Before the Open (Mar 23)

Good morning. Happy Friday.
The Asian/Pacific markets got hit hard. Japan, China, Hong Kong and South Korea suffered 3-4% losses; India, New Zealand, Thailand, Australia, Singapore and the Philippines also did poorly. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly down. France, Germany, South Africa, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria are weak. Saudi Arabia is doing well. Futures in the States were down a bunch overnight but now point towards a mixed open.
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The dollar is down. Bitcoin is down. Oil is up; copper is down. Gold and silver are up big. Bonds are down.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Children’s Place (PLCE -2.48%) was downgraded to ‘Underperform’ from ‘Buy’ at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch with a price target of $115.
GoDaddy (GDDY -1.89%) was rated a new ‘Buy’ at Goldman Sachs with a price target of $81.
Cintas (CTAS -5.87%) rose 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 revenue of $1.59 billion, above consensus of $1.57 billion, and forecast Q4 revenue of $1.63 billion to $1.65 billion, higher than consensus of $1.63 billion.
Nike (NKE -2.91%) rallied almost 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 revenue of $8.98 billion, better than consensus of $8.85 billion.
Paycom Software (PAYC -2.02%) was downgraded to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ at Stifel with a price target of $90.
KB Home (KBH -3.03%) lost 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 revenue of $871.6 million, below consensus of $873.5 million.
American Eagle Outfitters (AEO -2.54%) was rated a new ‘Buy’ at Loop Capital Markets with a price target of $25.
SMART Global Holdings (SGH -5.99%) climbed nearly 9% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 adjusted EPS of $1.73, well above consensus of $1.33, and said it sees Q3 adjusted EPS of $1.73-$1.82, higher than consensus of $1.26.
Akebia Therapeutics (AKBA -2.67%) dropped 8% in after-hours trading after it announced that ii had commenced an underwritten public offering of $85 million of its common stock.
At home Group (HOME -4.23%) rose almost 7% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted proforma EPS of 50 cents, higher than consensus of 35 cents, and said it sees full-year adjusted proforma EPS of $1.18-$1.24, better than consensus of $1.15.
Leap Therapeutics (LPTX -1.91%) sank 10% in after-hours trading after it announced that ii had commenced an underwritten public offering of $14 million of its common stock.
HTG Molecular Diagnostics (HTGM -1.28%) rose over 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 revenue of $7.9 million, stronger than consensus of $6.9 million to $7.2 million.
Progenics Pharmaceuticals (PGNX unch) plunged over 19% in after-hours trading after the FDA said they were extending the review for Progenic’s Azedra drag for three months until July 30.
Thursday’s Key Earnings
Accenture (NYSE:ACN) -7.3% trimming its profit margin forecast.
Micron (NASDAQ:MU) -4% AH amid a disappointing outlook.
Nike (NYSE:NKE) +6.2% AH reversing a U.S. sales slump.
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:10 Fed’s Bostic Speech
8:30 Durable Goods
10:00 New Home Sales
1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings from Morningstar
this week’s Economic Numbers/Reports powered by ECONODAY