>>> What to look at today - 7th of March 2018

Asian equities declined with U.S. stock futures following theresignation of White House economic adviser Gary Cohn. The yen and Treasuries climbed as global trade-war concerns intensified. Stock indexes fluctuated before heading lower, while S&P 500 Index futures dropped over 1 percent. The yen climbed against the greenback and bond yields fell. The won rallied after North Korea indicated -- according to South Korea -- that it was open to giving up its nuclear weapons. The Australian dollar maintained a decline as economic growth data missed estimates.

Nikkei -0.77% HAng Seng -1.02% CSI -0.77% Shanghai -0.58% Shenzen -0.77%

Eur$ 1.2424 CNH 6.3195 CNY 6.3245 JPY 105.65 GBP 1.3897 CHF 0.9375 RUB 56.8966 WTI$

S&P -1.09% EuroStoxx -0.63% FTSE -0.64% Dax -0.71% SMI -0.75%

Macro :
- Optimism Among CFOs About U.S. Economy Advances to Record High
- Euroclear to Move Holding Company From London to Brussels: FT
- Cohn Resignation Is Worse Than Markets Seem to Think: Macro View

Keep an eye on :
- AC FP : Eurazeo Announces Successful Sale of Entire Stake in Accor
- AGFB BB : Agfa-Gevaert Full Year EPS Misses Lowest Estimate
- MT NA : Indian Steelmaker’s $6 Billion Sale Is Said to Face Fresh Delay
- ARAMCO IPO : FCA Is Said to Consider Requiring Larger Aramco Free Float: Sky
- AKTAV FH : Aktia Bank’s CEO Martin Backman to Step Down After One Year
- AUTN SW : Autoneum Full Year Dividend Per Share CHF6.50
- BNP FP : BNP Paribas CEO Bonnafe Bonus for 2017 EU1.58M, Down About 4%
- BOSN SW : Bossard Full Year Net Income CHF80.2 Mln
- BG US : Bunge Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT Set to $90
- CLI LN : CLS Holdings Full Year Profit After Tax GBP157.9 Mln
- CRG IM : Carige Rejects Mincione’s Request to Be Represented on Board
- CRBN NA : Corbion Full Year Revenue Misses Lowest Estimate
- DBK GY : Nippon Life Is Said to Plan Investment in Deutsche Bank’s DWS
- DPW GY : Deutsche Post Plans 9.5% Dividend Increase, Specifies 2020 Ebit
- ELIS FP : Elis FY Ebitda Meets Estimates; Co. Sees 2018 Ebitda Margin Up
- FCT IM : Fincantieri to Build Two More Cruise Vessels for Ponant
- GKN LN : GKN May be Cut to Junk by S&P on Melrose Hostile Takeover Bid
- HDG NA : Hunter Douglas Full Year Revenue $3.23 Bln
- LOOK LN : Lookers Full Year Revenue 4.7% Above Estimates
- NOVN VX : Novartis, Science 37 in Pact to Launch Up to 10 Research Studies
- PAGE LN : Pagegroup Full Year Revenue Meets Estimates
- PPB LN : Paddy Power Full Year Revenue Misses Lowest Estimate
- PWTN SW : Panalpina Full Year Adjusted Ebit 2.0% Below Estimates
- PUM GY : Puma SE Upgraded to Buy at Goldman; PT 420 Euros
- RAM PL : Euronext to Replace Novabase With F. Ramada in PSI20 Index
- RBS LN : NY:RBS to Pay $500m on RMBS Conduct Leading Up to Finl Crisis
- RTL LX : RTL FY Ebitda EU1.46b vs Est. EU1.44b
- SAN FP : Torrent Pharma Is Said to Plan EU2b Bid for Sanofi Unit: Mint
- SAS SS : SAS Proposes Carsten Dilling as New Chairman
- SCR FP : Scor Says It Placed $625M Deeply Subordinated Tier 1 Notes
- SIE GY : Siemens Health Unit IPO Covered on Base Deal Size: Terms
- SIK SW : SWH Requests Special Audit on Monika Ribar to AGM
- SIK SW : Sika Requests for Annual General Meeting of April 17, 2018
- SKG ID : Smurfit Downgraded at Goldman Following Surge After Rejected Bid
- TIT IM : Telecom Italia Full Year Net Income Misses Estimates
- TIT IM : Telecom Italia Board Approves Landline Network Spinoff
- YNAP IM : Yoox Net-A-Porter FY Adjusted Ebitda Misses Lowest Est.

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 7th of March 2018

>>> Up
*Alfa Laval Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse; PT 230 Kronor
* Bunge Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT Set to $90
* Gas Natural Upgraded to Buy at HSBC; PT 20.50 Euros
* Informa Upgraded to Add at Peel Hunt; PT 7.40 Pounds
* Puma SE Upgraded to Buy at Goldman; PT 420 Euros
* Saipem Upgraded to Hold at Fidentiis Equities
* Veolia Upgraded to Buy at SocGen; PT 23.50 Euros

>>> Down
* Ceconomy Downgraded to Underweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 8 Euros
* DIA Downgraded to Underperform at BPI; PT 3.80 Euros
* Diageo Downgraded to Neutral at Natixis
* Hunting Downgraded to Market Perform at Bernstein
* International Paper Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo; PT $60
* Lukoil GDRs Downgraded to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley; PT $69
* Netflix Downgraded to Hold at Stifel; PT $325
* Ontex Downgraded to Hold at Berenberg
* Smurfit Kappa Downgraded to Neutral at Goldman

>>> Initiation
* Derichebourg Rated New Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux; PT 9 Euros
* GEDI Gruppo Editoriale Rated New Outperform at Intermonte
* HanseYachts Rated New Buy at Berenberg; PT 11.70 Euros
* Legrand Downgraded to Neutral at Credit Suisse; PT 71 Euros
* Maisons du Monde Rated New Buy at IDMidcaps; PT 43 Euros
* Oriflame Rated New Buy at William O'Neil & Co Incorporated
* VolkerWessels Assumed at NIBC With Accumulate; PT 24.50 Euros

>>> Call

>>> Asian Update

Asia Market Update: Equity markets generally decline amid resignation of White House Advisor Cohn


-Fed’s Brainard suggests greater confidence in reaching inflation target; tailwinds could speed up rate hike pace (Note: Brainard is seen as dovish by some)
-Fed’s Brainard and Kaplan comment on possible trade impact
-AUD/JPY underperforms: Q4 GDP below ests
-RBA Gov Lowe reiterates there is no strong case for a near-term policy adjustment; likely that next RBA rate move will be up
-China PBoC conducts 1-year MLF facility at unchanged rate; skips daily OMO for third straight session
-China Finance Ministry official suggested drafting process has started for property tax bill
-Cold weather conditions in the US Northeast in focus: NY’s JFK to cancel ~250 flights on Wed
-BoJ Dep Gov Nominees continue testimonies
-India’s government starts to question banks on business man Nirav Modi amid fraudulent transactions scandal.

Australia/New Zealand
-ASX 200 opened -0.2%: closed: -1%
-ASX 200 Energy Index -1.4%, Financials -1.1%, Utilities -1%
-(AU) Australia Q4 GDP Q/Q: 0.4% v 0.5%e (slowest since Q1 2017); Y/Y: 2.4% v 2.5%e
-(AU) Australia Treasurer Morrison: Q4 GDP data shows Australia not immune to global influences; Net exports were the main drag on the data
-(AU) RBA Gov Lowe: Reiterates there is no strong case for a near-term policy adjustment; likely that next RBA rate move will be up - comments in Sydney
-(AU) Australia sells A$500M v A$500M indicated in 4.75% April 2027 bonds, avg yield: 2.7391%, bid to cover: 3.85x
-(AU) Australia PM Turnbull: Election to be held in H1 of 2019
-(NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q4 VOLUME OF ALL BUILDINGS Q/Q: 1.4% V 1.0%E

China/Hong Kong
-Shanghai opened flat, Hang Seng -0.6%
-Hang Seng Materials Index -2%, Energy -1.7%, Info Tech -0.9%, Financials -0.7%, Property/Construction -0.6%
-Shanghai Composite Property Sub-declines less than 1%
-(CN) PBOC CONDUCTS 1-YEAR CNY105.5B MEDIUM-TERM LENDING FACILITY (MLF) OPERATION: Interest rate unchanged at 3.25%
-(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips OMO for third straight session
-(CN) China Vice Finance Min: NPC and other departments are drafting the property tax bill; Will reasonably design property tax system
-(CN) China Feb New Loans may decline m/m to less than CNY1T compared to Jan record level of CNY2.90T (in-line with analyst views) - China Securities Journal
-(CN) China End 2017 Outstanding Government Debt CNY29.95T; Debt-to-GDP ratio 36.2% v 36.7% y/y – MOF
-(CN) China announces new rules related to equity stakes in insurers, to take effect on April 10th
-(CN) China: To release surveyed jobless rate data monthly from April
Looking Ahead: Looking Ahead: China FX reserves expected to be released during European session

Japan
-Nikkei 225 opened -0.7%; closed -0.8%
-TOPIX Iron & Steel Index -2.2%, Electric Appliances -1.1%
-(JP) BoJ Dep Gov Nominee Wakatabe: Won't automatically propose more easing, but does not exclude proposing extra easing
-(JP) BoJ Dep Gov Nominee Amamiya ('Mr BoJ'): Reiterates Japan economy making progress toward CPI goal
-(JP) Japan Feb Official Reserve Assets: $1.26T v $1.27T prior
-(JP) Ripple said to develop blockchain payment app with banks in Japan - US financial press
Looking Ahead: Looking Ahead: Japan Q4 GDP revision due for release on Thursday

Korea
-Kospi opened +0.1%
-Samsung Electronics rises over 2%
-(KR) North Korea said to be open to denuclearize if regime safety is guaranteed and not use any weapons against South Korea – financial press
-(KR) South Korea said to closely monitor for possible rise in FX volatility - South Korea Press
-(KR) South Korea parliament to hold hearing on Bank of Korea (BoK) Gov Lee on Wed, March 21st - South Korean Press
-(KR) US imposes new sanctions on North Korea in relation to the assassination of Kim Jong Nam; Kim Jong Nam was the half brother of North Korea Leader Kim Jong Un. - FT

Other Asia
-(TW) Taiwan’s Advanced Semiconductor Engineering [2311.TW] said to receive orders from Bitmain, says a Taiwanese press report

North America
-US equity markets closed mostly higher: Dow flat, S&P500 +0.3%, Nasdaq +0.6%, Russell 2000 +1%
-S&P500 Materials +1.1%; Utilities -1.3%
-(US) White House economic adviser Gary Cohn to resign; Expected to leave in next few weeks - NYT
-(US) Andrew Puzder said to be considered as replacement for Cohn, says US financial press; Separate report suggests Adviser Peter Navarro and Larry Kudlow are said to be the top two candidates to replace Cohn
-(US) President Trump said that he will be making a decision soon on the appointment of a new Chief Economic Advisor, says 'many' people want the job.
-(US) Fed Brainard (voter): Has greater confidence Fed to achieve 2% inflation target; tailwinds could speed up pace of rate hikes
-(US) Fed's Kaplan (non-voter, dove): Trade discussion has not changed my outlook; Reiterates expects Fed to hike three times this year and should get started soon
-(US) House Speaker Ryan: Section 232 protocol is a little broad; urges administration to make potential tariffs narrower
-(US) Senate Maj Leader McConnell (R-KY): there is a lot of concern among GOP Senate caucus that steel/aluminum tariffs could spark trade war
-(US) OPEC Sec Gen Barkindo: supply is good but demand is even more robust - CNBC interview
-(US) Weekly API Oil Inventories: Crude: +5.7M v 0.9M prior
Looking ahead: US Feb ADP Nonfarm Employment change expected to be released, along with the Bank of Canada (BoC) interest rate decision and weekly US DOE Crude Oil Inventories

Europe
-(UK) EU internal report argues that UK PM May is 'double cherry-picking' on Brexit and calls her model unworkable; Report dismissed May’s Brexit speech as "being more about Conservative Party management than putting forward sensible solutions on trade" - UK press
-Telecom Italia [TIT.IT]: Reports Q4 Rev €5.1B v €5.1B y/y
Looking Ahead: UK Annual Budget expected to be released


***Levels as of 01:00ET***
- Hang Seng -0.9%; Shanghai Composite -0.2%; Kospi -0.2%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 -1.3%; Nasdaq100 -1.2%, Dax-1.1 %; FTSE100 -0.8%
- EUR 1.2402-1.2430 ; JPY 105.45-106.23; AUD 0.7771-0.7831 ;NZD 0.7275-0.7302
- Feb Gold flat at $1,334/oz; Feb Crude Oil -0.8% at $62.09/brl; Mar Copper -0.4% at 3.145$/lb

>>> US After Hours Summary -- Futures sharply lower on Gary Cohn resig


After Hours Summary -- Futures sharply lower on Gary Cohn resignation news -- MED +11%, ADSK +8%, HRB +6% higher, while AVAV / RUN / CVNA -9% following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: MED +11.1%, ADSK +8%, HRB +5.7%, KFY +5%, BOJA +4.9%, PFMT +4.8%, TTPH +4.7%, PTCT +4.3%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: FORM +6.3% (will replace Calgon Carbon in the S&P SmallCap 600), CLSD +3.1% (contuned strength; also announced plans for $75 mln common stock offering), EVHC +0.7% (following late spike on reports of potential UnitedHealth interest in ambulatory unit), PENN +0.6% (light volume; Pres/COO disclosed purchase of 10560 shares worth ~$274.3K)

Steel/aluminum names are higher on Cohn news: X +2.9%, AKS +1.2%, CENX +1.2%, NUE +1.1%

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: AVAV -9.3%, RUN -9.2%, CVNA -8.7%, SPPI -7.6%, TRXC -6.9%, ABM -6.8%, TTOO -6.3% (also discusses market clearance of the T2Bacteria Panel), ROST -6.1% (also increases stock buyback authorization to $1.075 bln; increases dividend by 41%), EDIT -5.7%, URBN -4%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: ANTH -6.7% (files for $100 mln mixed securities shelf offering ), MDLZ -3.4% (attributed to block trade pricing), BRS -2.7% (indicated lower in after hours on block trade pricing), TLND -2.6% (commences public offering of 3,916,474 American Depositary Shares by selling shareholders), ANF -2.1% (following URBN results and ahead of its own earnings release), ATH -1.4% (announces secondary offering of its Class A common shares by selling shareholders), PK -1% (prices upsized secondary offering), DUK -0.6% (Duke Energy commences a registered public offering of 18.5 million shares of its common stock in connection with forward sale agreements), TJX -0.5% (following ROST results)

>>> US Close Dow +0.04% S&P +0.26% Nasdaq +0.56% Russell +1.04%


Closing Market Summary: Stocks Notch Third Straight Win, But Struggle For Direction

Stocks finished modestly higher on Tuesday, notching their third consecutive victory, following a hard-fought battle between the bulls and the bears. The S&P 500 advanced 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat. The small-cap Russell 2000 outperformed, rallying 1.0%.

Investors continued weighing the possibility of a trade war on Tuesday, but pushback from some senior Republicans regarding tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which President Trump pledged to implement last Thursday, helped ease concerns. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) encouraged the White House to narrow the focus of its plan, saying the current proposal--a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on imported aluminum--is too broad and leaves the U.S. open to retaliation.

Meanwhile, on the Korean Peninsula, reports indicated that North Korea and South Korea will hold their first summit in more than a decade in late April. North Korea is also reportedly open to discussing the end of its nuclear weapons program as long as the ruling regime is guaranteed security in return. However, investors remained skeptical as North Korea has a poor track record of keeping its promises.

U.S. equities opened Tuesday's session modestly higher following a positive overnight performance from overseas markets, but struggled to find sturdy ground. The S&P 500 drifted near its unchanged mark throughout the session (2721)--adding no more than 0.4% and limiting its loss to 0.4%--as it eyed its 50-day simple moving average (2738) off in the distance. The benchmark index never actually challenged the key technical level, backing away each time it looked as if it might make a run.

Nine of eleven S&P 500 sectors finished the session in positive territory, with the lightly-weighted materials space (+1.1%) leading the charge. The consumer discretionary sector (+0.7%) also outperformed despite a 4.5% decline in the shares of Target (TGT 71.79, -3.35). The retailer followed up a slightly disappointing fourth quarter earnings report with news that it will raise its minimum wage to $12 an hour (from $11) this spring and hopes to reach $15 an hour by 2020.

On the flip side, the utilities sector (-1.4%) finished at the bottom of the sector standings, giving back about three quarters of its Monday advance. The heavily-weighted health care sector also underperformed, closing with a loss of 0.1%.

Outside of the equity market, U.S. Treasuries finished Tuesday flat, leaving the benchmark 10-yr yield at 2.88%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index closed below 90.00 for the first time in a week, dropping 0.4% to 89.57, and West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished flat at a price of $62.60 per barrel.

Investors received just one economic report on Tuesday, January Factory Orders, which showed a larger-than-expected decline (-1.4% actual vs -1.3% consensus). The key takeaway from the report is that it wasn't so much a reflection of a business downturn as it was a case of some understandable softness on the back of an extended pickup in new order activity.

  • Nasdaq Composite: +6.8% YTD
  • S&P 500: +2.0% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.7% YTD
  • Russell 2000: +1.7% YTD