Friday, August 17, 2018

Markets Shake Off Trade and Contagion Concerns Again

TradeTheNews.com Weekly Market Update: Markets Shake Off Trade and Contagion Concerns Again
Fri, 17 Aug 2018 16:24 PM EST

Global markets were forced to contend with elevated bouts of volatility this week, but ultimately US stock indices stayed within reach of the all-time highs hit earlier this year. Emerging market FX swings precipitated a spike in risk off sentiment through mid-week. A plunging Turkish Lira brought about worries regarding European bank exposure, and contagion fears were exacerbated by another move lower in the Yuan which approached levels not seen in nearly a decade. China growth concerns emerged after another string of disappointing economic data came alongside weak corporate reports by several Chinese tech darlings. US stock markets continued to outperform the rest of the globe and the Dollar index surged above 96. Treasury prices also benefited modestly from risk-off flows keeping yields subdued and flattening the US 2-10 year spread back below 25 basis points. Late in the week equities surged on news the US and China would restart trade negotiations in Washington next week ahead of a multilateral summit in November. For the week the S&P and DJIA each gained 0.1%, while the Nasdaq slipped less than 0.1%.

In corporate news this week, Walmart posted its biggest rise in US sales in over 10 years amid improved e-commerce growth and strong fresh food sales. Macy’s shares fell despite reporting an earnings beat and raising guidance as investors saw slipping market share against its online and lower cost rivals. Nvidia shares tumbled after reporting lower than expected revenue guidance and seeing no contribution from crypto-specific products going forward. Applied Materials also fell on guidance and pointed to near-term softness in customer spending. Constellation Brands made a $4B bet on the emerging cannabis industry, taking a 38% stake in Canopy Growth and hinted it may begin selling a drinkable product in Canada by next year. VFC announced a plan to split off its denim business into a separate company. Tesla shares on Friday saw their worst day since late March after a New York Times interview with CEO Musk in which he described a difficult year leading the company.


MONDAY 8/13
VFC Announces Intention to Create Two Independent, Publicly Traded Companies
(TR) Speculation that Turkey could release the US pastor Brunson held under house arrest by Aug 15th - twitter

TUESDAY 8/14
(DE) GERMANY Q2 PRELIMINARY GDP Q/Q: 0.5% V 0.4%E; Y/Y: 2.0% V 2.1%E
(UK) JUN AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS 3M/Y: 2.4% V 2.5%E; WEEKLY EARNINGS (EX BONUS) 3M/Y: 2.7% V 2.7%E
(UK) JULY JOBLESS CLAIMS CHANGE: +6.2K V +9.0K PRIOR; CLAIMANT COUNT RATE: 2.5% V 2.5% PRIOR
*(EU) EURO ZONE Q2 PRELIMINARY GDP Q/Q: 0.4% V 0.3%E; Y/Y: 2.2% V 2.1%E
*(DE) GERMANY AUG ZEW CURRENT SITUATION: 72.6 V 72.1E; EXPECTATIONS SURVEY:-13.7 V -21.3E
HD Reports Q2 $3.05 v $2.84e, Rev $30.5B v $30.0Be
(CN) China govt launches WTO dispute settlement procedure over US photovoltaic subsidies
GOOGL Reportedly plans to invest $375M in Oscar Health - press
EGN To be acquired by Diamondback for 0.6442 shares/shr, valuing it at $9.2B

WEDNESDAY 8/15
(ID) INDONESIA CENTRAL BANK (BI) RAISES 7-DAY REVERSE REPO BY 25BPS TO 5.50%; NOT EXPECTED
*(UK) JULY CPI M/M: 0.0% V 0.0%E; Y/Y: 2.5% V 2.5%E
700.HK Reports Q2 (CNY) Net 17.9B v 19.3Be, Rev 73.7B v 77.7Be
WEED.CA Constellation Brands to acquire 38% stake for C$48.60/shr valued at C$5B in strategic partnership
M Reports Q2 $0.59 (ex asset sale gain) v $0.49e, Rev $5.57B v $5.59Be
*(US) AUG EMPIRE MANUFACTURING: 25.6 V 20.0E
*(US) Q2 PRELIMINARY NONFARM PRODUCTIVITY: 2.9% V 2.4%E; UNIT LABOR COSTS: -0.9% V 0.0%E
(US) JULY INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: 0.1% V 0.3%E; CAPACITY UTILIZATION: 78.1% V 78.2%E
*(US) DOE CRUDE: +6.8M V -2.5ME; GASOLINE: -0.7M V -0.5ME; DISTILLATE: +3.6M V +1ME
(TR) Qatar has pledged to invest $15B in Turkey economy - Turkish press
CSCO Reports Q4 $0.70 v $0.69e, Rev $12.8B v $12.8Be
(CN) China Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM): China Vice Commerce Min to visit the US for trade talks in late Aug, to meet with US Treasury Undersecretary Malpass

THURSDAY 8/16
CARLB.DK Reports H1 (DKK) Adj Net 2.51B v 2.29B y/y, Adj EBITDA 6.48B v 6.63B y/y, Rev 31.0B v 30.6Be
*(UK) JULY RETAIL SALES (EX-AUTO/FUEL) M/M: 0.9% V 0.0%E; Y/Y: 3.7% V 2.8%E
WMT Reports Q2 $1.29 v $1.21e, Rev $128.0B v $125.6Be
(US) JULY HOUSING STARTS: 1.17M V 1.26ME; BUILDING PERMITS: 1.31M V 1.31ME
(US) AUG PHILADELPHIA FED BUSINESS OUTLOOK: 11.9 V 22.0E (lowest level since Nov 2016)
NVDA Reports Q2 $1.94 v $1.83e, Rev $3.12B v $3.11Be

FRIDAY 8/17
(US) President Trump has reportedly asked SEC to consider allowing US companies to report corporate results on 6-month basis – press
(CN) US and China reportedly plot roadmap to resolve trade dispute before Pres Trump-Pres Xi meeting in Nov - press