Good morning. Happy Friday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand posted big gains; the Philippines and New Zealand were weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently doing great. The UK, France, Poland, Germany, the UAE, Russia, Greece, South Africa, Norway, Hungary, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Sweden and the Czech Republic are up 1% or more. Futures in the States point towards a relatively big gap up open for the cash market.
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VIDEO: Update of Trading Ideas
VIDEO: Trading Ideas for the Coming Week
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The dollar is up. Oil and copper are up. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Wall Street’s first decline for the month of June came yesterday in a seesaw session that was highlighted by an unexpected rise in continuing jobless claims, ECB stimulus, economy reopenings and nationwide protests. The Nasdaq joined the S&P 500 in negative territory and the Dow recorded a nominal gain as FAANGs fell back and American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) posted its best day on record. S&P 500 futures rebounded nearly 1% overnight, ahead of today’s nonfarm-payrolls report forecast to show more than 8M job losses in May and a surge in the unemployment rate to nearly 20%.
Rally goes on
If the job figures mentioned above are seen in today’s data, it would mark a new post-WWII record and approach the worst levels since the Great Depression. Why is the market shrugging it off? While layoffs remained very high, they eased considerably in the second half of May as businesses reopened after locking down since mid-March to slow the spread of COVID-19. Manufacturing, services industries and consumer confidence levels are also stabilizing, adding to the hopeful signs of an economic recovery.
More stimulus
In a change of trends, European stocks are now outperforming their U.S. peers in the latest leg of the rebound, lifted by bets of a quick recovery and enormous stimulus plans. The ECB on Thursday approved a stimulus package that surpassed expectations, nearly doubling the size of its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Plan to €1.35T and extending the program to at least June 2021. We’ll see what the U.S. has planned next week, when the Fed gathers for its June policy meeting.
New trades
The initial public offering market reopened with a bang this week as Warner Music (NASDAQ:WMG) returned to the public markets after nine years of being private. Others in the U.S. jumped on the bandwagon, including ZoomInfo (ZI) and Shift4 Payments (FOUR), while NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) and JD.com progressed toward listings in Hong Kong as Chinese companies seek secondary listings closer to home amid a U.S. crackdown (see below). Slipping under the radar yesterday was electric heavy-truck maker Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) going public after its merger with VectoIQ was approved by shareholders.
Investment tensions
Nasdaq’s (NASDAQ:NDAQ) recent decision to tighten listing rules to combat fraudulent accounting practices at China-based companies “should serve as a model for other exchanges in the U.S., and around the world,” according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “I applaud Nasdaq for requiring auditing firms to ensure all listed companies comply with international reporting and inspection standards.” The statement is the latest flashpoint in U.S.-China relations at a time of friction between the world’s two largest economies over trade, the coronavirus pandemic and Hong Kong.
Breakthrough for OPEC+
The cartel and its allies are set to extend production cuts through the end of July and could meet this weekend to sign off on the deal, Bloomberg reports. After almost a week of talks, Russia and Saudi Arabia clinched a tentative agreement with holdout member Iraq, which made less than half of its assigned cutbacks last month. Details are still not clear, but a failure to reach an understanding could have brought millions of barrels of oil back on the market.
2 billion doses
AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) is aiming to produce 2B doses of a coronavirus vaccine, including 400M for the U.S. and U.K. and 1B for those in low- and middle-income countries. Distribution would likely start in September or October, with the balance of deliveries likely to be made by early 2021. It is not known whether the vaccine, named AZD1222, will prove safe and effective in clinical trials, but “we believe the probability of success is high enough that we are willing to support the manufacturing at-risk,” Dr. Richard Hatchett, who is involved with the project, said in a statement.
Chips in play
Casino stocks rose yesterday as gamblers flocked to downtown Las Vegas for reopening parties. Temperature checks, socially distanced slot players and face masks at blackjack tables are now common, and the Nevada Gaming Control Board required casinos to limit gambling floors to 50% occupancy. Buffets, nightclubs, big shows and live entertainment venues will stay shuttered for the time being.
Musk vs. Bezos
In a reply on Twitter, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk called for Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) to be broken up, noting “monopolies are wrong!” The comment came days after the entrepreneur said he was “off Twitter for a while” and was in response to an email image of Amazon’s restriction on a book that discussed the COVID-19 pandemic. CNBC in a segment highlighted the animosity that may potentially exist between Elon and Jeff Bezos, not to mention their competing interests in space, with the latter’s Blue Origin also building spacecraft. Amazon is also invested in Rivian, an electric vehicle manufacturer.
Flagging state-controlled media
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) has begun labeling state-controlled media organizations like Russia’s Sputnik, Iran’s Press TV and China’s Xinhua News to alert users whether content may be under the influence of a state. “State-controlled media outlets rarely advertise in the U.S.,” the company wrote in a blog post. “Nevertheless, later this summer we will begin blocking ads from these outlets in the U.S. out of an abundance of caution ahead of the November 2020 election.” Facebook will not label any U.S.-based news organizations, as it determined that even U.S. government-run outlets have editorial independence.
What else is happening…
Slack (NYSE:WORK) sets partnership with Amazon Web Services (AMZN).
Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) scores defense funding for COVID-19 vaccine.
J.C. Penney (OTCPK:JCPNQ) to close 154 stores in first post-bankruptcy phase.
NBA to vote on 22-team short-season return.
GM Cruise is trying to poach Zoox (ZOOX) engineers – Reuters.
Thursday’s Key Earnings
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) -1.1% AH following in-line fiscal Q2.
DocuSign (NASDAQ:DOCU) +5.5% AH posting strong quarter during pandemic.
Gap (NYSE:GPS) -6.7% AH with comp sales down 61%.
J.M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) -4.8% giving back strong gains.
Slack Technologies (WORK) +5.4% AH seeking partnership with AWS.
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 Non-farm payrolls
1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count
3:00 PM Consumer Credit
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Good morning. Happy Thursday.
The Asian/Pacific markets did well. New Zealand, Taiwan, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines posted the biggest gains. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly down. The UK< France, Germany, Russia, Greece, South Africa, Switzerland, Spain and Italy are down 1% or more. Futures in the States point towards a moderate gap down open for the cash market.
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The dollar is up. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are up.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
All eyes today will be on the ECB’s latest policy decision at 7:45 a.m. ET, with President Christine Lagarde speaking 45 minutes later. Anything less than a widely anticipated increase to the €750B Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program could trigger a market shock (remember in March when Lagarde inadvertently said the ECB was “not here to close [bond] spreads”?) A shot in the arm would come as eurozone powerhouse Germany, which has maintained a stance of fiscal prudence, took steps to accelerate a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Angela Merkel’s coalition agreed on a sweeping €130B stimulus package – designed to spur consumer spending and business investment – and exceeded the top end of expectations by 30%.
Business is business?
Two of Hong Kong’s biggest banks are backing China’s controversial national security law a week after former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying blasted HSBC for its silence. HSBC said on social media that it “respects and supports all laws that stabilize Hong Kong’s social order,” while Standard Chartered (OTCPK:SCBFF) later announced it believed the law can “help maintain the long term economic and social stability of Hong Kong.” HSBC -1.1% premarket.
Tit-for-tat
Beijing is relaxing coronavirus restrictions to allow more foreign carriers to fly to the mainland after Washington retaliated against China’s curbs on U.S. passenger airlines by barring Chinese airlines from entering the U.S., effective June 16. Qualifying foreign carriers currently prohibited from operating routes to China will now be allowed once-a-week flights into a city of their choosing starting June 8. The move is the latest in a long list of U.S.-China frictions over issues like trade, the coronavirus pandemic and treatment of Hong Kong.
Rally on pause
The S&P 500 rose for a fourth straight day on Wednesday, trimming its YTD loss to just 3.3%, though futures are pointing to a lower open, down 0.6% at the time of writing. Data today will likely show that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week dropped below 2M for the first time since mid-March, though the figure still remains astonishingly high. Elsewhere, oil retreated as hopes for an early OPEC+ meeting were dashed by a long-running feud over complying with production cutbacks.
Fed expands muni lending facility
The central bank will allow all U.S. states to have at least two cities or counties eligible to directly issue notes to the Municipal Liquidity Facility “regardless of population.” Governors will also be able to designate two issuers in their jurisdictions whose revenues are generally derived from government activities, such as public transit, airports, toll facilities, and utilities, to be eligible to directly use the facility. The MLF was formed to offer up to $500B in lending to states and municipalities to help manage cash flow stresses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Warp Speed initiative
Aimed at following through on a pledge to have a COVID-19 vaccine available in the next 2-3 quarters under Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration has selected five “finalists” for development. Companies include Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), but not GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) and Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY). About 30K people will take part in Phase 3 trials, meaning that a total of 150K people could be vaccinated.
Empty display cases
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) has pulled firearms and ammunition from the sales floors of some stores as widespread protests continue across the U.S. and, in some cases, have led to looting. Customers can still purchase these items, which are being stored in secured rooms. How much damage has occurred? “We’ve had some stores where we’ve had inventory lost and some physical damage, but it’s not very many stores as a percent of total,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon declared.
GM aims to preempt Tesla
Suppliers familiar with such plans at GM (NYSE:GM) and Ford told Reuters the Detroit automakers, which count trucks and commercial vehicles among their most profitable businesses, “don’t want to leave the door open for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)” as they did with passenger cars. The electric van – code-named BV1 – is reportedly aimed at business users, due to start production in late 2021 and will share some components with GM’s future electric pickups and SUVs. Still under consideration is whether to offer the vehicle through its traditional truck brands, Chevrolet and GMC, or market it under a different brand like Maven.
What else is happening…
ZoomInfo (ZI) prices IPO at $21, above target.
LVMH (OTCPK:LVMHF) appears to quash Tiffany (NYSE:TIF) deal rumors.
Fitbit (NYSE:FIT) ventilator gains emergency use authorization.
Chicken industry executives indicted for price fixing.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) leases 12 aircraft to bolster air cargo fleet.
Oil producers pull non-essential workers from Gulf of Mexico.
Why isn’t Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) using its Oversight Board for Trump posts?
Wednesday’s Key Earnings
American Eagle (NYSE:AEO) +14.7% pulling cash-preserving lever.
Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) -6.1% reversing earlier gains.
Canada Goose (NYSE:GOOS) +17.7% as margins improved.
Cloudera (NYSE:CLDR) -11.9% AH giving light revenue guidance.
Today’s Economic Calendar
7:30 Challenger Job-Cut Report
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 Productivity and Costs
8:30 International Trade
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
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Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets had another strong day. Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand all rallied more than 1%. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly up. Poland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Hungary, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Austria and Sweden are leading. Futures in the States point towards a positive open for the cash market.
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VIDEO: State of the Market
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The dollar is down. Oil is down; copper is up. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
“Despite several issues of importance – national riots, Chinese relations, an ongoing pandemic – the stock market is primarily focused on a single thing: the restart of U.S. and global economic activities,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at the Leuthold Group. The sentiment led S&P 500 futures to tack on another 0.6% gain overnight as Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed renewed “optimism” about a coronavirus vaccine. On the economic calendar, the ADP Employment Report today will give a fresh read on the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic, while oil climbed 2% on anticipated output cuts at the upcoming OPEC+ meeting.
Come on and Zoom!
A surge in video conferencing usage saw revenue growth at Zoom (NASDAQ:ZM) jump 169% to $328.2M as the company reported top and bottom line beats for Q1. Zoom also doubled its revenue guidance for the year, pushing up shares as much as 4.5% in AH trading on Tuesday. In keeping with its previous practices, the firm didn’t disclose active user numbers, though analysts at Bernstein estimate Zoom’s mobile app had 173M monthly active users as of May 27, up from 14M on March 4.
Zuckerberg stands firm after walkout
Facing internal unrest over the company’s gentle approach to moderating posts from President Trump, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees he stood behind his decision, one he called “tough” but “pretty thorough.” Policies will be reviewed to see if they need to change for the future. Facebook employees particularly took issue with a post by Trump that threatened violence, including the words “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Similar posts on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) were flagged for violating policy.
Apple is tracking looted iPhones
Thieves who made off with iPhones from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) retail locations in New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Washington and Philadelphia quickly learned that they were loaded with special security software. On-screen messages displayed: “This device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be alerted.” The social unrest sweeping across the nation comes just as Apple is in the process of opening more than 100 stores following an extended closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Digital taxes
The Trump administration is opening a “Section 301” investigation into taxes on digital commerce – proposed by a range of trading partners – that could affect revenues booked by tech giants like Facebook (FB), Google (GOOG, GOOGL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). The move could ultimately lead to punitive tariffs and heighten the chances of another global trade dispute. France already agreed to postpone its new digital tax until at least the end of 2020 after the U.S. threatened to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports like French wine, cheese, handbags and porcelain.
Will negative rates be needed?
Many have doubted that the U.S. could go negative like Japan and parts of Europe, but St. Louis Fed economist Yi Wen says that’s what it would take to achieve a V-shaped economic recovery. “I found that a combination of aggressive fiscal and monetary policies is necessary. Aggressive policy means that the U.S. will need to consider negative interest rates and aggressive government spending, such as spending on infrastructure.” Wen cited historical examples like President Roosevelt’s aggressive fiscal stimulus package during the 1930s and huge surge in government spending once World War II began.
Britain news roundup
The Shanghai-London Connect program, years in the making, has so far produced only one listing – Huatai Securities (OTCPK:HUATF) – which raised $1.5B last June. China’s market regulator has now approved a fresh listing for China Pacific Insurance (OTCPK:CHPXY), signaling a revival of the program. While the ties could bring the nations closer, other news overnight may go in the other direction. Boris Johnson pledged to let into the country nearly 3M Hong Kong citizens – who are British overseas passport holders – due to China’s new national security law, and place them on a possible path to U.K. citizenship.
Drug shortages
One of the most widely prescribed antidepressant medications in the U.S. has fallen into short supply, according to a new list from the FDA. Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) said some versions of its name-brand Zoloft, such as 100 milligram tablets in 100-count bottles, were scarce because of higher demand during COVID-19, while generics faced shortages of certain ingredients. Zoloft prescriptions climbed 12% Y/Y to 4.9M in March, the most ever in the U.S., according to data compiled by Bloomberg, but receded to 4.5M in April.
M&A activity
French luxury goods group LVMH’s (OTCPK:LVMHF) $16.2B takeover of Tiffany & Co (NYSE:TIF) is looking less certain, according to Women’s Wear Daily. It’s the latest big merger said to be on the rocks amid a deteriorating situation in the U.S. market brought on by a COVID-19 pandemic and severe social unrest. Further challenges include spending pattern shifts, the collapse of international tourism and trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
‘Biggest Sale in the Sky’
After postponing its annual Prime Day event due to COVID-19, Amazon (AMZN) is reportedly setting up a “summer sale” for June to boost sellers hurt by the outbreak and swimming in inventory. The company told brands it would launch a fashion sale June 22, to run anywhere from 7-10 days, and that participation in the event was “invitation only.” It’s building landing pages with a working title “Biggest Sale in the Sky,” and has asked brands to meet an end-of-Wednesday deadline to submit deals with a discount of at least 30%.
What else is happening…
Sports betting to the rescue in California?
Twitter (TWTR) names Pichette as new independent chairman.
Google (GOOG, GOOGL) faces $5B lawsuit over ‘private’ internet use.
FAA boss to testify at Senate hearing on 737 MAX (NYSE:BA).
Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) trims loss forecast after May rides jumped 26%.
Tuesday’s Key Earnings
Ambarella (NASDAQ:AMBA) -3.7% AH on light revenue guidance.
CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) +6.2% AH following a beat-and-raise.
DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) +3.7% as e-commerce sales rose 110%.
Zoom Video (ZM) +1.4% AH posting Q1 beat, aggressive outlook.
Today’s Economic Calendar
Auto Sales
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
8:15 ADP Jobs Report
9:45 PMI Services Index
10:00 ISM Non-Manufacturing Index
10:00 Factory Orders
10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories
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Good morning. Happy Tuesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets did great today. Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines all posted solid gains. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly up. The UK, France, Germany, the UAE, Russia, Greece, South Africa, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Austria and Sweden are leading. Futures in the States point to a slight positive open for the cash market.
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VIDEO: Trading Ideas for the Coming Week
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The dollar is down. Oil and copper are up. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
The market for initial public offerings looked like it might finally be recovering from the WeWork (WE) debacle before COVID-19 brought IPOs to a halt over the past two months, but there are now signs of life as capital markets recover. Online used car seller Vroom (VRM) is set to price shares between $15 to $17, aiming to raise about $318.8M at the top end of the range with a market cap of $1.92B. Shift4 Payments (FOUR) has also set terms for its initial public offering of common stock, while Warner Music (WMG) will price shares in what could become the largest New York IPO so far in 2020.
Heating back up
Hong Kong is seeing its first $1B+ listing in more than six months as Chinese internet company NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) launched a second listing that could raise as much as $2.8B. The financial hub hasn’t had a hiatus of billion-dollar initial public offerings last this long since the financial crisis, when there were no such deals for almost a year. Only $3.47B has been raised through IPOs in Hong Kong this year, putting it behind both New York and mainland China.
Equities continue ascent
U.S. stock index futures are ahead by 0.7%, erasing an earlier loss following President Trump’s promise to deploy the military if states and cities fail to quell the violence swelling across the nation. “The main focus once again appears on the longer-term prospects of the easing of lockdowns across the world, though if the violence on U.S. streets continues for much longer, U.S. investors might have to cope with a lockdown of a different kind, imposed by the National Guard,” said Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets.
Gun demand expected to stay strong
Shares of American Outdoor (AOBC) and Sturm Ruger (NYSE:RGR) jumped nearly 10% on Monday as gun background checks rose 75% in May – on an adjusted basis – to follow on strong months in March (+80%) and April (+62%). KeyBanc expects another gain in background checks for June. “People are watching the news,” added Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers. “The market is anticipating that there will be increased interest and demand for firearms as a result of what’s going on in the world right now.”
Trade deal in spotlight
State-owned Chinese firms bought at least three cargos of U.S. soybeans on Monday despite reports suggesting Beijing had ordered a freeze on American farm good purchases due to an escalation with the U.S. over Hong Kong. Sources also suggested that state purchases of U.S. pork, corn and cotton were put on hold. In jeopardy? Any sustained halt in buying would threaten progress in meeting goals set in the Phase One trade agreement signed in January.
Walkout at Facebook
Hundreds of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) employees, including some top managers, walked away from their work-from-home desks on Monday to accuse Mark Zuckerberg of inadequately policing President Trump’s posts as strictly as Twitter (NYSE:TWTR). “Facebook’s recent decision to not act on posts that incite violence ignores other options to keep our community safe. We implore the Facebook leadership to #TakeAction,” they said in a joint statement. Reports suggest CEO Zuckerberg’s weekly Friday Q&A session will be rescheduled for today in response.
Back in court
If Bayer (OTCPK:BAYRY) wants to keep its total Roundup liability capped at $10B, a problem inherited when it acquired Monsanto in 2018, it will be crucial to get a 2018 California court verdict overturned. The German chemical giant will ask the state appeals court today to throw out a jury conclusion that the herbicide product caused grounds keeper Lee Johnson’s cancer. While he was awarded $289M before a judge cut the damages to $78.5M, Bayer has been reaching settlements in thousands of other cases that range from a few thousand dollars to several million per claim.
New business partners
Boeing (NYSE:BA) has taken former partner Embraer (NYSE:ERJ) to arbitration over a failed $4.2B transaction after a similar move by the Brazilian planemaker. The collapsed deal in April left Embraer scrambling for a plan B as its market value deteriorated due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company is now looking at China and India as potential business partners, following reports last week that said those two countries and Russia were interested in the planemaker’s commercial jets division.
What else is happening…
Uber (NYSE:UBER), Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) suspend some service during curfews.
Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) to delist in NY; books $1.2B impairment.
Visa (NYSE:V) reports U.S. payments volume recovery in May.
Sony (NYSE:SNE) postpones reveal of PlayStation 5.
Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) buys Turkish mobile-game studio Peak for $1.8B.
Today’s Economic Calendar
Auto Sales
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
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Good morning. Happy Monday. Hope you had a good weekend.
The Asian/Pacific markets posted solid gains. China, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Taiwan, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines all did great. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently doing great. The UK, Poland, France, Turkey, the UAE, Russia, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and the Czech Republic are up 1% or more. Futures in the States a slight down open for the cash market.
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VIDEO: Trading Ideas for the Coming Week
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The dollar is . Oil and copper are up. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
The worst civil unrest in decades erupted across the nation over the weekend as protests turned violent following the death of George Floyd in police custody. “The direct economic impact of the protests is small, at least so far,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, but warned that the near-term damage to consumer and business sentiment may be more extensive. Wavering between gains and losses overnight, U.S. stock index futures have turned red again, as the mass demonstrations could also cause a major setback for controlling the coronavirus.
Relief rally in Asia
Things fared a lot better over in the Far East, with shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai surging 3.4% and 2.2%, respectively. Hopes of a V-shaped recovery were on display as China’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly expanded in May (Caixin/Markit’s PMI came in at 50.7). There was also relief that while President Trump began the process of ending special U.S. treatment for Hong Kong, the measures fell short of withdrawing from a Phase One trade agreement or issuing sanctions directly against China.
Retail closures
American retailers already hit by the coronavirus pandemic have shuttered stores nationwide as violent protests included looting in many U.S. cities. Target (NYSE:TGT), Walmart (NYSE:WMT), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Nike (NYSE:NKE), Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) and Whole Foods (NASDAQ:AMZN) closed hundreds of locations and adjusted store hours to accommodate citywide curfews. U.S. retail sales already posted record declines due to COVID-19, putting the economy on track for its biggest contraction since the Great Depression.
Giant leap for the space industry
Nineteen hours after SpaceX’s (SPACE) Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Saturday from Florida on a historic voyage, the Crew Dragon capsule docked with the International Space Station. It was the first-ever private spacecraft to attain orbit with people on board and marks the final test flight before the company begins flying astronauts every few months. SpaceX competitor Boeing (NYSE:BA) even congratulated the company, saying the mission to the ISS “marked a new era in human spaceflight. Welcome, #CrewDragon!”
OPEC+ meeting may happen Thursday
Russia has no objection to the next OPEC+ meeting being brought forward to June 4 from the following week, sources told Reuters, in a move that could facilitate oil sales for countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait. “We might see a cautious pullback in (crude) prices given that downstream prices haven’t caught up… but if OPEC+ does come up with a three-month extension, there’s a possibility that prices may hit the $40 level,” said OCBC economist Howie Lee. North America supply is also falling as data from Baker Hughes showed that the U.S. and Canada rig counts dropped to a record low in the week to May 29.
Social media showdown
As President Trump wages war with Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) appears to be keeping diplomatic relations with the White House. CEO Mark Zuckerberg held a call with Trump on Friday, in a discussion that was described by both sides as productive, Axios reports. “I disagree strongly with how the President spoke, but I believe people should be able to see this for themselves, because ultimately accountability for those in positions of power can only happen when their speech is scrutinized out in the open,” Zuckerberg later wrote in a Facebook post.
Strong encryption
Zoom Video (NASDAQ:ZM) has announced plans to strengthen encryption on video calls made by paying clients and institutions such as schools, but not for users of its popular free accounts. The plan is drawing mixed reactions from privacy advocates, with some saying Zoom should offer protected video more widely. From a business perspective, it’s hard to make money when offering a sophisticated and expensive encryption service for free (especially when the service is the company’s only business).
Four CEOs in less than four years
Reports suggest that Peter Harf, Coty’s (NYSE:COTY) current chairman, will also assume the CEO role as soon as today. The surprise move will leave the company’s fortunes directly in the hands of its largest shareholder, JAB Holding, of which Harf is one of two managing partners. Coty previously announced in February that Jimmy Choo boss Pierre Denis would replace CEO Pierre Laubies this summer after the conclusion of a strategic review of its professional beauty unit.
What else is happening…
Three airline stocks have room to rise – Barron’s.
Delta (NYSE:DAL) looks to avoid thousands of pilot furloughs.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is replacing human editors with AI.
Jeff Bezos takes stake in startup Beacon.
Semiconductor industry lobbies for billions – WSJ.
Tokyo Disneyland (NYSE:DIS) and DisneySea extend closures.
Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) makes a stronger play in China.
Today’s Economic Calendar
9:45 PMI Manufacturing Index
10:00 ISM Manufacturing Index
10:00 Construction Spending
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