Before the Open (May 18)

Good morning. Happy Thursday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly down. Japan and India dropped more than 1%; China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Taiwan, Austria and the Philippines were also weak. Indonesia posted a gain. Europe is currently down across-the-board. Norway and Austria are down more than 2%; the UK, Poland, France, Turkey, Finland, Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden and the Czech Republic are down more than 1%. Futures in the States point towards a moderate gap down open for the cash market.
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The dollar is flat. Oil and copper are down. Gold is up; silver is down. Bonds are up.
I don’t have anything to add to the comments made in LB Daily after yesterday’s close. Before you enter any trade, you have an exit strategy in place. And you stick to it. Period. It doesn’t matter why the market moved; it only matters that it moved. You stick to your plan, and you live to fight another day. No second guessing.
If you’re shorter term oriented, you miss big moves, but you avoid days like yesterday. If you’re intermediate or longer term oriented, you nail big moves, but you have to suffer through days like yesterday. There is no middle of the road. Nobody can perfectly navigate both time frames by avoiding short term disruptions and also nailing trending moves. Have a plan and stick with it.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Wal-Mart (WMT +0.01%) reported Q1 EPS of $1.00, better than consensus of 96 cents, although Q1 revenue of $117.54 billion was below expectations of $117.74 billion.
L Brands (LB +0.23%) climbed nearly 6% in after-hours trading after it raised guidance on full-year EPS to $3.10-$3.40 from a prior view of $3.05-$3.35.
Cisco Systems (CSCO -1.40%) slumped 8% in after-hours trading after it said its sees Q4 adjusted EPS of 60 cents-62 cents, below consensus of 62 cents.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX -3.14%) gained almost 1% in after-hours trading after it raised it 2017 sales view on its Kalydeco to $740 million-$770 million from an April 27 view of $710 million-$730 million after the FDA widened its approval to treat more CF mutations.
Incyte (INCY +2.32%) rallied over 7% in after-hours trading after data showed its IDO1 inhibitor epacadostat in combinations with Merck’s Keytruda and Bristol-Meyers Squibb’s Opdivo showed more responses than the PDL1 inhibitors alone.
Globus Medical (GMED -1.45%) dropped 7% in after-hours trading after it said it received a letter from the FDA informing the company that it had not sufficiently addressed the agency’s questions regarding its ExcelsiusGPS.
NewLink Genetics (NLNK -1.53%) tumbled 13% in after-hours trading after data for its IDO inhibitor navoximod in combination with Roche’s Tecentriq disappointed in a study of patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors.
China Distance Education Holdings Ltd (DL -2.04%) lost over 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 gross profit fell -26.7% y/y to $10.1 million.
Leap Therapeutics (LPTX -0.63%) jumped over 12% in after-hours trading after it reported interim data from a Phase 1 study showed DKN-01 in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin for treatment of advanced bilary tract cancers was well tolerated with no new adverse effects.
Endologix (ELGX -1.03%) sank over 20% in after-hours trading after it said it met with the FDA and does not see approval of its Nellix EndoVascular Aneurysm Sealing System until 2020.
GlycoMimetics (GLYC unch) surged over 35% in after-hours trading after the FDA granted its GMI-1271 breakthrough therapy designation for treatment of adult relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia.
ImmunoGen (IMGN -2.67%) gained over 2% in after-hours trading after it said early-stage data support a study of its soravtansine further in combination with Roche’s Avastin and Merck’s Keytruda in treatment of ovarian cancer.
Pandora Media (P -4.49%) jumped 8% in after-hours trading after the New York Post reported that Sirius XM recently restarted talks to make a bid for Pandora.
Ascena Retail Group (ASNA -1.74%) plunged over 30% in after-hours trading after it said it sees Q3 comparable sales down -8% and lowered guidance on full-year adjusted EPS to 10 cents-15 cents from a Mar 6 view of 37 cents-42 cents.
Wednesday’s Key Earnings
Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) -7.7% AH on layoffs, disappointing guidance.
Target (NYSE:TGT) +0.9% after topping expectations.
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 Philly Fed Business Outlook
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:00 Leading Indicators
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
1:15 PM Fed’s Mester speech
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