Before the Open (Jul 25)

Good morning. Happy Thursday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Austria and the Philippines did the best. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly up. France, Russia, Greece, Finland, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium and Austria are leading. Futures in the States point towards a mixed open (S&P up, Nasdaq down) for the cash market.
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BLOG: The Small Caps are Lagging – Is This a Problem?
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The dollar is up a small amount. Oil and copper are up. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are up.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
U.S. futures were mixed early Thursday as the Dow tracks higher with the S&P 500 nearly flat and the Nasdaq indicating lower after yesterday’s semiconductor-driven highs. Today’s busy earnings slate will start with Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and 3M (NYSE:MMM) among those reporting before the bell.
Musk aims high on Tesla call
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares fell after a sharp Q2 profit miss. On the earnings call, Elon Musk said the company is “close” to self-funding and he still expects a break-even Q3 and profitable Q4.
Toyota investing $600M in Didi Chuxing, new joint venture
Toyota (NYSE:TM) is investing $600M into China’s ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing (DIDI) and a joint venture between the two that looks to implement new vehicle-related services for ride-hailing drivers. The new joint venture will work with Toyota’s local partner in Guangzhou Automobile Group, and portends new collaboration on services they’ve been developing together in China.
SK Hynix cuts DRAM, NAND plans
SK Hynix (OTC:HXSCF,OTC:HXSCL) plans to cut its DRAM production capacity from Q4 due to the demand environment and tech migration. The company will also reduce its NAND wafer input by more than 15%, up from its previous plans to cut input 10% compared to last year. Competitors in these spaces include Micron (NASDAQ:MU), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), and Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC).
STM report dulls semi optimism
Upbeat earnings reports from Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) and Teradyne (NASDAQ:TER) earlier this week were offset by STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) missing its earnings estimate and cutting its revenue forecast. The news could combine with the SK Hynix (OTC:HXSCF,OTC:HXSCL) cuts for a volatile day for semiconductors.
Samsung to relaunch improved folding phone in September
After delaying from its planned April launch due to early problems, Samsung (OTC:SSNLF, OTC:SSNNF) now plans to roll out the foldable Galaxy Fold device in September. It will come with improvements to address problems found in testing, including an extended protective film that some reviewers mistakenly removed; trimming problematic space between the phone’s hinge and its body; and adding extra metal layers underneath the screen for reinforcement.
Uber loses two prominent directors
Arianna Huffington and Benchmark’s Matt Cohler are stepping down from the Uber (NYSE:UBER) board. Both of the directors were vocal about the need for cultural and structural changes at the company under former CEO Travis Kalanick. Huffington and Cohler’s departures didn’t involve disagreements with Uber, and Huffington specifies she’s leaving to focus on her company.
What else is happening…
Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) hits Q2 records in funds from operations, total production.
PG&E (NYSE:PCG) keeps control for now as California gets more time to evaluate bids.
Netgear (NASDAQ:NTGR) +8.4% after Q2 beat, solid guidance.
Oceaneering International (NYSE:OII) -17% after posting Q2 miss , trimming full-year EBITDA guidance.
Wednesday’s’s Key Earnings
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) +1.1% PM on Q2 beat.
Tesla (TSLA) -11.5% PM on sharp profit miss.
Ford (NYSE:F) -5.1% PM on light profit forecast.
PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) -3.4% PM on cutting 2019 revenue forecast.
Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) -2.9% AH after Macau results fall short.
Xilinx (NASDAQ:XLNX) -5.9% PM on downside revenue guidance.
ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) -3.3% PM despite Q2 beats.
Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) -21.1% PM on EPS miss, soft guidance.
Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) -1.6% AH on revenue miss.
Citrix Systems (NASDAQ:CTXS) -5.7% AH after revenue miss and FY guidance cut.
Today’s Economic Calendar
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
9:45 PMI Composite Flash
10:00 New Home Sales
10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories
11:30 Results of $20B, 2-Year FRN Auction
1:00 PM Results of $41B, 5-Year Note Auction