>>> US Close Dow -0.03% S&P +0.49% Nasdaq +1.24% Russell +0.77%


Closing Market Summary: S&P Climbs As Apple Becomes First $1 Trillion Company

The stock market stumbled out of the gate on Thursday due to concerns over U.S.-China trade relations, but found its footing as Apple (AAPL 207.39, +5.89, +2.9%) extended its post-earnings rally, becoming the first company ever to reach a market cap of $1 trillion. The S&P 500 finished higher by 0.5%, erasing an opening loss of around 0.6%.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.2%, coming within 1.7% of its July 25 record high; the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average finished flat, weighed down by materials giant DowDuPont (DWDP 66.44, -1.52, -2.2%), which sold off despite reporting upbeat earnings; and the small-cap Russell 2000 added 0.8%.

In other notable earnings news, electric automaker Tesla (TSLA 349.54, +48.70, +16.2%) soared after above-consensus revenues, reaffirmed guidance, and an apology from CEO Elon Musk for last quarter's abrasive earnings call helped overshadow the company's larger-than-expected earnings per share loss of $3.06.

The U.S. equity market was an outlier on Thursday, outdoing Asian and European markets, which finished solidly lower. The weakness overseas -- and in early trading on Wall Street -- was attributed to the White House's confirmation that it's considering raising proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25% from 10%.

Separately, in the UK, the Bank of England hiked rates for just the second time in a decade and surprised some by saying it anticipates raising rates further despite the looming uncertainty over Brexit. The British pound dropped 0.8% against the U.S. Dollar following the decision, retesting an 11-month low.

Back on Wall Street, seven of eleven sectors finished in the green, led by information technology (+1.4%) and consumer staples (+1.1%). On the downside, the materials (-0.7%), energy (-0.5%), and real estate (-0.5%) spaces closed at the bottom of the standings, and the heavily-weighted financial space (unch) was another notable laggard.

The S&P 500 once again found technical support at the 2800 level, which provided support on numerous occasions throughout the month of July. The S&P 500 is back in positive territory for the week (+0.3%) going into Friday's session, which will feature the release of the potentially market-moving July jobs report.

Reviewing Thursday's economic data, which was limited to weekly Initial Claims and June Factory Orders:

  • The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 218,000, while the consensus expected a reading of 220,000. Today's tally was above the unrevised prior week count of 217,000. As for continuing claims, they declined to 1.724 million from a revised count of 1.747 million (from 1.745 million).
    • The key takeaway from the report is that it was little changed, underscoring for market participants that the low level of initial claims activity fits the framework of a tight labor market.
  • The Factory Orders report for June showed an increase of 0.7% (consensus +0.6%), and the May reading was left unrevised at +0.4%.
    • The key takeaway from the report is that shipments of nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft were weaker than reported in the Advance Durable Goods Orders report. That understanding could lead to a softening in forecasts for the second estimate of Q2 GDP.

On Friday, investors will receive the Employment Situation report for July at 8:30 AM ET, which the consensus expects will show the addition of 190,000 nonfarm payrolls. The June Trade Balance will also be released at 8:30 AM ET, while the ISM Services Index for July will cross the wires at 10:00 AM ET.

  • Nasdaq Composite +13.0% YTD
  • Russell 2000 +9.6% YTD
  • S&P 500 +5.8% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +2.5% YTD

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:

  • RRGB -24.1%, EXAS -21.8%, AXGN -20.1%, IO -15.4%, TRIP -11.8%, W -11.3%, MZOR -11.2%, FND -10.9%, AVP -8%, EPZM -7.7%, RRD -7.5%, SBH -7.3%, TEVA -7.3%, PPC -6.5%, TS -6.4%, LPSN -5.8%, CTSH -5.5%, WLK -5.1%, MRC -5%, MRNS -5%, HUBS -4.8%, WYNN -4.8%, TTEK -4.8%, CCRN -4.4%, MGM -4.4%, FEYE -4.2%, ARRS -4%, QRVO -3.9%, HFC -3.8%, TAHO -3.7%, AR -3.3%, YUMC -3.3%, CLVS -3.3%, APRN -3.3%, SQ -3.2%, YUM -3.1%, CECO -2.9%, FMC -2.6%, EPAM -2.4%, EXK -2.4%, BLUE -2.3%, LPI -2.2%, HYGS -2.2%, MD -2.1%, WRK -2%, OBE -1.9%, CXO -1.8%, CDXC -1.8%, HSC -1.8%, APU -1.6%, CRUS -1.6%, ING -1.5%, ICE -1.5%, XPO -1.4% (also CFO John Hardig to step down August 15, 2018), APA -1.3%, DUK -1.3%, RFP -1.3%, LHCG -1.1%, SRI -1.1%, CDW -1.1%, PRU -1%, MRO -1%, GPOR -1%, CRIS -1%, SPAR -1%

Other news:

  • ADMP -7.6% (announces proposed public offering of common stock), I -2.8% (announces proposed offering of $1.0 bln aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2023)
  • MLCO -1.5% (following WYNN results)
  • TXMD -1.5% (prices $65 mln public offering of common stock at a price to the public of $5.10 per share)

Analyst comments:

  • IQ -3.1% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman)
  • RDS.A -1.7% (downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley)
  • HBI -1.3% (downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays)
  • BG -0.9% (downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan)
  • FL -0.9% (initiated with Underweight at Morgan Stanley)

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:

  • DXCM +23.6% (announces retirement of Executive Chairman Terry Gregg; appoints Kevin Sayer Chairman of the Board), STAA +19.1%, ESIO +18%, RUBI +15.1%, GIL +13.5%, TROX +13.1%, HABT +12.5%, EVFM +10.1%, PS +8.6%, TSLA +8.1%, TK +7.7%, HUBG +7.6%, AGO +7.5%, VNDA +6.5%, FTNT +6.4%, NTR +5.9%, ATRC +5.8%, GMED +5.5%, WTI +5.5%, GLMD +5.3%, IRTC +5.2%, LSI +5%, CF +4.7%, INAP +4.7%, VEON +4.6%, KW +4.5%, HIIQ +4.3%, INOV +4.2%, CENX +4.1%, DNOW +3.7%, TNK +3.6%, WIFI +3.4%, ZNGA +3.4%, BLDP +3.3%, CNO +3.2% (Bankers Life unit entered into agreement with Wilton Reassurance to reinsure block; expected to close no later than the end of 2018), GTES +3.2%, FIT +3%, MOD +2.9%, APTI +2.8%, GPN +2.8%, CTRE +2.6%, REGN +2.4%, TDOC +2.3%, CLX +2.3%, GEO +2.1%, CI +2%, HLF +1.8%, ESPR +1.7%, DRAD +1.5%, TSLX +1.4%, ARES +1.4%, TOO +1.2%, PF +1.2%, FOXF +1.1%, AKG +1%

Other news:

  • QTRH +27.8% (attributed to favorable patent decision in suit vs. Apple)
  • ETP +9.6% (Energy Transfer Equity to acquire Energy Transfer Partners in unit-for-unit simplification transaction)
  • DNLI +6.8% (announces 'positive' clinical results from Phase 1 LRRK2 inhibitor program for Parkinson's disease )
  • BCRX +3.3% (prices offering of 9,090,910 shares of its common stock at $5.50 per share)
  • HEAR +2.1% (following CNBC MadMoney mention)
  • CI +2% (after seeing late move higher on reports of a stake by activist Carl Icahn and his plans to vote against the Express Scripts (ESRX) merger)

Analyst comments:

  • RACE +3.4% (upgraded to Equal-Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley)

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

Gapping up:

  • QTRH +27.8%, DXCM +22.6%, STAA +19.1%, ESIO +15.2%, RUBI +13.3%, TROX +13.1%, HABT +12.5%, FTNT +9.4%, PS +8.6%, IRTC +8.2%, TSLA +8%, TK +7.7%, AGO +7.5%, DNLI +6.8%, INOV +6.5%, VNDA +6.5%, HUBG +6.5%, ETP +6.1%, NTR +5.9%, ATRC +5.8%, GMED +5.5%, WTI +5.5%, LSI +5%, CF +4.7%, KW +4.5%, HIIQ +4.3%, DNOW +3.7%, TNK +3.6%, WIFI +3.4%, ZNGA +3.4%, BLDP +3.3%, ZYNE +3.3%, GTES +3.2%, CENX +3.2%, FIT +3.2%, PANW +2.9%, MOD +2.9%, APTI +2.8%, CTRE +2.6%, HLF +2.6%, TDOC +2.3%, CLX +2.2%, HEAR +2.1%, CI +1.7%, CI +1.7%, DRAD +1.5%, TSLX +1.4%, EXEL +1.4%, ARES +1.4%, APA +1.2%, GPN +1.2%, TOO +1.2%, DWDP +1.1%, FOXF +1.1%, DWDP +1.1%, REGN +1.1%, MOS +0.9%

Gapping down:

  • RRGB -24.8%, EXAS -23%, AXGN -20.1%, IO -15.4%, MZOR -13.2%, TRIP -13.1%, ADMP -7.6%, RRD -7.5%, HUBS -7.5%, PPC -6.5%, LPSN -6.2%, FND -5.7%, TS -5.6%, MRC -5%, CTSH -4.9%, TTEK -4.8%, CCRN -4.4%, FEYE -4.1%, WYNN -4.1%, ARRS -4%, HFC -3.8%, TAHO -3.7%, WRK -3.7%, AR -3.3%, YUMC -3.3%, CLVS -3.3%, QRVO -3.3%, SQ -3.2%, CECO -2.9%, FMC -2.6%, DFRG -2.4%, EPAM -2.4%, EXK -2.4%, BLUE -2.3%, LPI -2.2%, MD -2.1%, MLCO -1.9%, OBE -1.9%, CXO -1.8%, CDXC -1.8%, APU -1.6%, CRUS -1.6%, XPO -1.4%, LHCG -1.1%, SRI -1.1%, PRU -1%, MRO -1%, GPOR -1%, FL -0.9%

*CISCO REPORTS INTENT TO BUY DUO SECURITY (private co.)

Cisco in advanced talks to buy Duo Security -sources - Reuters News

02-Aug-2018 13:22:53

By Liana B. Baker

Aug 2 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc CSCO.O is in advanced talks to acquire Duo Security, a venture capital-backed cyber security company, as it seeks to expand its offerings in cloud computing, according to people familiar with the matter.

The deal, which the sources said could reach $2 billion, would be the biggest acquisition for Cisco since its $3.7-billion purchase of business performance monitoring software company AppDynamics last year, and its largest in the cyber security sector since its $2.7-billion takeover of Sourcefire in 2013.

If negotiations are completed successfully, a deal between Cisco and Duo could be announced in the coming days, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential.

Cisco declined to comment while Duo did not respond to a request for comment.

Duo's platform allows users to verify their identity with a two-step authentication, Its investors include Index Ventures, Workday, Redpoint Ventures and True Ventures.

Cisco, the world’s largest networking gear maker, has been making efforts to transform itself into a software-focused company.

With its traditional business of making switches and routers struggling, Cisco has been focusing on high-growth areas such as security, the Internet of Things and cloud computing.