>>> Asian Update

Asia Mid-Session Market Update: North Korea tensions rise as threats are made, risk off sentiment drives gold and dollar higher

***Asia Summary***
- Asian markets opened weaker as dollar weakness, flipped into some strength as risk off sentiment took hold of the markets with increasing tensions in the Korea peninsula. RBA’s Kent reiterated the RBA’s prior statement that A$ strength is more a symptom of USD weakness. AUD/USD fell 0.5% to 0.7867 after Westpac consumer confidence for August fell 1.2% m/m to 95.5.Several large earthquakes reported in China over the course of the last 12 hours, so far 9 have been reported dead. PBOC strengthened yuan fixing to highest in a week, sending onshore yuan higher for a ninth straight day against trade-weighted basket, longest streak since index was started late last year.

- USD/KRW rose 0.6% to 1,135.20 after US intelligence officials find that North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead, President Trump issued a warning that if North Korea escalates the nuclear threat, “they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.” North Korean state-run media issued statement saying, US war hysteria will bring a miserable end; North Korea could strike before any preemptive attack by the US, could strike Guam with mid-to-long range missiles. South Korea government places focus on defense readiness.

***Key economic data***
- (CN) CHINA JULY CPI Y/Y: 1.4% V 1.5%E; PPI Y/Y: 5.5% V 5.6%E; Food prices -1.1% y/y; Non-food prices +2.0% y/y
- (KR) SOUTH KOREA JULY UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 3.6% V 3.8%E
- (AU) Australia Aug Westpac Consumer Confidence Index: 95.5 v 96.6 prior; m/m: -1.2% v 0.4% prior
- (AU) AUSTRALIA JUN HOME LOANS M/M: 0.5% V 1.5%E
***Speakers and Press***
China
- (CN) US President Trump appears to be giving China banks dealing with North Korea temporary pass from threatened US sanctions after China supported UN deal against North Korea - press
Australia
-(AU) Australia RBA Assistant Gov Kent: No initial comments on monetary policy; Reiterates further rise in A$ would result in slightly lower domestic growth, that's a statement of fact
Korea
- (KR) North Korea state media: US war hysteria will bring a miserable end; North Korea could strike before any preemptive attack by the US, could strike Guam with mid-to-long range missiles
- (KR) South Korea Fin Min Kim: Sees limited risk impact on markets from North Korea
Japan
- (JP) Former BoJ Official Kiuchi: Yield target may change to 3-5 years; Japan govt not insisting on achieving 2% CPI – press
- (JP) Japan Econ Min Motegi: Must looks at several indicators not just CPI to determine if Japan is out of deflation
***Asian Equity Indices/Futures (00:00ET)***
- Nikkei -1.5%, Hang Seng -0.8%, Shanghai Composite -0.2%, ASX200 +0.5%, Kospi -0.9%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.3%; Nasdaq100 -0.4%, Dax -0.2%, FTSE100 -0.1%

***FX ranges/Commodities/Fixed Income (00:00ET)***
- EUR 1.1764-1.1718; JPY 110.32-109.74; AUD 0.7915-0.7855; NZD 0.7335-0.7309
- Dec Gold +0.7% at 1,270/oz; Sept Crude Oil -0.3% at $49.02/brl; Sept Copper -0.1% at $2.94/lb
- USD/CNY *(CN) PBOC SETS YUAN REFERENCE RATE AT: 6.7075 V 6.7184 PRIOR
- (CN) China PBOC OMO injects CNY140B in 7 and 14-day reverse repos v CNY140B prior; Drains net CNY0B v CNY0B prior
- (CN) China MoF sells 2-yr bonds at 3.423%, bid-to-cover 2.36x; Sells 5-yr bonds at 3.6005%, bid-to-cover 3.16x

***Equities notable movers***
Hong Kong/China
- Esprit, 330.HK Guides FY16/17 Net HK$50-80M v HK$21M y/y; +7.3%
Japan
- Toshiba, 6502.JP Confirms to disclose Q1 earnings and FY16 securities report tomorrow; Has not received audit review from auditor PwC; +4.3%
- Rohto Pharmaceutical,4527.JP Reports Q1 Net ¥2.3B v ¥1.4B y/y, Op ¥3.4B v ¥2.2B Rev ¥35.8B v ¥32.9B y/y; +12.7%
- Sumco, 3436.JP Reports H1 Net ¥9.6B v ¥2.3B y/y, Op ¥17.3B v ¥6.2B Rev ¥123.9B v ¥103.2B y/y; -10.8%
Australia
- Bellamy’s, BAL.AU Camperdown's CNCA registration suspension lifted; +6.9%
- CBA.AU Reports FY17 Cash profit A$9.88B v A$9.79Be; Net interest income A$17.6B v A$16.9B y/y; +0.7%

>>> US After Hours Summary: STS +29% on WNC acquisition news.... ACAD


After Hours Summary: STS +29% on WNC acquisition news.... ACAD +12%, ALRM +8%, DXC +3%, HTZ +2% higher and FOSL -20.7%, TRUE -13%, MXL -12%, TRIP -9%, JAZZ -7% lower following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: ACHN +28.2%, NOG +15%, SSTI +13.5%, ACAD +12.4%, NVTR +12.2% (ticking higher), TPIC +10%, PXLW +8.7%, GSVC +8.5%, ALRM +8.2%, GPOR +7.7%, ALDR +7.6%, NVAX +7.1%, YUME +7.1% (ticking higher), OREX +5.2%, OMER +4.7%, NSTG +4.6% (also NanoString Technologies and Lam Research announce strategic collaboration to develop NanoString's proprietary Hyb & Seq next generation sequencing platform), TPVG +4.3% (light volume), CLDX +3.5%, SSNI +3.5%, DXC +3.2%, PUMP +2.6% (light volume), IOSP +2.5% (light volume), ABCO +2.4%, INO +2.4%, RRGB +2.3%, DRRX +2.3% PTCT +1.9% (ticking higher), HTZ +1.9%, HTGM +1.3%, TSRO +1.1%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: STS +29.3% (Wabash National Corporation [WNC] to acquire Supreme Industries in cash tender offer for $21 per share -- represents equity value of $364 mln and enterprise value of $342 mln; to be accretive in first full calendar year after close), PLPM +7.3% (ticking higher; to explore and evaluate potential strategic alternatives),  CXP +0.3% (authorizes new $200 mln share repuchase program for a two-year period ending September 4, 2019)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: FOSL -20.7%, TRUE -13.2%, MXL -12.2%, ARTX -9.9%, POLA -9.1%, TRIP -8.7%, JAZZ -7.4%, CALX -7.3%, PCLN -6.7%, OCUL -6.7%, MYGN -6.5%, XCO -5.8%, NUAN -5.7%, TWNK -4.4%, VSAT -4.1% (light volume), DIS -3.8% (also acquires majority of BAMTech for $1.58 bln), MNST -3.1%, ETE -2.5%, AXAS -1.2%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: MBUU -5% (to offer 2 mln shares of the Company's Class A Common Stock; discloses prelim results, sees Q4 revs $74.7-75.1 mln vs $70.34 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, believes unit volume will be approximately 1,004 units, sees gross profit of $19.6-20 mln), PRAH -3.3% (announces secondary offering of 10,000,000 shares of common stock by stockholders, including an affiliate of, or a fund sponsored by, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co), NFLX -3.2% (Disney will end distribution agreement with Netflix in 2019), LOB -2.5% (to offer approximately 4.5 mln shares of its voting common stock), ESPR -2.2% (to offer $150 million of its common stock), H -1.8% (commences secondary offering 8,654,050 shares of Class A common stock), MKC -1% ( prices offering of 5,524,862 shares of its common stock at $90.50 per share), ED -0.9% (to issue 4.1 mln common shares pursuant to shelf registration statement), AAPL -0.4% (Qualcomm announces that the ITC has commenced an investigation into Apple based on complaint filed by the co on July 7)

>>> US Notable post-earnings movers

Notable post-earnings movers
  • Post-earnings gainers: ACHN +27.2%, TPIC +15.2%, SSTI +14%, NVTR +12.2%, OREX +11.2%, ACAD +10%, NOG +10%, ALRM +9.6%, REXX +9.5%, PXLW +9.1%, ALDR +7.6%,SSNI +5.3%, HTGM +4.3%, HTZ +4.2%, INO +4.1%, GPOR +3.2%, CLDX +3.1%, NVAX +3%, DRRX +2.9%, ECYT +2.8%, NMRX +2.6%, HALO +2.5%, YUME +2.4%, ENPH +2.2%,PTCT +2.1%
  • Post-earnings losers: FOSL -21.9%, TRUE -12.4%, MXL -10.5%, POLA -10.1%, ARTX -8.6%, JAZZ -7.5%, PCLN -6.3%, OCUL -6.2%, TRIP -5.7%, MYGN -5.7%, MNST -5.2%,NUAN -4.8%, ABCO -3.9%, DIS -3.2%, CVRS -2.8%, CVNA -2.4%

>>> US Close Dow -0.15% S&P -0.24% Nasdaq -0.21% Russell -0.28%

Closing Market Summary: Heightened North Korea Tensions Weigh

Wall Street went on a bit of a roller coaster ride on Tuesday as equities climbed to new record highs in the morning only to drop into the red in the late afternoon. The Dow broke its streak of nine consecutive record-high closes, ending the session lower by 0.2%. The S&P 500 (-0.2%) and the Nasdaq (-0.2%) finished in line with the industrial average.

The major averages opened Tuesday's session with modest losses, but quickly entered into a slow and steady climb that carried into the afternoon. At its peak, the S&P 500 held a gain of 0.4%. However, shortly after hitting said peak, the benchmark index started moving back towards its flat line as the heavily-weighted financial sector, which led the morning rally, hit a wave of selling pressure.

Selling began shortly after the Washington Post reported that North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles. However, the aforementioned move lower was more likely technical in nature considering it was led by the financial sector, which sharply reversed its slow and steady upward trend right at the 424.00 mark. At its best mark of the day (423.99), the financial space held a gain of 0.9%, but, in the end, the sector settled lower by 0.2%. 

After retreating to their flat lines, the major averages then hit another wave of selling pressure, this one dragging them into negative territory, in the late afternoon after President Trump warned that North Korea will be "met with fire and fury like the world has never seen" if it continues to threaten nuclear action against the United States.

Investors have had a muted response to each of Pyongyang's 11 ballistic missile tests this year, but today's strong statement from Mr. Trump clearly upped the ante a bit. Still, today's move was very minor in the grand scheme of things and comes at a time when many investors are looking for an excuse to sell as equities hover at all-time highs.

The lightly-weighted utilities sector (+0.3%) was the only space to finish today's session in positive territory. The ten remaining groups settled with losses ranging from less than 0.1% to 0.9%.

Apple (AAPL 160.08, +1.27)--the largest component in the S&P 500 by market cap--put together a solid performance, helping the top-weighted technology sector (-0.1%) settle ahead of the broader market. The tech group held the top spot on today's leaderboard for much of the session, but slipped with the broader market in its late-afternoon slide. AAPL shares added 0.8% and closed at an all-time high.

On the earnings front, Michael Kors (KORS 42.25, +8.02) and Ralph Lauren (RL 88.53, +10.38) surged 21.5% and 13.3%, respectively, after both companies reported better than expected earnings. In addition, Michael Kors beat top-line estimates and issued above-consensus guidance. However, the SPDR S&P 500 Retail ETF (XRT 41.11, -0.22) still finished lower by 0.5%.

Treasuries moved lower in a curve-steepening trade, leaving the 2-yr yield (1.36%) and the 10-yr yield (2.28%) higher by one basis point and three basis points, respectively. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index (93.52, +0.22) climbed 0.2% and crude oil dropped 0.6% to $49.09/bbl.

Reviewing today's economic data, which was limited to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for June:

  • The June Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that job openings increased to 6.163 million from a revised 5.702 million (from 5.666 million) in May.

On Wednesday, investors will receive several economic reports, including the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index at 7:00 ET, second quarter Productivity (consensus +0.5%) and Unit Labor Costs (Briefing.com consensus +1.5%) at 8:30 ET, and June Wholesale Inventories (consensus +0.6%) at 10:00 ET.

  • Nasdaq Composite +18.3% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +11.8% YTD
  • S&P 500 +10.6% YTD
  • Russell 2000 +3.9% YTD

TechCrunch : Disney is ditching Netflix in 2019 to launch its own streaming serv

Disney is ditching Netflix in 2019 to launch its own streaming service

Bad news if you were just getting used to all of the new Disney stuff hitting Netflix: that deal is on the way out.

Disney has just announced plans to end its distribution agreement with Netflix in 2019, instead opting to launch its own streaming service sometime during that same year.

The announcement came as part of some takeover news: Disney is paying $1.48 billion to acquire another 42% of BAMTech, in addition to the 33% stake it bought for $1B last year. This gives Disney the majority controlling stake of BAMTech.

Meanwhile, Disney will also be launching a separate ESPN-branded streaming service early next year.

>>> Hertz Global misses by $0.39, reports revs in-line --> +3,60% in after hour

Hertz Global misses by $0.39, reports revs in-line (14.28 -0.95)
  • Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.63 per share, $0.39 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.24); revenues fell 2.0% year/year to $2.22 bln vs the $2.22 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Transaction days decreased 3% y/y to 36,233
  • Total RPD decreased 2% y/y to $41.26.
  • Adjusted Corporate EBITDA for 2Q17 was $35 million, compared to $184 million in the same period last year.
  • Outlook: "In the U.S. rental car segment, the company is encouraged by preliminary third quarter 2017 total revenue per day trends. In July, total revenue per day is expected to have increased by approximately 3% compared with July 2016. July transaction days are estimated to have declined by about 4% as the company targets higher-quality revenue. With only approximately 55% of reservations booked, August is less clear, but early indications suggest trends similar to July. September is expected to be seasonally weaker, but the company will continue to focus on fleet capacity discipline and revenue quality."

>>> Walt Disney beats by $0.03, misses on revs; acquires majority of BAMTech for

Walt Disney beats by $0.03, misses on revs; acquires majority of BAMTech for $1.58 bln; will launch ESPN brand video streaming service early next year and Disney brand DTC service in 2019; will end distribution agreement with Netflix (NFLX) in 2019 (106.98 +0.63)
  • Reports Q3 (Jun) earnings of $1.58 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.55; revenues fell 0.3% year/year to $14.24 bln vs the $14.44 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
    • Q3 Media rev down 1% with operating income down 22% to $1.8 bln. Cable Networks revenues for the quarter decreased 3% to $4.1 billion and operating income decreased 23% to $1.5 billion. Lower operating income was due to a decline at ESPN. The decrease at ESPN was due to higher programming costs, lower advertising revenue and severance and contract termination costs, partially offset by affiliate revenue growth. The programming cost increase was due to a contractual rate increase for NBA programming, partially offset by a decrease in the cost of time for ESPN programming aired on the ABC Television Network. Lower advertising revenue was due to a decrease in average viewership and lower units delivered including the impact of two fewer NBA finals games, partially offset by higher rates. Affiliate revenue growth was due to contractual rate increases, partially offset by a decline in subscribers.
    • Parks and Resorts revenues for the quarter increased 12% to $4.9 billion and segment operating income increased 18% to $1,168 million.
    • Studio Entertainment revenues for the quarter decreased 16% to $2.4 billion and segment operating income decreased 17% to $639 million.
  • Co has agreed to acquire majority ownership of BAMTech, LLC and will launch its ESPN-branded multi-sport video streaming service in early 2018, followed by a new Disney-branded direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2019. Disney will pay $1.58 billion to acquire an additional 42% stake in BAMTech—a global leader in direct-to-consumer streaming technology and marketing services, data analytics, and commerce management—from MLBAM.
  • The ESPN-branded multi-sport service will offer a robust array of sports programming, featuring approximately 10,000 live regional, national, and international games and events a year, including Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, Grand Slam tennis, and college sports. Individual sport packages will also be available for purchase, including MLB.TV, NHL.TV and MLS Live. The new service will be accessed through an enhanced version of the current ESPN app. In addition to the multi-sport service, the ESPN app will include the news, highlights, and scores that fans enjoy today. Consumers who are pay TV subscribers will also be able to access the ESPN television networks in the same app on an authenticated basis. For many sports fans, this app will become the premier digital destination for all their sports content.
  • The new Disney-branded service will become the exclusive home in the U.S. for subscription-video-on-demand viewing of the newest live action and animated movies from Disney and Pixar, beginning with the 2019 theatrical slate, which includes Toy Story 4, the sequel to Frozen, and The Lion King from Disney live-action, along with other highly anticipated movies. Disney will also make a significant investment in an annual slate of original movies, TV shows, short-form content and other Disney-branded exclusives for the service. Additionally, the service will feature a vast collection of library content, including Disney and Pixar movies and Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD television programming.
  • With this strategic shift, Disney will end its distribution agreement with Netflix (NFLX) for subscription streaming of new releases, beginning with the 2019 calendar year theatrical slate.
  • "Today we announced a strategic shift in the way we distribute our content. The media landscape is increasingly defined by direct relationships between content creators and consumers, and our control of BAMTech's full array of innovative technology will give us the power to forge those connections, along with the flexibility to quickly adapt to shifts in the market," said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. "This acquisition and the launch of our direct-to-consumer services mark an entirely new growth strategy for the Company, one that takes advantage of the incredible opportunity that changing technology provides us to leverage the strength of our great brands." "Our results for the quarter reflect the underlying strength of our brands and franchises, and our continued investment in high-quality content. Our ability to successfully execute on our core strategy, coupled with our plans for new direct-to-consumer offerings, give us continued confidence in our ability to drive shareholder value."

>>> Achillion Pharma reports EPS in-line

Achillion Pharma reports EPS in-line (4.01 +0.04)
  • Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.16 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.16).
  • Updates:
    • Phase 2 clinical trials for untreated paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH)
      • To date, Achillion has data for four patients with PNH, two of whom have completed the three-month trial and have entered the long-term extension trial. One additional patient continues to receive dosing in the three-month trial and a fourth patient voluntarily withdrew from the trial on day 41 for reasons unrelated to safety. In summary, interim data from these ongoing trials demonstrated that ACH-4471 achieved clinically meaningful complement inhibition and demonstrated a favorable tolerability profile with no reports of clinically meaningful increases in liver enzymes. In this emerging data set, ACH-4471 has improved LDH, hemoglobin, fatigue score and other measures of response including PNH clone size. These interim results support the Company's global expansion plans for the PNH clinical program.
    • C3 glomerulopathy (C3G)
      • During the second half of 2017, Achillion anticipates initiating patient dosing in a phase 2 open-label trial of ACH-4471 for patients with low C3 levels due to C3G or immune-complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (IC-MPGN). This 14-day trial is expected to enroll approximately 10 patients.
    • Update on World-wide Collaboration with Janssen (JNJ) for Chronic Hepatitis C Viral Infection (HCV)
      • In April 2017, Achillion reported that Janssen's OMEGA-1 global phase 2b clinical trial was fully enrolled with a total of 365 subjects. Results from this trial are anticipated during the second half of 2017.
  • Cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, and interest receivable as of June 30, 2017 were $369.9 million

>>>Fossil misses by $0.08, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus; lowers

Fossil misses by $0.08, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus; lowers guidance (11.84 +0.64)
  • Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.48 per share, excluding $6.50/share impairment and $.13/share in non-recurring items, vs. the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.40); revenues fell 12.9% year/year to $596.8 mln vs the $617.89 mln Capital IQ Consensus, growth in connected watches was more than offset by declines in traditional watches. Declines in leathers and jewelry and changes in foreign currency also negatively impacted net sales.
  • Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of ($0.38)-(0.05), excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.04 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; net sales down 8-14%.
  • Co issues guidance for FY17, lowers EPS of ($0.32)-0.48, excluding non-recurring items, from ($0.50)-0.20 vs. ($0.19) Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; net sales down 4.5-8.5% from down 1.5-6.0%

>>> Tesaro misses by $0.30, beats on revs (124.31 -2.99)

Tesaro misses by $0.30, beats on revs (124.31 -2.99)
  • Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $2.82 per share, $0.30 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($2.52); revenues fell 17.6% year/year to $29.5 mln vs the $18.61 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Upcoming Milestones: ZEJULA (niraparib): Continue to execute on the ongoing U.S. launch of ZEJULA and solidify its position as the market leading PARP inhibitor for patients with recurrent ovarian cancer. Launch ZEJULA in Europe by year-end 2017, pending European Commission approval. Continue to enroll the Phase 3 PRIMA trial throughout 2017. Begin to initiate expanded ovarian, breast and lung cancer development programs in 2017