announced next-generation satellite navigation to today's drivers with the launch of enhanced, always-available, always-accurate 3D positioning on its TESEO III automotive-navigation ICs. EMCORE (EMKR) announced that it has expanded its offerings of laser diode and Avalanche Photodiode optical chips for the high-speed telecom Gigabit Passive Optical Network Fiber-To-The-Home market and uncooled digital datacom applications.
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