US Stocks
- Global markets are rising on news that Congressional negotiators have come to a final deal to avert a government shutdown, with “an agreement in principle” having been reached
- US stocks index futures are rising with front-month Dow Jones minis +0.84%, S&P 500 minis +0.73% and Nasdaq 100 minis +0.84%
- White House officials have indicated President Trump wants to meet with Chinese President Xi “soon” to avert prolonging the trade war, this as senior negotiators from both countries are set to meet Thursday and Friday in Beijing; all signs are for an extension of the existing March 1st deadline
- NYU Professor Aswath Damodaran argues that S&P 500 companies in the lowest quintile for projected sales growth are typically those announcing the largest buybacks
- UK Prime Minister Theresa May will address Parliament today with an update on her Brexit negotiations with the EU
- XOP March 15 OTM calls, SPY March 15 OTM puts and EEM April 18 puts are some of the most heavily traded options in the US pre-market this morning.
- The VIX is little changed this morning and is currently at 15.13 after closing at 15.97 yesterday
- US 10-Year Treasury Bonds are lower with yields up 2.87 basis points to 2.6823%
- The US Treasury 2s-10s Spread has widened 0.82 basis points to 0.18%
- Oil is surging almost 2% this morning, firmly above $53 with Algeria floating the potential for more production cuts from OPEC at its next meeting
- WTI Crude is currently down 1.97% to USD$53.44/bbl with the Brent-WTI spread up USD$2.28 to USD$10.09/bbl
- Gold is currently up 0.41% to USD$1313.5/oz
Stocks Trending in the News
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- Ares Capital (ARCC) reported fourth quarter core EPS of USD$0.45 beating consensus of USD$0.41. Ares Capital reported fourth quarter revenue of USD$345 million beating consensus of USD$322.7 million. Ares Capital is rated “Neutral” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas.
- Brighthouse Financial (BHF) reported fourth quarter adjusted EPS of USD$1.56 matching consensus of USD$1.56. Brighthouse Financial reported fourth quarter revenue of USD$4.03 billion beating consensus of USD$2.03 billion. Brighthouse Financial is rated “Top Short” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas.
- Fidelity National Information (FIS) reported CY4Q2018 adjusted EPS from continuing operations of USD$1.60 while analysts expected USD$1.58. Fidelity National Information expects FY2019 adjusted EPS between USD$7.35 and USD$7.55, blowing past analyst estimates that range between USD$5.61 and USD$5.86. Fidelity National Information is rated “Top Buy” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas and “Top Buy” in our US Information Technology Global Top Stock Ideas.
- FMC Corp. (FMC) reported fourth quarter adjusted EPS of USD$1.69 beating consensus of USD$1.48. FMC Corp. reported fourth quarter revenue of USD$1.2 billion matching consensus of USD$1.18 billion. FMC is rated “Top Buy” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas.
- Kering (ENXTPA:KER) reported fourth quarter sales growth of 28.1% at Gucci beating consensus of 27%. Kering reported fourth quarter total sales of 3.83 billion euros. Kering CEO said 10% growth for Gucci is realistic and he does not see a need for M&A and does not see a need to get into a bidding war. Kering is rated “Attractive” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas.
- Huntsman Corp (HUN) reported fourth quarter EPS of USD$0.52 missing consensus of USD$0.54. Huntsman Corp reported fourth quarter revenue of USD$2.24 billion in line with consensus of USD$2.13 billion. Huntsman Corp is rated “Neutral” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas and “Neutral” in our US Information Technology Global Top Stock Ideas.
- MoneyGram (MGI) reported fourth quarter EPS of USD$0.01 missing consensus of USD$0.13. MoneyGram reported fourth quarter revenue of USD$345.8 million in line with consensus of USD$348.5 million. MoneyGram is rated “Neutral” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas and “Neutral” in our US Information Technology Global Top Stock Ideas.
- New Residential Investment Corporation (NRZ) announced CY4Q2018 core EPS of USD$0.58, edging past consensus of USD$0.55. New Residential Investment Corporation also acquired USD$1.5bn of re-performing loans from Fannie Mae in CY4Q2018. New Residential Investment Corporation is rated “Unattractive” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas.
- Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC) announced CY4Q2018 adjusted EPS of USD$1.77 while consensus was for USD$1.66. Omnicom Group Inc. reported net sales of USD$4.09 in CY4Q2018 while analysts expected USD$4.10. Omnicom Group Inc. is rated “Top Buy” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas and “Top Buy” in our US Consumer Discretionary Global Top Stock Ideas.
- Toshiba Corp. (TSE: 6502) shares plunged after the company slashed its FY2019 profit forecast by at least 50%, citing mounting expenses in its energy business. Toshiba told analysts that it sees FY2019 operating profit between 20bn yen and 30bn yen (USD$180mm and USD$270mm) when the company had issued prior guidance for 60bn yen. Toshiba is not rated in our Global Top Stock Ideas.
- US Foods Holding Corp. (USFD) announced CY4Q2018 adjusted EPS of USD$0.56 while consensus was for USD$0.58. US Foods Holding Corp. reported net sales of USD$6.04bn in CY4Q2018 beating analyst expectations of USD$5.98bn. US Foods Holding Corp. sees FY2019 adjusted EPS between USD$2.15 and USD$2.25. US Foods Holding Corp. is rated “Attractive” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas and “Attractive” in our US Consumer Staples Global Top Stock Ideas.
- Walmart (WMT) and Deliv have severed their online partnership to deliver groceries in New York City. Walmart works with 7 delivery services and Deliv complained there were not sufficient volumes to make sense for the partnership to continue. Walmart is rated “Attractive” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas and “Attractive” in our US Consumer Staples Global Top Stock Ideas.
- Welltower Inc. (WELL) announced CY4Q2018 normalized funds from operations per share of USD$1.01 in line with consensus of USD$1.03. Welltower Inc. reported net sales of USD$1.24 in CY4Q2018 while analysts expected USD$1.23bn. Welltower Inc. sees FY2019 normalized funds from operations between USD$4.10/share and USD$4.25/share. Welltower Inc. is rated “Neutral” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas.
European Stocks
- The Euro Stoxx 600 is currently up +0.64%, the FTSE 100 is higher by +0.29%, the DAX has advanced +1.2%, and the CAC 40 has risen +1.15%
- Investor sentiment for European stocks is positive with the advance/decline ratio for the Euro Stoxx 600 currently at 3.48x
- Automobiles & Parts (+2.4%), Chemicals (+1.4%), and Oil & Gas (+1.08%) stocks are the top performers in the Euro Stoxx 600 today
- Travel & Leisure (-0.31%), Media (-0.05%), and Food & Beverage (+0.01%) stocks are the worst performers in the Euro Stoxx 600 today
- 53 stocks in the Euro Stoxx 600 are at 4-week highs while 32 stocks are at 4-week lows
- 29 stocks in the Euro Stoxx 600 are overbought while 9 stocks are oversold according to the 16-day RSI Measure
- VSTOXX, the European stocks equivalent of the VIX, is moving down this morning and is currently at 14.19 after closing at 15.22 yesterday
- EUR€ is currently little changed against the USD$ at 1.1281
- GBP£ is currently little changed against the USD$ at 1.2854
- CHF is currently down -0.432% against the USD$ to 0.9918
- German 10-Year Bunds are lower with yields up 0.6 basis points to 0.126%
- UK 10-Year GILTs are lower with yields up 0.5 basis points to 1.185%
Asian Stocks
- The Nikkei 225 finished up +2.61%, the Hang Seng ended up +0.1%, the Hang Seng China Enterprise up +0.25%, and the CSI 300 was +0.72%
- Investor sentiment for Japanese stocks finished positive with the advance/decline ratio for the Nikkei 225 closing at 9.23x
- 9 stocks in the Nikkei 225 hit 4-week highs while 85 stocks reached 4-week lows
- 1 stock in the Nikkei 225 closed overbought while 14 stocks closed oversold according to the 16-day RSI Measure
- Investor sentiment for Hong Kong stocks finished neutral with the advance/decline ratio for the Hang Seng closing at 1.08x
- 19 stocks in the Hang Seng hit 4-week highs while 0 stocks reached 4-week lows
- Japan 2-Year Government Bonds are lower with yields up 0.2 basis points to -0.162%
- Japan 10-Year Government Bonds are lower with yields up 1.6 basis points to -0.013%
- JGBs 2s-10s Spread has widened 1.4 basis points to 0.15%
- JPY¥ is currently little changed against the USD$ at 110.53
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