>>> What to look at today - 22nd of September 2021

Most Asian stocks fell and U.S. futures fluctuated Wednesday as concerns about indebted developer China Evergrande Group lingered after an update on a bond interest payment. Treasuries were steady before the Federal Reserve policy decision.
MSCI Inc.’s Asia-Pacific index declined for a third day. Equities were lower in China but avoided a bigger selloff after trading resumed following a holiday during which global markets where whipsawed by fears of contagion radiating from crisis-hit Evergrande. The Chinese central bank boosted a cash injection, shoring up sentiment.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts were modestly in the green after swinging between gains and losses. European futures also advanced. The yen weakened and commodity-linked currencies such as the Australian dollar pushed higher. The U.S. dollar ticked up. 
Elsewhere, Bitcoin slid below $40,000 for the first time since early August before rebounding. Oil advanced for a second day. 
Investors are eager for clues about how Beijing plans to deal with the cash crunch at Evergrande, which has more than $300 billion of liabilities. The firm injected more uncertainty into financial markets with a vaguely worded statement on a bond interest payment that left analysts grasping for details.
US After Hours SFIX +13.2% jumps on earnings; FDX -4.4%, ADBE -4.2% fall on earnings; SMMT falls -19.8% on FDA feedback

Nikkei -0.54% Hang Seng +0.51% CSI -0.84% Shanghai -0.02% Shenzen -0.34%

Eur$ 1.1725 CNH 6.7693 CNY 6.4681 JPY 109.53 GBP 1.3658 CHF 0.9245 RUB 72.8675 TRY 8.6264 WTI$ 71.37 +1.25% Gold 1,7777.10 +0.15% BTC 42,150 +2.98% ETH 2,888 +4.5%

S&P +0.38% NAsdaq +0.27% EuroStoxx +0.71% FTSE +0.53% Dax +0.66% SMI +0.57%

Macro :
- Never Mind Lehman, China Faces a Khodorkovsky Moment: Macro View
- Bitcoin Falls Below $40,000 for First Time Since Early August
- SoftBank Fund Joins Goldman in Minting Latest Crypto Unicorn
- House Vote Sends Debt-Limit, Government Funding Bill to Senate
- SoftBank Backs Steven Mnuchin’s $2.5b Private Equity Fund: FT

Spac :
- Travel Startup HomeToGo to Debut in Frankfurt After SPAC Deal

Keep an eye on :
- ANA SM : Energy Woes Show Need to Step Up Chile Green Shift, Acciona Says
- AIR FP : Airbus Sales Chief Says Number of Promising Talks on A350F
- AKAST NO : Singapore Clears Proposed JV Between Baker Hughes and Akastor
- CS FP : Genworth Retires in Full of Promissory Note With AXA
- BACTIB SS : Bactiguard Offering of 1.5m Shares Prices at SEK152/Share
- BHC CN : Bausch Health Worth $40 In Sum-of-Parts Value, JPMorgan Says
-ACA FP : Credit Agricole Completed EU558.6m Share Buyback Program
- DPW GY : FedEx Cuts Forecast as Rising Costs Smother Price Hikes --> FDX -4.5% in after hours
- DIS US : Disney Sinks After Cautious Update on Streaming User Growth (1)
- ENT LN : Entain Confirms DraftKings Made Offer of 2,800 Pence per Share
- ERYP FP : *ERYTECH PHARMA FILES $300M MIXED SECURITIES SHELF
- GET FP : France’s Gare du Nord Renovation Dropped by SNCF, Figaro Says
- SHBA SS : Handelsbanken to Pay $1 Billion Dividend in Asset Manager Shares
- ICAD FP : Icade Sante IPO Indicative Price Range EU115-EU135/Share
- ILD FP : Iliad to Buy UPC Poland for Enterprise Value of PLN7B
- IFX GY ; The Chip Crunch Grows Worse as Wait Times Hit Record 21 Weeks
- NENTB SS : NENT Targets 12m Viaplay Subscribers by End of 2025
- ORP FP : Orpea Sees FY Revenue Above EU4.22B, Saw At Least EU4.22B
- RNO FP : Renault CEO Sees Tension With Partner Nissan Dissipating
- ROG SW : Roche Launches Three Molecular PCR Diagnostic Test Panels
- SINCH SS : Sinch to Buy Germany’s MessengerPeople Using Cash, New Shares
- SRAIL SW : Stadler Rail Says Competition Authority Annulled OEBB Contract
- STM FP : The Chip Crunch Grows Worse as Wait Times Hit Record 21 Weeks
- TE FP : Technip Partners in UAE on Energy Transition
- UNG NA : Warner Music Shares Are Said Offered at $44 to $45 Each

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 22nd of September 2021

>>> Up
* Ambarella Raised to Overweight at KeyBanc; PT $185
* Bank of Georgia Group Raised to Buy at SOVA Capital
* Burberry Raised to Buy at SocGen; PT 2,270 pence
* Legrand Raised to Outperform at Exane; PT 135 euros
* Mowi Raised to Buy at SpareBank; PT 270 kroner
* TBC Bank Group Raised to Buy at SOVA Capital; PT 2,673 pence
* Vivendi Raised to Buy at Redburn; PT 14 euros

>>> Down
* Entain Cut to Hold at Peel Hunt; PT 2,300 pence
* Ignitis Group Cut to Neutral at Swedbank; PT 24 euros
* Vivendi Cut to Sell at AlphaValue/Baader

>>> Initiation
* Burberry Rated New Equal-Weight at Barclays
* Burberry Reinstated Underperform at Oddo BHF; PT 1,848 pence
* Deutsche Post Reinstated Overweight at Morgan Stanley
* Hermes International Rated New Equal-Weight at Barclays
* Kering Rated New Overweight at Barclays
* LVMH Rated New Overweight at Barclays
* Moncler Rated New Equal-Weight at Barclays
* Prada Rated New Overweight at Barclays
* Reply Rated New Buy at Stifel; PT 210 euros
* Richemont Rated New Overweight at Barclays
* Salvatore Ferragamo Rated New Underweight at Barclays
* Sopra Steria Rated New Sell at Stifel; PT 155 euros
* Swatch Reinstated Overweight at Barclays; PT 363 Swiss francs
* Tod's Rated New Underweight at Barclays
* Vow Green Metals Rated New Buy at SpareBank; PT 11 kroner

>>> Call
* Deutsche Post Can Re-Rate More on Express Unit: Morgan Stanley
* Heineken, Reckitt, Beiersdorf Underinvest in Brand Equity: RBC
* Wind Installation Forecasts May Be Significantly Too Low: Citi

>>> US Close Dow -0.15% S&P -0.08% Nasdaq +0.22% Russell +0.18%

Closing Stock Market Summary

The S&P 500 decreased 0.1% on Tuesday in an uneven session, which saw the benchmark index up as much as 0.9% in early action and down as much as 0.2% shortly afterwards. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.2%) also closed slightly lower, while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%) and Russell 2000 (+0.2%) closed slightly higher. 

Sector performances were equally underwhelming with no sector gaining or losing more than 1.0%. The energy sector outperformed with a 0.4% gain, while the industrials sector underperformed with a 0.7% decline. The communication services sector (-0.3%) was pressured by Walt Disney (DIS 171.17, -7.44, -4.2%), which provided cautious-sounding business commentary. 

Overall buying interest might have been restrained due to a wait-and-see mindset for the FOMC policy announcement tomorrow. There was, however, a preference for growth stocks, as investors presumably wanted to buy the dip in areas less reliant on the economy due to the uncertainty surrounding China's Evergrande, infrastructure, and the debt ceiling.

The Russell 1000 Growth Index increased 0.2%, while the Russell 1000 Value Index decreased 0.3%. 

In other corporate news, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 164.53, +0.72, +0.4%) said its booster shot at two months provided 94% protection against COVID-19 in the U.S. Uber (UBER 44.36, +4.57, +11.5%) jumped 11.5% after upwardly revising Q3 guidance, and AutoZone (AZO 1643.07, +57.91, +3.7%) beat top and bottom-line estimates. 

In M&A activity, ConocoPhillips (COP 59.33, +2.26, +4.0%) agreed to acquire Royal Dutch Shell's Permian Business for $9.5 billion in cash. U.S. Bancorp (USB 57.10, +1.42, +2.6%) agreed to acquire MUFG Union Bank for $8 billion in cash and stock. DraftKings (DKNG 52.77, -4.23, -7.4%) proposed to acquire Entain (GMVHY) for $20 billion in cash and stock.

Separately, housing starts and building permits data for August beat expectations, but that was largely due to multi-family units instead of single-family units. The Treasury market barely reacted to the report and traded in a narrow range in front of the Fed tomorrow. 

The 10-yr yield increased two basis point to 1.32% while the 2-yr yield decreased one basis point to 0.21%. The U.S. Dollar Index decreased 0.1% to 93.22. WTI crude futures increased 0.2%, or $0.16, to $70.51/bbl.

Reviewing Tuesday's economic data:

  • Total housing starts increased 3.9% month-over-month in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.615 million (B consensus 1.560 million) while permits rose 6.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.728 million (consensus 1.600 million).
    • The key takeaway from the report -- and why it isn't as pleasing as the headlines suggest-- is that the upside surprise was driven almost entirely by multi-family units. To wit, single-family starts declined 2.8% month-over-month while permits for single units were up just 0.6%.
  • The current account deficit for the second quarter totaled $190.3 billion. The first quarter deficit was downwardly revised to $189.4 billion from $195.7 billion.

Looking ahead, investors will receive the FOMC Rate Decision, Existing Home Sales for August, and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index on Wednesday. 

  • S&P 500 +15.9% YTD
  • Nasdaq Composite +14.4% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +10.8% YTD
  • Russell 2000 +10.7% YTD

>>> US After Hours Summary: SFIX +13.2% jumps on earnings; FDX -4.4%, ADBE -4.2%

After Hours Summary: SFIX +13.2% jumps on earnings; FDX -4.4%, ADBE -4.2% fall on earnings; SMMT falls -19.8% on FDA feedback

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: SFIX +13.2% (also launches Stitch Fix Freestyle)

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: RKLB +2.1% (signs dedicated launch contract with Astroscale Japan), ABEO +1.7% (names new CEO and new Chairman), BLUE +0.9% (submits BLA to the FDA for beti-cel gene therapy), TSE +0.8% (increases dividend), AMWL +0.8% (names new CFO), KMI +0.2% (KMI and SWN announce responsibly sourced natural gas agreement), CF +0.2% (UK govt announces supply agreement)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: BDSI -6.3% (guides Q3 revs below consensus), FDX -4.4%, ADBE -4.2%, INNV -1.5%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: SMMT -19.8% (FDA issues feedback on primary endpoint in Phase 3 Ri-CoDIFy studies), LPTX -12% (stock offering), NOTV -4.9% (convertible notes offering), INCY -4.3% (FDA approves Opzelura cream for mild to moderate atopic dermatitis), XAIR -3.8% (provides update on the global regulatory approval process for the LungFit PH system), H -3% (commences public offering), APTS -2.4% (acquires multifamily community in Washington DC), PLAY -1.8% (CEO retires), WMG -1.8% (announces public offering of 2.34 mln shares by Access Industries), CERE -1.5% (CFO resigns), COIN -1.3% (working on cryptocurrency regulations to propose to federal regulators, according to CoinDesk), LULU -0.3% (Mirror CEO Brynn Putnam stepping down, according to CNBC), AIR -0.2% (extends A320 support contract with Volote), BBDC -0.2% (enters into merger agreement with Sierra Income), SWN -0.2% (KMI and SWN announce responsibly sourced natural gas agreement), TIXT -0.1% (stock offering), JPM -0.1% (increases dividend), ABT -0.1% (awarded DoD contracts for COVID-19 test kits)