Morning Market Update
Stocks that are expected to trade actively in U.S. markets on Monday include: McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX), Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS), Nash-Finch Company (NASDAQ:NAFC), Spartan Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPTN)
Market Levels:
US: Dow Futures: 15490.00 (-0.10%), S&P 500 Futures: 1689.40 (-0.05%), NASDAQ Futures: 3043.50 (0.10%)
Europe: CAC: 3939.32 (0.36%), DAX: 8334.50 (0.04%), FTSE: 6619.28 (-0.17%)
Asia-Pacific: Australia: 5001.90 (0.60%), China: 2004.76 (0.60%), Hong Kong: 21416.50 (0.25%), Japan: 14658.04 (0.46%).
Metals: Gold: 1323.90 (2.40%), Silver: 20.36 (4.65%), Copper: 3.19 (1.69%)
Energy: Crude Oil: 108.43 (0.35%), Natural Gas: 3.70 (-2.35%)
Commodities: Corn: 4.95 (-0.20%), Soya Bean: 12.77 (0.63%), Wheat: 6.64 (0.49%)
Currency: EUR/USD: 1.3164 (0.16%), GBP/USD: 1.5337 (0.46%), USD/JPY: 99.9300 (-0.72%)
10-year US Treasury: 2.484% (0.000)
Market and Economic News Update:
U.S. stock-index futures little changed: U.S. stock-index futures are pointing to a flat open on Monday following a mixed bag of corporate earnings. Looking ahead, eight Dow components, as well a third of S&P 500 companies, will report earnings this week. In economic news, existing-home sales data for June is scheduled for release at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Economists expect sales to have risen 1.9 per cent last month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.28 million.
European markets mixed: European markets are struggling for direction as investors digested a slew of mixed corporate news. On the economic front, the German central bank said in its monthly bulletin that the domestic economy expanded strongly in the second quarter, but warned that there are signs of a slowdown in the current quarter. The CAC 40 (INDEXEURO:PX1) added 0.4 per cent to 3939.32, while the DAX (INDEXDB:DAX) was flat in trade. The FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) dipped 0.2 per cent to 6619.28 points. The euro zone blue-chip ESTX 50 PR.EUR (INDEXSTOXX:SX5E) (Euro Stoxx 50) was up 0.4 per cent in recent trading.
Asian markets end higher: Asian stocks closed higher on Monday as investors cheered Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s landslide victory in Sunday’s upper house elections. The NIKKEI 225 (INDEXNIKKEI:NI225) added half a per cent, while the SSE Composite Index (SHA:000001) (Shanghai Composite Index) closed above the key psychological level of 2000, amid a rally in banking stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) index gave up gains made earlier in the session to end 0.6 per cent higher.
Stocks in News:
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) posted second-quarter profit of $1.4 billion, or $1.38 a share, compared to $1.35 billion, or $1.32 a share, in the year-ago period. Sales edged 2 per cent higher to $7.08 billion from $6.92 billion a year earlier. Analysts had forecast earnings of $1.40 on sales of $7.08 billion. Global same-store sales rose 1 per cent during the quarter, but the fast-food chain expects that figure to be “relatively” flat for July. Shares plunged close to 3 per cent in recent pre-market trading.
Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL)
The oilfield-services company reported second-quarter net profit of $679 million, or 73 cents a share, down from $737 million, or 79 cents a share, in the same period last year. Revenue increased to $7.32 billion from $7.23 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings per share of 72 cents on sales of $7.26 billion. In addition, the company said it expects U.S. land-rig count to be flat during the current quarter.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will buy transit navigation app maker Hopstop for an undisclosed sum, according to a report by AllThingsD. Founded 2005, Hopstop has around two million active monthly users, and helps users in more than 500 cities, find the fastest way to travel by foot, bike, car and subway. Shares were up in pre-market trading.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX)
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has agreed to acquire a 6.3 per cent stake in Taiwanese microchip maker, Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX)’s display subsidiary. As part of the deal, the tech giant will also have the option to buy up to a 14.8 per cent stake in Himax Display Inc. The deal is expected to close during the current quarter,
Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS)
The toymaker reported weak second quarter results amid sales declines in its Boys products. Excluding certain items, profit came in at 29 cents per share, five cents below the average analysts’ estimate, with revenue also missing projections. A 35 per cent revenue drop in Hasbro’s boys’ toy business overshadowed sales growth in the girls, games, and pre-school units.
Nash-Finch Company (NASDAQ:NAFC), Spartan Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPTN)
Nash-Finch Company (NASDAQ:NAFC) is being acquired by rival food distributor Spartan Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPTN) in a $1.3 billion all-stock deal. Nash Finch shareholders will receive 1.2 shares of Spartan Stores common stock for each share of Nash Finch they own. Spartan Stores investors will own about 57.7 percent of the combined company, while Nash Finch shareholders will own the remaining 42.3 percent, they said, the companies said today in a statement.
Economic Calendar for Monday, July 22, 2013:
08:30 A.M. ET: Chicago Fed National Activity Index (June)
10:00 A.M. ET: Existing Home Sales Change (MoM) (June)
10:00 A.M. ET: Existing Home Sales (MoM) (June)
11:30 A.M. ET: 3-Month Bill Auction
11:30 A.M. ET: 6-Month Bill Auction
