>>> Galp Energia: Amorim Energia denies report to offload 33% stake - report (tr

Galp Energia: Amorim Energia denies report to offload 33% stake - report (translated)
28 FEB 2018
Amorim Energia says it has no intention to sell its 33% stake in Galp Energia [ELI:GALP] valued at around EUR 3.8bn, reported Diario de Noticias. An Amorim Energia source told the Lisbon paper's business desk a Tuesday report in Spanish business paper El Confidencial that a one-third Galp stake disposal was on the cards was incorrect.
Amorim Energia plans to remain a long-term Galp investor, the same source said. Isabel dos Santos, the Angolan business magnate, has also denied the Spanish media report that she plans to exit Galp, where she has an indirect stake via holding company Esperaza.
Sonangol, the Angolan state oil group which owns 45% of Amorim Energia in partnerhsip with dos Santos' Esperaza, also denied reports it was planning to offload its Galp shares, the item said.

>>> Asian Update

Asia Market Update: US and China exchange barbs on trade; China PMI falls on reduced holiday activity


***Headlines/EconomicData***
General Trend:
-Asian equity markets and financials generally track declines in the US
-Real Estate stocks decline after rise in US Treasury yields
- Hong Kong Exchanges [388.HK] FY17 results beat ests
-Asian currencies trade generally weaker after Tuesday’s gains in the US dollar
-China says Feb PMIs weighed down by Lunar New Year Holiday: Manufacturing PMI hits lowest since July 2016 and has biggest m/m drop in 6-years
-Japan Jan prelim industrial production has largest m/m decline since 2011
-BoJ trims purchases of over 25-year JGBs in daily operation
-Hong Kong issues initial 2018 GDP growth and inflation forecasts
- Q4 Capex data due out of Japan and Australia on Thursday

Japan
-Nikkei 225 opened -0.4%; closed -1.4%
- TOPIX Iron & Steel Index -2.3%, Real Estate -1.5%, Securities -1%
- Japanese mega banks trade broadly lower, track earlier declines in US financial sector
- Fast Retailing [9983.JP] Declines over 1% (scheduled to report Feb sales on Friday, March 2nd)
- (JP) JAPAN JAN PRELIM INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: -6.6% V -4.0%E; Y/Y: 2.7% V 5.3%E
- (JP) JAPAN JAN RETAIL SALES M/M: -1.8% V -0.6%E;RETAIL TRADE Y/Y: 1.6% V 2.5%E
- (JP) Japan Jan Housing Starts Y/Y: -13.2% v -4.7%e; Construction Orders Y/Y: +0.9% v -8.1% prior
-(JP) BOJ announcement related to daily bond buying operation: Reduces buying in over 25-year JGBs
-(JP) Japan FY18 general budget bill is expected to pass the lower house as early as today, which would secure legislation by the end of the current fiscal year ending March
-(JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) Gov Kuroda: Reiterates BOJ easing is to reach price target
Looking Ahead: Japan Q4 Capex data due for release on Thursday
- (JP) BoJ Gov Kuroda said to give speech in the lower house on Friday March 2nd, which is expected to focus on his reappointment –Japanese Press

Korea
-Kospi opened -0.4%
- (KR) South Korea Mar Business Manufacturing Survey: 82 v 77 prior; Non-Manufacturing Survey: 82 v 78 prior
-(KR) According to analysts Bank of Korea (BOK) is expected to raise rates in May or July - Korean press


China/Hong Kong
-Hang Seng opened -0.7%, Shanghai Composite -0.9%
- Hang Seng Energy Index -2.9%, Information Tech -2.5%, Financials-1.7%, Services -1.5%, Property/Construction -1.6%
- Shanghai Composite Property index moves between gains and losses
- (CN) US President Trump:China and others take advantage of US in trade - China Daily
-(CN) China Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM): China will take necessary measures to protect legal (trade) rights
- (CN) China planning to reduce itsannual budget-deficit target to 2.9% of GDP, compared to the 3% set in the pasttwo years - financial press
- (CN) CHINA FEB GOVT OFFICIAL MANUFACTURING PMI:50.3 V 51.1E (lowest level since July 2016); NON-MANUFACTURING PMI: 54.4 V 55.0E (4-month low),Composite PMI: 52.9 v 54.6 prior
-(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips v skips prior injection of reverse repo operations (2nd consecutive skip)
-USD/CNY (CN) PBOC SETS YUAN REFERENCE RATE AT 6.3294 V 6.3146 PRIOR
-(CN) China said to cut gasoline and diesel prices for March
-(HK) Hong Kong Q4 GDP q/q: 0.8% v 0.7%e; 2017 GDP Y/Y: 3.8% v 3.7%e
-(HK) Hong Kong Financial Sec Chan: Gives initial 2018 outlook: GDP 3-4%; CPI 2.2%, underlying CPI 2.5% - budget address
-(CN) China Finance Ministry (MOF) sells 5-year bonds: avg yield 3.6566% v 3.69%e; bid to cover 3.13x
- China electric vehicle (EV) firm Nio said to hire bankers for planned 2018 IPO in the US, to raise up to $2.0B - financial press
Looking ahead: China Feb Caixin Manufacturing PMI due for release on Thursday


Australia/New Zealand
-ASX 200 opened -0.2%; closed -0.7%
- ASX 200 REIT Index -1.5%, Telecom -2.6%, Consumer Discretionary -1%, Resources -1.1%, Financials -0.6%
- Retailer Harvey Norman [HVN.AU] declines over 12% as H1 profits declined and revenues missed ests
-Virgin Australia, VAH.AU Reports H1 (A$) underlyingpretax 102.5M v 107Me; Rev 2.79B v 2.8Be; Confirms that there is no intentionto privatize the company, announces share buyback priced at A$0.30/share
-(AU) Australia Treasury Sec Fraser: Wage growth is starting to lift, a sharpcorrection in housing is not likely
-(NZ) RBNZ Deputy Gov Bascand: RBNZ initiatives will strengthen disclosureregime; insurance sector can improve disclosure performance (update)
-(AU) Australia sells A$1.0B v A$1.0B indicated in 2.25% Nov 21, 2022 bonds, avgyield 2.3582% v 2.2218% prior, bid to cover 4.10x v 3.53x prior
- (AU) Australia Jan Private Sector Credit M/M:+0.3% v 0.4%e; Private Sector Credit Y/Y: 4.9% v 5.0%e
- Pilbara Minerals, PLS.AU Enters into broad-based strategic relationship POSCO; includes long-term offtake and A$79.6M equity investment in Pilbara at A$0.97/shr
-(AU) NAB now sees RBA raising rates one time by 25bps in Q4 2018 (prior view of 2 rate hikes)
Looking Ahead: New Zealand Q4 Terms of Trade due for release on Thursday, along with Australia Q4 Capex

Other Asia
- (TH) Bank of Thailand Feb Policy Meeting Minutes: Reiterates policy should remain accommodative; Volatile movements are expected for Baht currency (THB)
- (ID) Indonesia Central Bank (BI): Have been intervening in the market since this morning; Rupiah has weakened on Fed Powell's hawkish comments
- (IN) India Feb PMI Manufacturing: 52.1 v 52.4 prior (7th month of expansion)
- State Bank of India [SBIN.IN]: Raises interest rates on term deposits below INR10M by 10-50bps; for bulk deposits+25-75bps
Looking ahead: India Q4 GDP due later today

North America
- US equity markets ended broadly lower: Dow -1.2%, S&P500 -1.3%, Nasdaq -1.2%, Russell 2000 -1.5%
- S&P500 Real Estate -2.1%, Consumer Discretionary -2.1%
- (US) Fed Chair Powell: Developments since the Dec meeting have increased his confidence that inflation is moving towards target; Further gradual increases in the federal funds rate will best promote attainment of both of our objectives;policy will remain data dependent
- (CA) Canada Fin Min Morneau: Have budget room for all eventualities, interest rates in Canada are still accommodative
- (US) OPEC reportedly schedules meeting with US shale producers in Houston next Monday – press
- (US) Weekly API Oil Inventories: Crude: +0.9M v-0.9M prior
Looking Ahead: US Q4 GDP revision due for release , along with Q4 Consumer Spending and Feb Chicago PMI, Weekly DoE Crude Oil Inventories

Europe
- (UK) Feb Lloyds BusinessBarometer: 33 v 35 prior
-(UK) Feb BRC Shop Price Index Y/Y: -0.8% v -0.6%e
Looking Ahead: Euro Zone Prelim Feb CPI due for release

***Levels as of 01:00ET***
- Nikkei225 -1.4%, Hang Seng -1.4%; Shanghai Composite -0.7%; ASX200 -0.7%, Kospi -1.1%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.1%; Nasdaq100 -0.1%,Dax -0.1%; FTSE100 -0.2%
- EUR 1.2215-1.2239; JPY107.53-107.07; AUD 0.7799-0.7781;NZD 0.7242-0.7220
- Apr Gold 0.0% at $1,318/oz; Apr Crude Oil -0.6% at $62.66/brl; May Copper -0.3% at $3.17/lb

>>> US Close Dow -1.16% S&P -1.27% NAsdaq -1.23% Russell -1.47%

Closing Market Summary: Wall Street Gives Back Monday's Gains As Powell Testifies on Capitol Hill

Equities dropped on Tuesday, giving back all of their Monday gains, as new Fed Chairman Jerome Powell delivered his first semiannual testimony on Capitol Hill. The S&P 500 tumbled 1.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.2%. The major averages finished at their worst marks of the day following a sharp sell off in the final minutes. Meanwhile, the small-cap Russell 2000 underperformed with a loss of 1.5%, returning to its flat line for the year.

Fed Chairman Powell's prepared remarks, which were released before the opening bell, didn't contain any surprises. Mr. Powell stayed largely in line with his predecessor Janet Yellen, saying that he expects further gradual rate increases based on the economic outlook and that risks to the economy are roughly balanced.

Wall Street opened little changed following the release of Mr. Powell's prepared statement, then started ticking higher as he began fielding questions from the House Financial Services Committee. However, stocks dove into negative territory after Mr. Powell said his economic projections have increased since the December FOMC meeting, prompting investors to adjust their rate-hike expectations.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the market is still projecting three rate hikes for 2018, but the probability of a fourth rate hike increased to 33.1% from 24.4% on Monday. Meanwhile, the probability of a rate hike at the March FOMC meeting increased to 87.4% from 78.9% on Monday.

U.S. Treasuries moved lower in tandem with the equity market following Mr. Powell's aforementioned comment, pushing yields back towards the multi-year highs they hit last week. The 2-yr yield ended three basis points higher at 2.26%, one basis point below last Wednesday's nine-year high, while the benchmark 10-yr yield climbed five basis points to 2.91%, which is four basis points below the four-year high it hit last Wednesday.

The rise in yields helped the S&P 500's financial sector keep ahead of the broader market on Tuesday, but the group still finished with a loss of 0.9%. The top-weighted technology sector also outperformed with a loss of 0.9%, but the nine remaining groups finished with losses between 1.0% and 2.2%.

The consumer discretionary sector (-2.1%) was among the weakest groups, with Comcast (CMCSA 36.66, -2.92) dropping 7.4% to a three-month low after upping a bid from 21st Century Fox (FOXA 37.63, -1.18) to $31 billion for a large stake in British pay-television broadcaster Sky. Fox already owns 39% of Sky, but was looking to acquire the remaining stake. The news also weighed on Dow component Walt Disney (DIS 104.87, -4.94), which agreed to buy a big chunk of assets from Fox, including its stake in Sky. Fox and Disney lost 3.0% and 4.5%, respectively, on Tuesday.

Elsewhere within the consumer discretionary space, Macy's (M 28.40, +3.5) rallied 3.5%, hitting a 10-month high, after beating earnings estimates for the fourth quarter and issuing above-consensus guidance for fiscal year 2019. Conversely, AutoZone (AZO 654.47, -81.43) dropped 11.1% after missing quarterly profit estimates.

Overseas, equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Tuesday on a mixed note, with Japan's Nikkei (+1.1%) showing relative strength, while the major European bourses ended a tick lower. The U.S. Dollar Index jumped 0.6% to 90.33, hitting its best level since February 9, with the greenback adding 0.7% against the euro (1.2232) and 0.4% against the Japanese yen (107.37).

Investors received several economic reports on Tuesday, including Durable Orders for January, the Consumer Confidence Index for February, International Trade in Goods for January, the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index for December, and the FHFA Housing Price Index for December:

  • January durable goods orders fell 3.7%, which is more than the 2.0% decrease expected by the consensus. The prior month's reading was revised to +2.6% (from +2.9%). Excluding transportation, durable orders decreased 0.3% (consensus +0.5%) to follow the prior month's revised increase of 0.7% (from +0.6%).
    • The key takeaway from the report is that there wasn't a lot of carryover order momentum from December, suggesting first quarter activity is proceeding at a slower pace.
  • The consumer confidence reading for February increased to 130.8 (consensus 126.5) from the prior month's revised reading of 124.3 (from 125.4).
    • The key takeaway from the report is that consumers are feeling more upbeat about current conditions, led by attitudes pertaining to business and labor market conditions.
  • The Advance report for International Trade in Goods for January showed a deficit of $74.4 billion (consensus -$72.2 billion), up from a revised deficit of $72.3 billion in December (from -$71.6 billion).
  • The Case-Shiller 20-city Index increased 6.3% in December (consensus +6.4%), while the November increase was left unrevised at 6.4%.
  • The FHFA Housing Price Index rose 0.3% in December (consensus +0.4%), while the November increase was revised to 0.5% from 0.4%.

On Wednesday, investors will receive another sizable batch of economic data: the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index will be released at 7:00 AM ET, the second estimate of fourth quarter GDP (consensus +2.5%) will be released at 8:30 AM ET, the Chicago PMI for February (consensus 64.5) will be released at 9:45 AM ET, and Pending Home Sales for January (consensus +0.4%) will be released at 10:00 AM ET.

  • Nasdaq Composite: +6.2% YTD
  • S&P 500: +2.6% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: +2.8% YTD
  • Russell 2000: +0.1% YTD

TechCrunch : These will be the first cities getting 5G from Sprint and T-Mobile

These will be the first cities getting 5G from Sprint and T-Mobile
Posted 1 hour ago by Greg Kumparak (@grg)
Next Story
Just last week, AT&T announced the first handful of cities where it’ll roll out its 5G network later this year. Today at Mobile World Congress, T-Mobile and Sprint did the same.
Sprint’s first 5G networks will go live in Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Washington, DC and Houston.
T-Mobile will fire up 5G in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Dallas first, promising to have it up and running in 30 cities total by the end of the year.

So what does this mean for you? Right now… not much. Eventually, 5G will mean waaaaay faster speeds on your various compatible smart devices. How fast, exactly, is still sort of up in the air as telecoms groups nail down and finalize the standards — but it’s fast. Companies have already demonstrated connections upwards of 500 megabytes (not megabits) per second.
The catch: Even if you live in any of the aforementioned cities, you’ll need a 5G-compatible phone to get on that network… and, well, those won’t be available until next year.

>>> US Gapping Down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:

  • NTRI -26.7%, CRZO -16.9%, VERI -13.7%, FIT -12.3%, LNTH -9.0%,  AMAG -5.3%, FMS -4.2%, PRGO -3.9%, EXEL -3.5%,  AZO -3.5%, CRI -0.6%.

Other news:

  • NSPR -22.6% (Announces pricing of 1 mln shares of common stock at $3.00/share; Announced proposed public offering of common stock pursuant to S-3 declared effective on February 23; Company and the Series D Investor entered into a waiver agreement on Feb 26),
  • TYME -17.5% (commences underwritten public offering of up to 12 million shares of its common stock),
  • SN -1.8% (Sanchez Energy ticking higher after announcing will pay dividends on Series A and B Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock in cash -previously paid in common stock),
  • SRNE -5.1% (Concludes that the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 should no longer be relied upon),
  • WTW -1.4% (following NTRI results),
  • ZSAN -1% (after 70%+ move higher on the day),
  • PFE -0.7% (files mixed securities shelf offering),
  • JPM -0.6% (Following release of Investor Day presentation; Presentation underway).

Analyst comments:

  • NTRI -26.7% (Target lowered to $52 at B. Riley FBR, Inc. following earnings/guidance),
  • AKCA -20.3% (Multiple downgrades),
  • VERI -15% (Target lowered to $10 at B. Riley FBR, Inc. on lower ests),
  • CRZO -14.4% (Multiple downgrades),
  • NGVT -1.3% (Downgraded to Hold from Buy at Loop Capital).