Morning Market Update
Stocks that are expected to trade actively in U.S. markets on Tuesday include: J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM), Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), IAMGOLD Corp (USA) (NYSE:IAG), Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO).
Market Levels:
US: Dow Futures: 15410.00 (0.15%), S&P 500 Futures: 1689.25 (0.13%), NASDAQ Futures: 3127.25 (0.10%)
Europe: CAC: 4085.35 (0.33%), DAX: 8419.21 (0.72%), FTSE: 6604.45 (0.46%)
Asia-Pacific: Australia: 5157.70 (0.96%), China: 2106.16 (0.23%), Hong Kong: 22541.10 (1.21%), Japan: 13867.00 (2.57%).
Metals: Gold: 1325.90 (-0.62%), Silver: 21.46 (0.54%), Copper: 3.32 (0.39%)
Energy: Crude Oil: 106.55 (0.41%), Natural Gas: 3.32 (0.18%)
Commodities: Corn: 4.67 (0.75%), Soya Bean: 12.35 (0.86%), Wheat: 6.53 (0.62%)
Currency: EUR/USD: 1.3257 (-0.32%), GBP/USD: 1.5448 (-0.08%), USD/JPY: 98.1500 (1.29%)
10-year US Treasury: 2.681% (0.060)
Market and Economic News Update:
U.S. stock-index futures shave gains: U.S. stock-index futures pared gains after July retail sales fell just short of expectations. The Commerce Department said retail sales edged up 0.2 percent in July, shy of expectations for a gain of 0.3 percent. In other economic news, import prices increased just 0.2 percent last month, according to the Labor Department. Economists had expected prices to rebound 0.6 percent in July. Up ahead in the day, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart is scheduled to speak at 12:45 p.m. on the economic outlook.
European markets rise: European markets are up in trade following better than expected data from the euro zone. Industrial output in the region rose 0.7 percent in June, while German economic sentiment bounced back to a four-month high in August, according to data released by think tank ZEW. The CAC 40 (INDEXEURO:PX1) added 0.3 percent to 4085.35, while the DAX (INDEXDB:DAX) jumped 0.7 percent to 8419.21. The FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) edged 0.5 percent higher to 6604.45 points. The euro zone blue-chip ESTX 50 PR.EUR (INDEXSTOXX:SX5E) (Euro Stoxx 50) was up 0.4 percent in recent trading.
Asian stocks end at high’s of the day: Asian markets rallied in trade, with the NIKKEI 225 (INDEXNIKKEI:NI225) climbing 2.6 percent amid a weakened yen and a report that the Japanese government is considering a cut in corporate taxes. The SSE Composite Index (SHA:000001) (Shanghai Composite Index) hit its highest level since June 20 on rising economic optimism. The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) index rose to it’s highest level in nearly three months, helped by a rally in banking stocks.
Stocks in News:
J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP)
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has stepped-down from J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP)’s board, bringing an end to an ugly spat with current management that had threatened the 111-year-old department store company’s turnaround efforts. J.C Penney said retail industry veteran Ronald Tysoe has been elected to the board effective Tuesday. The board of directors also reaffirmed its overwhelming support for Chairman Thomas Engibous and CEO Myron Ullman, both of whom, Ackman had argued should be ousted.
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)
The parent company of KFC and Pizza Hut reported a 13 percent decline in Chinese same-store sales in July, sending shares lower in early-hours trading. The company said sales at KFC continued to be negatively impacted by the adverse publicity surrounding last year’s poultry supply incident. However, Yum Brands said it expects same-store sales in the country to increase in the fourth quarter.
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)
CEO Elon Musk unveiled the details of his futuristic ‘hyperloop’ transport system on Monday. Musk proposed a solar-powered, elevated transit system that will move people between cities that are less than 900 miles apart. The system would cost around $6 billion to build and construction would take 7 to 10 years. Shares edged higher in recent pre-market trading, following the announcement.
IAMGOLD Corp (USA) (NYSE:IAG)
The gold producer reported second quarter earnings excluding one-time items of 8 cents a share, on revenue of $301 million, trailing expectations for 9 cents a share on sales of $324 million. Meanwhile, the company reiterated its gold production outlook for 2013, and lowered its production cost guidance, sending shares higher in pre-open session.
Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)
Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) said second-quarter earnings jumped 64 percent, helped by a number of acquisitions that boosted the company’s revenue and sales volume. Excluding items, adjusted earnings came in at 24 cents a share, compared to the average analysts’ estimate of 23 cents a share. Sales increased 32 percent to $898.2 million, also topping expectations for $859 million. In addition, the maker of Nature’s Own bread and Blue Bird snack cakes forecast full-year adjusted earnings of 92 cents to 98 cents a share on revenue of $3.79 billion to $3.82 million.
Economic Calendar for Tuesday, August 13, 2013:
07:30 A.M. ET: NFIB Business Optimism Index (July)
07:45 A.M. ET: ICSC-Goldman Store Sales
08:30 A.M. ET: Retail Sales (MoM) (July)
08:30 A.M. ET: Retail Sales ex-Autos (MoM) (July)
08:30 A.M. ET: Import Price Index (YoY) (July)
08:30 A.M. ET: Export Price Index (YoY) (July)
08:55 A.M. ET: Redbook Index (MoM) (August 4)
08:55 A.M. ET: Redbook Index (YoY) (August 4)
10:00 A.M. ET: Business Inventories (June)
11:30 A.M. ET: 4-Week Bill Auction
12:45 P.M. ET: Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart speaks.
