Before the Open (Mar 2)

Good morning. Happy Thursday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. Australia and Malaysia gained more than 1%; South Korea, Indonesia and Japan also did well. China fell. Europe currently leans to the upside, but movement is minimal. Turkey, Norway, Italy and Switzerland are up, Russia, Portugal and Sweden are down. Futures in the States point towards a flat and mixed open for the cash market.
—————
Subscribe to LB Weekly – it’s only $149/year.
—————
The dollar is up. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
The market posted its biggest day of the year yesterday. Every index registered an all-time high, and it was the first time in 2+ months the S&P moved more than 1%. The Dow closed above 21K; the S&P penetrated 2400.
I’ve gotten more conservative lately. Some internals had fallen off, and although I’m firmly in the bulls’ camp long term, my thinking was a little rest was needed short term. I guess not. At least not yet.
Snap goes public today. It’s the biggest IPO since Alibaba. It’s valuation will be twice that of Twitter, and it’ll will be a decent sign of what Wall Street’s appetite is for an unprofitable tech company.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Time Warner (TWX +0.70%) was downgraded to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ at Loop Capital with a price target of $107.50
Broadcom Ltd (AVGO +2.00%) rallied 4% in pre-market trading after it reported Q1 adjusted EPS continuing operations of $3.63, better than consensus of $3.48.
Shake Shack (SHAK +0.81%) fell 4% in after-hours trading after it said it sees full-year revenue of $349 million-$353 million, below consensus of $354.5 million.
Monster Beverage (MNST +1.38%) jumped 14% in pre-market trading after it reported Q4 sales of $753.8 million, stronger than consensus of $722.1 million.
Planet Fitness (PLNT +1.58%) dropped almost 6% in after-hours trading after it said it sees full-year adjusted EPS of 72 cents-75 cents, below consensus of 75 cents.
Glaukos (GKOS +0.64%) rallied over 7% in after-hours trading after it said it sees full-year net sales of $160 million-$165 million, better than consensus of $147.5 million.
Retrophin (RTRX +1.08%) dropped 5% in after-hours trading after it said it sees fiscal 2017 net revenue of $150 million-$160 million, less than consensus of $162.7 million.
Box Inc. (BOX +3.63%) slipped nearly 3% in after-hours trading after it said it sees a Q1 adjusted loss of -14 cents to -15 cents a share, wider than consensus of -12 cents.
Health Insurance Innovations (HIIQ -0.56%) climbed 4% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 EPS of 35 cents, well above consensus of 18 cents.
Juno Therapeutics (JUNO +5.28%) dropped 6% in after-hours trading after it reported a Q4 adjusted loss of -65 cents a share, wider than consensus of -63 cents.
Pacific Ethanol (PEIX +6.37%) rose 4% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 revenue of $441.7 million, above consensus of $423.8 million.
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR -0.54%) lost nearly 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 revenue of $37.5 million, below consensus of $40.7 million.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS -2.67%) slid 4% in after-hours trading after it announced a proposed public offering of common stock, although no amount was given.
Casella Waste Systems (CWST +3.68%) jumped 7% in after-hours trading after it said it sees 2017 revenue of $577 million-$587 million, better than consensus of $575.3 million.
Synergy Pharmaceuticals (SGYP -1.90%) lost nearly 3% in after-hours trading after it reported a Q4 loss of -31 cents a share, wider than consensus of -18 cents.
AXT Inc. (AXTI +5.63%) tumbled nearly 10% in after-hours trading after it announced a proposed public offering of common stock.
Wednesday’s Key Earnings
Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) -4.5% lagging sales, weak outlook.
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) +4.4% AH topping expectations.
Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) +9.5% following strong housing demand.
Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) +13.9% AH with a new buyback.
Shake Shack (NYSE:SHAK) -4% AH on same-store sales miss.
Today’s Economic Calendar
Chain Store Sales
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings from Morningstar
this week’s Economic Numbers/Reports powered by ECONODAY