Futures Flat As Tech Stocks Rise For 7th Consecutive Day
Futures are flat with gigatech naturally outperforming into today’s retail sales print where the expectations are for beats to resume after last month's sharp miss. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures were completely flat, while Nasdaq futures were up for the 7th day in a row as it nudges toward the 20,000 mark, with semi shares higher of course, while Mag7 names are also up small. European stocks rise for a second session as political premium fades while French government bonds drift as investors keep a close eye on political developments. Bond yields are up 1-2 bps across the curve after falling Monday amid a flurry of high-grade corporate bond sales that exceeded $21 billion. A gauge of the dollar was higher with EUR, GBP, and JPY weaker. Commodity markets are mostly lower, but WTI remains above $80/bbl with CTAs now set to buy over $30BN. The macro data focus is on Retail Sales but there is another batch of Fedspeakers; yesterday’s speakers indicated a still strong economy with no consensus among the path of inflation with risks tilted more towards a growth slowdown rather than another inflation spike.
In premarket trading, Broadcom rose 2.4%
Broadcom rose 2.4%, putting the stock on track for an eighth consecutive session of gains, a rally that has added more than $200 billion to the stock’s market capitalization. Chegg jumped 20% after the online-education firm announced a cut to its workforce and a growth plan that includes developing a “single platform” with artificial-intelligence tools. Here are some other notable premarket movers:
La-Z-Boy (LZB) rises 9.4% after the furniture company reported quarterly profit and sales that topped estimates.
Lennar (LEN) slips 2.7% after the homebuilder’s orders outlook missed estimates.
NextEra Energy (NEE) falls 4.3% on plans to sell $2 billion of equity to raise money for new energy projects and to pay down its short-term debt.
Philip Morris (PM) declines 2.9% after the company stopped online sales of its popular nicotine pouch brand Zyn in the US after an affiliate received a subpoena in the District of Columbia.
Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) rises 7.4% after the space systems company signed the largest Electron launch agreement in the firm’s history.
Silk Road Medical (SILK) rallies 23% after Boston Scientific agreed to acquire the medical device maker.
Zentalis Pharma (ZNTL) drops 28% after the FDA placed a partial hold on azenosertib studies.
Optimism over a resilient economy and improving corporate earnings
Optimism over a resilient economy and improving corporate earnings have helped push US equities up about 15% this year. Ahead of Wednesday’s holiday in the US, traders geared up for retail-sales data and a slew of Federal Reserve speakers for more pointers on the potential start of rate cuts.
“The picture being painted is that despite the fading prospects of sizeable interest rate cuts from the Fed this year, the economic outlook remains upbeat and this means that corporate earnings should continue to hold up,” said Stuart Cole, the head macro economist at Equiti Capital UK Ltd. “But everybody - the Fed, the markets, etc. - is in ‘data dependency’ mode, and this sentiment could potentially sour if we get a soft set of retail sales data from the US this afternoon.”
Europe's Stoxx 600 benchmark staged a modest rebound
Europe's Stoxx 600 benchmark staged a modest rebound and rose for a second session, up 0.5% last with travel and leisure and banks are the best performing sectors while mining and consumer stocks lag behind. Whitbread Plc rose following a trading update. Danish biotech company Novonesis (Novozymes) B jumped after lifting its outlook for the year. Carrefour SA fell after a report that France’s finance ministry is seeking a €200 million civil fine from the supermarket chain. The CAC 40 adds 0.3% amid lingering concern about political turmoil in France. European stocks have retreated since French President Emmanuel Macron called a snap legislative ballot following a drubbing by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in the European Parliament elections. The two-round election will conclude on July 7. Here are some of the biggest movers on Tuesday:
Whitbread shares gain as much as 5% after it reported mild growth in total sales in 1Q and said it remains confident about its outlook for the full year.
DocMorris shares jump as much as 7.6% after Zuercher Kantonalbank raised the stock to outperform, saying the risks around data protection and mobilization of doctors for the Swiss pharmaceutical products retailer are “significantly reduced.”
Novonesis shares rise as much as 6.4% after the Danish company increased its outlook for the year. Novonesis is holding a capital markets day in London on Tuesday.
SAF-Holland shares rise as much as 6.1%, extending Monday’s gain, as several analysts boost their price targets on the German truck parts manufacturer.
Qiagen shares rise as much as 2.5%, extending Monday’s gains, after the German life sciences and diagnostics firm set 2024-2028 guidance above market expectations.
Moncler shares fall as much as 4% after analysts at Oddo BHF trimmed their price target and earnings estimates due to concerns the luxury company will see a sharp slowdown in 2Q.
Ashtead shares fall as much as 5.1% to hit a three-month low, after the equipment rental giant’s earnings fell short of expectations in the fourth quarter due to an unexpected provision booked after one of its customers went bankrupt.
Coloplast shares drop as much as 3.5% after Nordea downgraded the stock to sell from hold, citing a “negatively skewed” risk/reward.
Komax shares fall as much as 8%, touching the lowest since June 2020, after the Swiss machinery manufacturer issued a warning, saying its 2024 revenue will decline by about 20%.
Paradox Interactive drops as much as 8.3%, the most since October, after the Swedish game publisher decided to cease further operations in the
