>>> What to look at today - 27th of Sept. 2017

Dow -0.05% S&P +0.01% Nasdaq +0.15% Russell +0.34%
US Market Closed mixed again on tue. Tech Rebound with AAPL +1.7%. NVIDIA was strong early following news that it will provide GPU hardware to several Chinese tech giants, but weakened throughout the day & hit a new session low in the late afternoon following a report that Tesla will use Intel technology for infotainment instead of NVIDIA. Fed Chair Janet Yellen spoke at a NABE meeting in Cleveland on Tuesday, defending a gradual path of rate hikes despite continued uncertainty in the area of inflation. Her comments did not move either the stock market or the Treasury market, which declined modestly, sending yields slightly higher. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) confirmed that the Senate will not vote on the Cassidy-Graham health care bill as the piece of legislation failed to gain enough support within the GOP. Lawmakers will table the health care reform effort for now and return their attention to tax reform. US After Hours, MU +4%, KRNT -21%, NKE -3% following earnings/guidance, KEM +4.4% to join S&P SmallCap 600. Asian Market opened mixed, China electric vehicle names were higher on expected policy guidelines in October. Japan markets were notably weaker with more than 120 stocks on Nikkei225 and 1,100 on the Topix trading ex-dividend. USD Weakened after Yellen, Us tax framework of reform was leaked in the press.

Nikkei -0.34% Hang Seng +0.40% CSI +0.23% Shanghai +0.12% Shenzen +0.76%

Eur$ 1.1773 CNH 6.6312 CNY 6.6397 JPY 112.46 GBP 1.3413 CHF 0.9717 RUB 57.8725 WTI$ 52.23 +0.66%

S&P +0.08% EuroStoxx +0.28% FTSE +0.15% DAX +0.30% SMI +0.21%

Macro :
- Louis Dreyfus’s $1.4 Billion Commodity Hedge Fund to Shut
- Reaction to Macron’s Europe Speech Says Much About EU Divisions
- Whatever Happened to ’Don’t Fight the Fed?’: Macro View

Keep an eye on :
- ABE SM : Atlantia mulling short offer period for Abertis - sources
- AC FP ; Paris Wants ’Significant’ Cut in AirBnB Renting: Europe1
- ADS GY : Nike Sinks as 1Q Revenue Hurt by Declines in N. America, Margin
- AF FP : Air France’s Transavia France to Be Profitable 2017: Tribune
- AF FP : Air France to Stick With A380s, Will Install New Cabins: Echos
- ARYN VX : Aryzta confirms looking to sell 49% Picard Surgeles stake but needs approval from Lion Capital
- EN FP : France Won’t Exercise Option to Buy Alstom Stake From Bouygues
- CPR PL : Cimpor Says Regulator Approves Plan to Take Company Private
- CDI FP : Dior Buyers Responding to Chiuri Twist on Brand Spirit, CEO Says
- EIT IM : EI Towers Signs Loan Agreement With Banks for Up to EU270m
- ERICB SS : Ericsson May Scrap System of Having Two Deputy Chairmen, DI Says
- EI FP : Essilor, Luxottica Confident of ‘Timely’ Completion of Review
- FORTUM FH : Fortum CEO Lundmark Rules Out Offering More for Uniper Shares
- DYS LN : Dyson to Invest GBP1b Building ‘Radical’ Electric Car
- MS IM : Berlusconi’s Mediaset 2Q Revenue EU956.4M vs Est EU950.3M
- MU US : Micron 1Q Adjusted EPS View Beats Est.; Shares Rise 3.8%
- EGP PL : Mota-Engil Says It Won Contracts in Africa Worth $520m
- MUV2 GY : Munich Re Is Said to Sell Ergo Leben, Victoria Leben: SZ
- NVDA US : Tesla Is Said to Shift to Intel From Nvidia for Infotainment
- ORP FP : Orpea 1H Ebitda Climbs 17%; Co. Repeats Outlook for FY Revenue
- PRS SM : Prisa Creditors Hire KPMG to Review Accounts: Confidencial
- SIE GY : Siemens Sees Alstom Deal EPS Accretive After Two Years
- SNG GY : Singulus Cuts Sales, Profit Forecast for 2017 --> -6%
- SYNN VX : Syngenta Said to Pay More Than $1.4b in Corn Settlement
- UN01 GY : Fortum Agrees to Buy Eon Uniper Stake, Offer EU22/Shr for Rest
- WIX US : Wix.com confirms it integrated with photos app in macOS High Sierra

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgardes & Doengrades - 27th of Sept. 2017

>>> Up
* ABC arbitrage Raised to Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux, PT EU7
* Aena Raised to Overweight at Barclays, PT EU170
* Barratt Raised to Add at Peel Hunt
* BMW Raised to Outperform at MainFirst, PT EU100
* Brenntag Raised to Buy at Baader-Helvea, PT EU56
* Bovis Homes Raised to Add at Peel Hunt
* Countryside Raised to Buy at Peel Hunt
* Crest Nicholson Raised to Buy at Peel Hunt
* Darden Raised to Outperform at Baird, PT $94
* Hannover Re Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan, PT EU108
* Mapfre Raised to Outperform at BBVA, PT EU3
* RBS Raised to Buy at Jefferies, PT 306p
* Taylor Wimpey Raised to Add at Peel Hunt
* Telefonica Raised to Buy at Berenberg
* Thule Raised to Buy at Jefferies, PT SEK200

>>> Down
* ACS Cut to Hold at Berenberg
* Aena Cut to Hold at Santander, PT EU183
* Aena Cut to Reduce at HSBC, PT EU130
* Axfood Cut to Sell at SEB Equities
* BIC Cut to Add at AlphaValue
* Electrolux Cut to Neutral at Goldman, PT SEK290
* Ica Cut to Sell at SEB Equities
* Pearson Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank
* Pearson Raised to Outperform at Exane
* SSP Cut to Hold at HSBC, PT GBP5.40

>>> Initiation
* CRH New Buy at Jefferies, PT EU36
* HeidelbergCement New Buy at Jefferies, PT EU98
* LafargeHolcim New Hold at Jefferies, PT CHF63
* Time out Group New Buy at Berenberg, PT 200p
* Zealand Pharma New Buy at Goldman, PT DKK155

>>> Call

>>> Asian Update

Asia Mid-Session Market Update: Yellen spurs hopes of Dec Fed hike, USD rises; Large number of Japan names trade ex-dividend

***Asia Summary***
- Asian equity markets opened mixed, China electric vehicle names were higher on expected policy guidelines in October. Japan markets were notably weaker with more than 120 stocks on Nikkei225 and 1,100 on the Topix trading ex-dividend. Regional currencies weakened against the dollar, which extended gains to a 3rd day after Fed Chair Yellen boosted expectations for an interest rate increase in December. US financial press leaked what is said to be Trump’s tax framework, which will cap corporate tax rate at 20% (from 35%) and have a 35% individual tax rate that has option to go higher based on what Senate wants. PBOC skipped OMO with the onshore yuan strengthening for the first time in three sessions after PBOC set
reference rate higher.

***Key economic data***
- (NZ) New Zealand Q3 Employment Confidence Index: 113.8 v 113.4 prior (highest since 2008)
- (CN) CHINA AUG INDUSTRIAL PROFITS Y/Y: 24.0% V 16.5% PRIOR

***Speakers and Press***
China/Hong Kong
- (US) Commerce Sec Ross: US wants better physical access to China, China needs to respect IP rights
- (CN) China NDRC fines 18 PVC companies for monopoly
- (CN) Beijing city to release guidelines in Oct. on new-energy vehicle components, batteries and supporting facilities to boost development of the industry - Chinese press
- (CN) China Beige Book International (CBB): economy may be faring well this year but 2018 is shaping up to be less positive, with progress on reducing debt and industrial capacity proving elusive

Korea
- (US) Pres Trump: we are totally prepared for North Korea military option if we have to resort to that; the North Korean Leader is acting very badly - joint press conf with Spain PM Rajoy (US session)
- (KR) US Treasury Dept announces new sanctions on North Korean banks and individuals

Japan
- (JP) Nikkei225 more than 120 stocks will trad ex-dividend today and over 1,000 in Topix

New Zealand/Australia
- (NZ) New Zealand First Party Leader Peters: Will wait until special votes are in on Oct 7th before deciding on what party to support, possible will talk to Labour Party or National Party before the 7th
- (AU) Australia PM Turnbull: Gas industry executives have agreed to 2-yr supply deal for enough gas for Australia’s domestic market, govt won’t have to impose LNG export curbs for 2018 - Sky

***Asian Equity Indices/Futures (00:00ET)***
- Nikkei -0.4%, Hang Seng +0.5%; Shanghai Composite +0.0%, ASX200 -0.3%, Kospi -0.0%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.1%; Nasdaq100 +0.1%, Dax +0.0%, FTSE100 -0.1%

***FX ranges/Commodities/Fixed Income (00:00ET)***
- EUR 1.1795-1.1776; JPY 112.54-112.23; AUD 0.7888-0.7871;NZD 0.7216-0.7187
- Dec Gold -0.3% at $1,297/oz; Nov Crude Oil +0.5% at $52.13/brl; Dec Copper +0.4% at $2.93/lb
- GLD SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings +0.8% t0 862.6 metric tonnes
- (AU) Australia buys back A$700M in March and Oct 2019 bonds; March weighted avg yield 1.8099%; Oct weighted avg yield 1.9464%
- (AU) Australia sells A$700M in 2027 bonds, avg yield 2.7834%, bid to cover 4.34x
- (CN) PBOC OMO: skips v injected CNY50B in 14 and 28-day reverse repo prior; drains net CNY40B v CNY80B prior
- USD/CNY (CN) China PBOC sets yuan reference rate at 6.6192 v 6.6076 prior (2nd consecutive weaker setting, weakest since Aug 29th)


***Equities notable movers***
Australia/New Zealand
- CDU.AU Enters into copper concentrate sales agreement with Mitsui; +7.4%
- YAL.AU Exercises option to acquire Mitsubishi's 28.9% stake in Warkworth for $230M; -4.5%
- MYR.AU Said that major holder Solomon Lew hopes to either buy the company at an opportunistic price or that someone else will. – Australian; +2.8%

Singapore
- MAND.SG Bids for Excelsior did not meet expectations, continues to review all options; -31.7%

Hong Kong/China
- 317.HK Strength attributed to parent China State Shipbuilding Corporation (600150.CN) suspended due to significant transaction/possible restructuring; +13.4%

>>> US After Hours Summary: MU +4%, KRNT -21%, NKE -3% following earni


After Hours Summary: MU +4%, KRNT -21%, NKE -3% following earnings/guidance, KEM +4.4% to join S&P SmallCap 600

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: MU +3.9%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: AVGR +128.6% (confirms CE Marking approval for treating in-stent restenosis with the Pantheris Lumivascular atherectomy system), CALI +13.7% (entered into a debt exchange agreement), KEM +4.4% (KEMET will replace Astoria Financial in the S&P SmallCap 600), ZSAN +3.8% (received official written notification of USPTO regarding patent application 15/438,455 'Method of rapidly achieving therapeutic concentrations of triptans for treatment of migraines'), SIX +3.4% (Six Flags will replace PAREXEL in the S&P MidCap 400), EDIT +3.2% (EMA granted Orphan Medicinal Product designation to EDIT-101, a pre-clinical, CRISPR-based medicinal product to treat Leber Congenital Amaurosis type 10), TWTR +1.6% (to revise character limit among other items), RH +1.5% (Chairman/CEO discloses the purchase of 13,959 shares - transaction dates today), STL +1% (Sterling Bancorp will replace Oil States International in the S&P MidCap 400), JD +0.9% (initiated with Outperform at Wells Fargo), TMUS +0.6% (to acquire the remaining interest of Iowa Wireless from Aureon)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: KRNT -20.7%, NKE -3%,

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: WLKP -8.7% (commence public offering of 4,500,000 common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership; acquires additional 5.0% limited partner interest in Westlake Chemical OpCo LP for approximately $229.2 million), ITCI -7.2% (commences an underwritten public offering of $150 mln of shares of its common stock), ASND -4.3% (commences public offering of $125 mln of American Depositary Shares, each of which represents one ordinary share of Ascendis), SONC -4% (Krebs report of security breach)

>>> Wix.com confirms it integrated with photos app in macOS High Sierra (67.35

Wix.com confirms it integrated with photos app in macOS High Sierra
For the first time, the Apple Photos app supports third-party project extensions to give users access to printing and publishing services from right within the Photos app. Wix, as one of these first third-party Project Extensions available for Photos, allows Mac users to create a Wix online photo album directly within the Apple Photos app.

>>> Dow -0.05% S&P +0.01% Nasdaq +0.15% Russell +0.34%

Closing Market Summary: Technology Bounces Back Modestly; Broader Market Settles Flat

Equities finished mixed on Tuesday as the broader market largely ignored a modest bounce-back performance from the technology sector (+0.4%)--which moved sharply lower on Monday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.2%, the S&P 500 finished just a tick above its flat line, and the Dow slipped 0.1%.The Russell 2000 (+0.3%) settled at a fresh record high for the third session in a row.

The technology sector never touched negative territory on Tuesday, but the magnitude of its gain did fluctuate a bit, hovering between 0.01% and 0.84%. However, the sector's top component by market cap--Apple (AAPL 153.14, +2.59)--remained strong throughout the session, determined to end its four-session losing streak. AAPL shares settled higher by 1.7%.

Meanwhile, NVIDIA (NVDA 171.96, +0.96) was strong early following news that it will provide GPU hardware to several Chinese tech giants, but weakened throughout the day. The chipmaker hit a new session low in the late afternoon following a report that Tesla (TSLA 345.25, +0.26) will use Intel (INTC 37.47, +0.31) technology for infotainment instead of NVIDIA.

Still, NVIDIA managed to contribute to the technology rally, settling higher by 0.6%. Red Hat (RHT 110.07, +4.31) also contributed (+4.1%), jumping to its best level in nearly two decades, after beating both top and bottom line estimates and issuing upbeat guidance.

Outside of the tech sector, Darden Restaurants (DRI 77.71, -5.43), the owner of brands like Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, dropped 6.5% despite reporting in-line earnings and revenues. Conversely, Carnival (CCL 65.32, +1.82) climbed 2.9% after reporting better-than-expected top and bottom lines.

The S&P 500's consumer discretionary sector, which houses both Darden Restaurants and Carnival, finished slightly behind the broader market, ticking down 0.1%. In general, sector movement was pretty modest as eight of the eleven groups settled within 0.2% of their unchanged marks.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen spoke at a NABE meeting in Cleveland on Tuesday, defending a gradual path of rate hikes despite continued uncertainty in the area of inflation. Her comments did not move either the stock market or the Treasury market, which declined modestly, sending yields slightly higher.

The yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note climbed one basis point to 2.23% while the 2-yr yield jumped two basis points to 1.44%.

In Washington, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) confirmed that the Senate will not vote on the Cassidy-Graham health care bill as the piece of legislation failed to gain enough support within the GOP. Lawmakers will table the health care reform effort for now and return their attention to tax reform.

Reviewing Tuesday's economic data, which included August New Home Sales, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for September, and the Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index for July:

  • New Home Sales in August hit an annualized rate of 560,000, which is below the revised July rate of 580,000 (from 571,000), and lower than the consensus of 577,000.
    • The key takeaway from the report isn't that sales declined 4.7% in the South, which was partly impacted by Hurricane Harvey, but that sales declined 2.7% in the West, which wasn't impacted by Hurricane Harvey, after declining 15.3% in July. The weakness in the West could be a function of constraints related to high prices, yet it will need to be watched closely as a potential harbinger of a broader slowdown in the housing market related to affordability constraints.
  • The consumer confidence reading for September declined to 119.8 from the prior month's revised reading of 120.4 (from 122.9). The consensus expected the survey to hit 119.4.
    • The key takeaway from the report is that the downturn was driven mostly by changing attitudes among consumers in the hurricane-ravaged states of Texas and Florida, which manifested themselves in the Present Situation Index. Overall, consumers remained relatively upbeat about the short-term outlook.
  • The July Case-Shiller 20-city Index hit 5.8%, which is in line with the consensus. The prior month's reading was revised to 5.6% from 5.7%.

On Wednesday, investors will receive several economic reports, including the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index at 7:00 ET, August Durable Goods Orders (consensus +0.7%) at 8:30 ET, and August Pending Home Sales (consensus -0.4%) at 10:00 ET.

  • Nasdaq Composite +18.5% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +12.8% YTD
  • S&P 500 +11.5% YTD
  • Russell 2000 +7.4% YTD

>>> NIKE beats by $0.09, reports revs in-line; will guide on the call (53.70 +0

NIKE beats by $0.09, reports revs in-line; will guide on the call
  • Reports Q1 (Aug) earnings of $0.57 per share, $0.09 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.48; revenues rose 0.1% year/year to $9.07 bln vs the $9.08 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • North America sales -3% (footwear -3%) to $3.9 bln; EMEA +4% $2.3 bln; China +9% $1.1 bln, A-Pac/Lat-Am +5% to $1.2 bln.
    • Revenues for the NIKE Brand were $8.6 billion, up 2 percent on a currency-neutral basis driven by growth in Greater China, EMEA and APLA, including growth in Sportswear.
    • Revenues for Converse were $483 million, down 16 percent on a currency-neutral basis, mainly driven by declines in North America.
  • Gross margin declined 180 basis points to 43.7 percent due primarily to unfavorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates and, to a lesser extent, a higher mix of off-price sales.
  • Inventories for NIKE, Inc. were $5.2 billion, up 6 percent from August 31, 2016, driven by a higher average cost per unit primarily due to product mix and, to a lesser extent, changes in FX rates and growth in NIKE Direct businesses.
  • During the first quarter, NIKE repurchased a total of 15.3 million shares for ~$849 million as part of the four-year, $12 billion program approved by the Board of Directors in November 2015.
  • Co will guide for Q2 and update FY18 guiadnce on the call at 17:00 -- previously guided for +MSD FY18 rev growth and modest gross margin contraction.

>>> Micron beats by $0.18, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS and revs above consensus

Micron beats by $0.18, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS and revs above consensus
  • Reports Q4 (Aug) earnings of $2.02 per share, $0.18 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.84; revenues rose 90.8% year/year to $6.14 bln vs the $5.97 bln Capital IQ Consensus, with DRAM sales volumes 5 percent higher and NAND sales volumes 3 percent higher. DRAM and NAND average selling prices for the quarter increased 8 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Our overall consolidated gross margin of 50.7 percent for the fourth quarter of 2017 was higher compared to 46.9 percent in the third quarter due to expansion of margins for DRAM products.
  • Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees non-GAAP EPS of $2.09-2.23 vs. $1.84 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $6.1-6.5 bln vs. $6.06 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.