>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 9th of October 2018

>>> Up
* Commerzbank Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 10.50 Euros
* GN Upgraded to Buy at SEB Equities; PT 300 Kroner
* Kuehne + Nagel Upgraded to Outperform at RBC; PT 160 Francs
* Osmozis Raised to Neutral at CM - CIC Market Solutions
* Schroders Upgraded to Buy at Berenberg
* Telecom Plus Upgraded to Buy at Peel Hunt

>>> Down
* Atlas Copco Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 225 Kronor
* Ericsson ADRs Downgraded to Underperform at Raymond James
* International Paper Downgraded to Market Perform at BMO; PT $51
* Ipsen Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan; Price Target 120 Euros
* Julius Baer Downgraded to Sector Perform at RBC; PT 55 Francs
* NetEnt Downgraded to Equal-weight at Barclays; PT 41 Kronor
* Royal Mail Downgraded to Underperform at RBC; PT 3.15 Pounds
* Royal Mail Downgraded to Hold at HSBC; PT 3.79 Pounds
* RWE Downgraded to Hold at HSBC; PT 21 Euros
* Sage Downgraded to Underweight at Barclays; PT 4.95 Pounds
* Scor Downgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan; Price Target 42 Euros
* Swedbank Downgraded to Sell at SocGen; PT 185 Kronor
* UBI Banca Downgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan; PT 3.50 Euros

>>> Initiation
* Allergan Rated New Buy at Guggenheim
* AstraZeneca Rated New Buy at Guggenheim
* Bankia Rated New Hold at HSBC; PT 3.30 Euros
* Bauer Reinstated at Commerzbank With Buy; PT 25 Euros
* Bristol-Myers Rated New Neutral at Guggenheim
* Glaxo Rated New Neutral at Guggenheim
* Joules Group Rated New Buy at Berenberg; PT 3.60 Pounds
* Lilly Rated New Buy at Guggenheim
* N Brown Rated New Hold at Berenberg; PT 1.30 Pounds
* Novartis Rated New Neutral at Guggenheim
* Novo Nordisk Rated New Buy at Guggenheim
* Quiz Rated New Hold at Berenberg; PT 80 Pence
* Sanofi Rated New Neutral at Guggenheim
* Siem Offshore Reinstated Hold at Kepler Cheuvreux; PT 2 Kroner


>>> Call

>>> US After Hours Summary: BLKB -12.5%, PPG -10% following guidance


After Hours Summary: BLKB -12.5%, PPG -10% following guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: PEIX +16.7% (after 40%+ move higher on the day), PYX +6.4% (after closing up nearly 40% higher on the day - boosted by Citron mention), EBIX +2.4% (modestly rebounding after closing at new 52 week lows), TSLA +2.1% (initiated with Outperform and $430 tgt at Macquarie), GE +1.5% (higher after another mention on CNBC [CNBC FastMoney] after the close), YEXT +1.2% (light volume; initiated with Buy at DA Davidson), TWLO +0.5% (initiated with Buy at Deutsche Bank)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to guidance: BLKB -12.5% (lowers outlook), PPG -10% (issues downside guidance)

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: AFMD -23.8% (placed AFM11 on clinical hold and notified authorities of its decision), IGC -11.7% (ongoing volatility - closed up 66% on Monday), SHW -2.8% (following PPG guidance), NBEV -1.5% (continued weakness), GWRE -1.2% (coverage resumed/downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank), PRGO -0.8% (appoints Murray Kessler as Pres/CEO effective immediately; Uwe Roehrhoff steps down)

>>> US Close Dow +0,15% S&P -0,04% Nasdaq -0,67% Russell -0,16%

Closing Market Summary: Afternoon Rebound Leaves S&P 500 Little Changed

The U.S. stock market closed a volatile day of trading on a mixed note. The S&P 500 was down as much as 0.8% on Monday, but rebounded in the afternoon to reclaim its 50-day moving average (2878.47), which it had breached shortly after the opening bell. The benchmark index finished just slightly lower, closing at 2884.43.

As for the other major averages, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite underperformed for the third straight day, losing 0.7%; the small-cap Russell 2000 finished the day with a slim loss of 0.2%; and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed, tacking on 0.2%.

Concerning headlines overseas weighed on U.S. markets early. In China, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traded jabs with China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, regarding trade disputes. Mr. Yi accused the United States of meddling with domestic affairs, and Mr. Pompeo retorted that the two simply had a "fundamental disagreement." In Italy, the government continued its feud with the European Union over its budget deficit plan, with Italy's Deputy Minister Matteo Salvini referring to two EU leaders as "enemies of Europe."

The top-weighted information technology sector gave up quite a bit of ground on Monday, closing at the bottom of the S&P 500 sector standings with a loss of 1.2%. The group is now down 3.4% for the month, trimming its 2018 gain to 15.5%. Investors have continued to take profits from the highly-valued growth stocks that have helped propel the group higher this year.

Conversely, the real estate (+1.3%), consumer staples (+1.3%), and utilities (+0.8%) sectors finished atop Monday's leaderboard, and the highly-influential financial sector (+0.6%) also outperformed.

In corporate news, Google's parent company Alphabet (GOOG 1148.97, -8.38) announced that account information of 500,000 of its users was exposed due to a bug, and General Electric (GE 13.61, +0.43) was upgraded to 'Overweight' from 'Equal Weight' at Barclays. Alphabet shares lost 0.7%, while GE shares climbed 3.3%.

Looking head, the third quarter earnings season will unofficially kickoff on Friday with financial giants JPMorgan Chase (JPM 115.32, +0.70, +0.6%), Citigroup (C 72.59, +0.17, +0.2%), and Wells Fargo (WFC 53.67, +0.48, +0.9%) scheduled to report their quarterly results.

Note, the bond market was closed in observance of Columbus Day.

Investors did not receive any economic data on Monday.

  • Nasdaq Composite +12.1% YTD
  • S&P 500 +7.9% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +7.2% YTD
  • Russell 2000 +6.1% YTD