Блог компании DayTraderClub | Америка сегодня. Текущий баланс и красная книга.

 

European MarketsFTSE...7414.68...-15.10...-0.20%.  DAX...12046.95...-6.00...-0.10%.

 

S&P futures vs fair value: +4.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +12.90.

 

Shanghai...+10.80 (+0.33%)

 PepsiCo ($125 tgt), STZ ($183 tgt), MNST ($56 tgt), NWL ($63 tgt), EL ($100 tgt) initiated with Overweight ratings at JP Morgan  (111.15)

 

Procter & Gamble ($98 tgt), KO ($43 tgt), CL ($77 tgt), KMB ($139 tgt), TAP ($105 tgt), CLX ($136 tgt), CHD ($53 tgt) initiated with Neutral ratings at JP Morgan  (91.22)

 

Coty initiated with a Underweight at JP Morgan; tgt $16  (19.15)

 

Shopify: Georgian Partners discloses 6.2% passive stake  (68.86)

 

BCE Inc resumed with an Overweight at Barclays  (43.11)

 

Molina Healthcare resumed with an Equal Weight at Barclays  (44.54)

 Carnival upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair  (57.76)

 

Teck Resources upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank  (21.41)

 Freeport-McMoRan upgraded to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank  (12.73)

 

China Telecom shares down 1% following FY16 results  (49.45) Co reported FY16 EPS of RMB 0.222 vs RMB 0.199 last year (no ests); operating revs +6.4% YoY to RMB 352.3 bln. Dividend: Taking into consideration the return to shareholders, the Company's profitability, cash flow level and capital requirements for its future development, the Board of Directors has decided to recommend at the forthcoming shareholders' meeting to appropriately increase the dividend level, that a dividend equivalent to HK$0.105 per share for the year 2016 to be declared. The net increase of mobile subscribers for the year was 17.10 million, reaching a total of 215 million. The total number of 4G terminal users doubled and reached a total of 122 million while the penetration rate reached 57%. FY17 Guidance: Chairman Yang pointed out that year 2017 is a crucial year for the Company to implement the strategy of comprehensive transformation and upgrades as well as the construction of comprehensive competitive advantages. Despite facing more complicated external environment and more intensified market competition, the Company is even more confident looking into the future.

 

Tesoro Logistics LP initiated with a Buy at SunTrust; tgt $62  (52.50)

 

MacQuarie Infrastructure initiated with a Buy at SunTrust  (79.80)

 

Buckeye Partners initiated with a Hold at SunTrust; tgt $72  (66.68)

 Dave & Busters initiated with a Buy at Maxim Group; tgt $72  (59.66)Maxim Group initiates PLAY with a Buy and price target of $72 as they see market share gains in a fragmented Restaurant-Arcade segment. They also believe new unit development will be the primary top-line catalyst. Firm also models low-to-mid-single-digit same-restaurant sales growth through FY18, as they argue PLAY is less vulnerable to trends that have hurt the Casual Dining segment. As firm believes PLAY will continue to focus more on entertainment, they expect additional margin gains in the next couple of years. In their view, the combination of a strong new unit pipeline, consistent comp growth, and an ongoing shift in favor of high-margin entertainment rev should produce above-consensus EPS upside.

 On The Wires

• OneSubsea, a Schlumberger (SLB) company, announced the award by BP (BP) of an engineering, procurement and construction contract to supply the subsea production system for the Mad Dog 2 development in the Gulf of Mexico.
• TechnipFMC (FTI) has been awarded a contract by ENI Ghana E&P Limited (a subsidiary of ENI (E), GNPC and Vitol), for the onshore part of the OCTP development of the Sankofa field, offshore Ghana. Under this contract, TechnipFMC will perform the project management, engineering, supply, construction and commissioning for the Onshore Receiving Facilities located in Sanzule, which form part of the Gas to Power Plan.
• On March 17, 2017, CorVel Corporation's (CRVL) Board of Directors approved the promotion of Michael Combs, the Company's Chief Information Officer, to the position of President to be effective on April 1, 2017, while V. Gordon Clemons, Sr. will continue as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

 

Pan Am Silver upgraded to Outperform at RBC Capital Mkts; tgt $22  (17.20)RBC Capital Mkts upgrades PAAS to Outperform from Sector Perform and sets target price at $22 as they expect co's shares to outpace peers as it (1) brings two significant brownfield expansion projects on-line, (2) advances Joaquin and La Negra, (3) continues to deliver steady operating results with potential upside to current guidance and (4) their Outperform rating is supported by co's attractive valuation relative to its peers.

 

Pengrowth Energy upgraded to Sector Perform at RBC Capital Mkts; tgt $1.75  (1.07)RBC Capital Mkts upgrades PGH to Sector Perform from Underperform and sets target price at $1.75. Disposition metrics of 36,600 per flowing barrel are in-line with Pengrowth's pre-deal 2017E value of $37,900/boe/d. In terms of cash flow, firm pegs the transaction multiple at 3.0x their projected 2018 operating cash flow (US$63/bbl WTI and C$3.40/mcf AECO) and 4.1x at strip vs Pengrowth's pre-announcement valuation multiples of 6.0x and 8.3x respectively. Co confirmed its remaining Swan Hills position (circa. 5,000 boe/d) and Greater Olds/Garrington (13,000 boe/d, 44% liquids) assets are potential sale candidates.

 

Triumph Bancorp initiated with a Buy at DA Davidson; $31 tgt  (25.85)

 Veritex Holdings initiated with a Buy at DA Davidson; $34 tgt  (28.07)

 

Anixter initiated with a Market Perform at Wells Fargo  (81.35)

 

Motorola Solutions upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies; tgt raised to $100 from $75  (84.30)

 Sprouts Farmers Market downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital  (21.82)

 

Merus downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup  (28.50)

 Kellogg, CAG, CPB, GIS, SJM downgraded to Underperform at Bernstein  (74.98)

 HDFC Bank downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley  (74.21)

 

Square initiated with a Mkt Perform at Raymond James  (17.24)

 

HubSpot downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James  (64.30)

 

Aevi Genomic Medicine downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies  (2.21)

 Alexandria RE upgraded to Outperform from In Line at Evercore ISI  (109.97)

 

Qualys upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at a boutique firm  (34.80)

 QEP Resources downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho  (13.04)

 

Pioneer Natural Resources upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Mizuho  (183.99)

 Overnight Summary — World markets see little movement overnight; Pound rises following better than UK CPI

• The global equity markets are mostly higher this morning. S&P Futures have seen modest strength after being down slightly heading into the Asian session open. The economic news flow was considerably light, leading to fairly tight ranges across the equity indexes.
• Chinese markets posted its second straight day of gains, with the Shanghai finishing up 0.3%. There was no significant econ releases, thus the strongest case supporting Mainland stocks was a decent sized liquidity injection by the PBOC of ~CNY80 bln. A modest rebound in crude helped to lend strength to the Energy names, helping to buoy stocks for the bulk of the day.
• The Nikkei was among the few markets to finish in negative territory, closing the day 0.3% lower following the holiday weekend. Japan also had no significant macro-related news to speak of, so equity markets seemed to be influenced by the recent strength in the yen against the greenback. With that said, the dollar has gained back majority of the declines during the Japanese trading session.
• European bourses are trading in the neighborhood of 0.0-0.3% higher, thus far. The regional equities are currently supported by the echoing theme of strength in the Energy sector with Total and Shell both gaining more than 1% in the early stages. The UK released the lone set of economic data, with better than expected CPI. The February figure saw prices rising at a clip of 2.3%, better than the consensus of +2.1%. This has led to sharp rise in the pound, up nearly 1% against the dollar.

Market Updates:

• S&P Futures vs Fair Value: +4.50 
• 10 yr Note: 2.4879% 
• USD/JPY: 112.55 -0.01
• EUR/USD: 1.0800 +0.0060
• Europe: FTSE 0.0% DAX +0.1% CAC +0.3% 
• Asia: Hang Seng +0.4% Shanghai +0.3% Nikkei -0.3% 
• Commodities: Gold (1232.30 -1.70) Silver (17.44 Unch) crude (49.28 +0.37) 

US Econ Data

• Q4 Current Account Balance (8:30am)
• Fed's George speaks (Noon)
• Fed's Mester Speaks (6pm)

 

Facebook upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BTIG Research  (139.94)

 

Swift Transportation upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Longbow  (20.53)

 MEDNAX downgraded to Neutral at Robert W. Baird; tgt $72  (70.10)Robert W. Baird downgrades MD to Neutral from Outperform and sets target price at $72 as (1) MD is 20% off its 2016 bottom and 10% higher vs. its recent 4Q16 miss; (2) organic growth remains weak, and firm's proprietary birth data points to worsening trends; (3) MD carries a sector high historical and relative EBITDA valuation and (4) 2017 sets up to be overly reliant on M&A. In short, the risk/reward just feels more balanced as the stock nudges up against price target. They take this opportunity to opine on a multitude of cross-currents impacting Children's Services.

 On The Wires

• China Lending (CLDC) announced that its Board approved a 1-time dividend of $0.036 per ordinary share (thinly traded).
• ENGlobal (ENG) announced that it was awarded an environmental project valued at over $1 mln, with the potential to expand to a larger scope. Located in the Southeast U.S, this environmentally driven installation will provide cleaner air and enhanced plant operability, while significantly benefitting from ENGlobal's accelerated schedule.
• Trimble (TRMB) and Valley Irrigation, The Leader in Precision Irrigation, a division of Valmont Industries (VMI) announced that Valley Irrigation will become the exclusive OEM distributor of Trimble's Irrigate-IQ precision irrigation solution. This solution will be available for Valley Corner Sprinkler Sequencing and Variable Rate Irrigation products through the global Valley dealer network to optimize water application for center pivot irrigation systems.

 Asian Markets Close: Nikkei -0.3%, Hang Seng +0.4%, Shanghai +0.3%

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Tuesday on a mostly higher note. The Reserve Bank of Australia released its latest policy minutes, showing a discussion about rising property prices and slower wage growth. The Australian dollar saw some movement against the greenback, but is now back to little changed at 0.7735. The overall risk sentiment saw an uptick after the French presidential debate ended and an Elabe poll showed that Emmanuel Macron was the most convincing candidate.

• In economic data:
  • Hong Kong's February CPI -0.1% year-over-year (last 1.3%)
  • Australia's CB Leading Index +0.4% month-over-month (last 0.3%). Q4 House Price Index +4.1% quarter-over-quarter (expected 2.4%; last 1.5%)
  • New Zealand's Credit Card Spending +5.3% year-over-year (last 7.1%) and February External Migration & Visitors +1.8% (last +11.0%)

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei lost 0.3%. Sony Financial Holdings, JTEKT, Konica Minolta, Ricoh, Dai-ichi Life Insurance, Casio, TDK, Isuzu Motor, and Daikin Industries lost between 1.1% and 2.7%. On the upside, Toshiba jumped 3.2% amid reports the company's Westinghouse unit is seeking bankruptcy financing.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.4% with property names showing relative strength. Sino Land, China Resources Land, Hang Lung Properties, Henderson Land, China Overseas, China Construction Bank, and New World Development added between 0.8% and 3.2%. Hengan International Group fell 6.8% in reaction to disappointing results.
• China's Shanghai Composite rallied into the close, rising 0.3%. Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Holdings, Anhui Expressway, Shanghai Pharmaceutical Holdings, Anhui Golden Seed Winery, and Shanxi Xinghuacun Fen Wine posted gains between 4.2% and 5.5%.
• India's Sensex slipped 0.1%. Drug makers underperformed amid rising concerns about increased regulation from the Food and Drug Administration. Dr Reddy's Labs fell 4.4% while Sun Pharma lost 1.1%. Financials were mixed with AXIS Bank and ICIC Bank falling 3.3% and 1.1%, respectively, while HDFC Bank rose 0.3%.

---FX---

• USDJPY UNCH at 112.56
• USDCNY -0.3% to 6.8908
• USDINR -0.1% to 65.274

 

South State's Board approves an increase in shares of its common stock oavailable to be repurchased hereafter under its stock repurchase program to 1 mln shares of common stock  (89.95)

 

Nord Anglia Education initiated with a Buy at Citigroup; tgt $29  (24.13)

 Fifth Street Asset Management misses by $0.03, misses on revs (2 & single analyst est. respectively)  (5.05)

• Fifth Street Asset Management reports Q4 adj EPS of $0.14, vs the $0.17 two analyst estimate; revs were $17.9 mln, vs the $22.60 mln single analyst estimate.
  • Management fees represented 88.1% of total rev for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2016.
• Fee-earning AUM was $3.7 bln as of Dec 31, 2016.

 Global Blood Therapeutics assumed with a Outperform at Wedbush; tgt $73  (37.35)Wedbush assumes coverage of GBT with a Outperform and sets target price at $73. Firm notes GBT is developing GBT440 to reduce the severity and frequency of crises and pain associated with sickle cell disease (SCD) and to improve blood oxygenation characteristics and quality of life for IPF. In 2017, they see release of Phase 2a GBT440 testing in IPF as the most material catalyst unless GBT is acquired. Firm also calculates that the recent uptick following acquisition speculation is too low.

 

Allegheny Tech initiated with a Buy at Longbow; tgt $24  (17.56)

 

Carpenter Tech initiated with a Buy at Longbow; tgt $48  (37.71)

 Haynes Intl initiated with a Neutral at Longbow  (38.08)

 

Akamai Tech initiated with a Buy at Drexel Hamilton; $90 tgt  (64.86)

 Early premarket gappers

Gapping up:

• PTIE +58.8%, HTBX +26.9%, CBK +13.3%, TENX +9.4%, BCS +3%, FCX +2.9%, SAN +2.2%, ING +2%, LYG +2%, BBVA +1.8%, BP +1.4%, MU +1.4%
• RBS +1.4%, TOT +1.2%, AMD +1.2%, CS +1.1%, PUK +1.1%, RDS.A +1.1%, VRX +1%, WCST +0.9%, LEN +0.8%, LEN +0.8%, HSBC +0.7%, FB +0.6%

Gapping down:

• LOCO -11.4%, CALA -6.9%, DB -6.7%, GEL -6.3%, WTT -4.4%, AKAO -3.9%, GBDC -3.1%, RDY -3%, LJPC -2.7%, FSM -2.5%
• KEYS -1.9%, GPRO -1.8%, MTL -1.5%, HL -1.2%, SJM -1%, GIS -0.8%, OCUL -0.5%

 

Cracker Barrel downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus  (160.74)

 

Facebook upgrade details — to Buy at BTIG Research; tgt $175  (139.94)BTIG Research upgrades FB to Buy from Neutral and sets target price at $175 noting, «We downgraded Facebook shares to Neutral from BUY back on July 22, 2016, with the shares just below $121 (we had been BUY rated previously since October 2013). We downgraded FB shares based on our concern that investor expectations had gotten too far ahead of themselves, particularly with Facebook's video strategy and associated monetization taking longer to materialize than we had expected. Even with notable earnings outperformance in both Q2 and Q3 2016, FB shares stagnated on fears of a meaningful deceleration in growth starting in 2017, finishing 2016 at $115. However, after crushing Q4 2016 investor expectations and what appears to be stronger than expected trends so far in 2017, FB shares are already up 15% year-to-date.»

 European Markets Update: FTSE -0.2%, DAX UNCH, CAC +0.3%

Major European indices trade near their flat lines while Italy's MIB (+1.1%) outperforms. Last evening, five French presidential candidates squared off in a debate that focused mostly on policy. Emmanuel Macron, who was seen as the most convincing candidate by an Elabe poll, spoke in favor of boosting French military spending. Despite last night's showing, a tight vote is still expected in the first round of voting on April 23. Elsewhere, economic data from the UK showed hotter than expected inflation.

• In economic data:
  • UK's February CPI +0.7% month-over-month (expected 0.5%; last -0.5%); +2.3% year-over-year (consensus 2.1%; last 1.8%). February Core CPI +2.0% year-over-year (consensus 1.8%; previous 1.6%). February Input PPI -0.4% month-over-month (expected 0.1%; last 1.6%) and Output PPI +0.2% month-over-month (expected 0.3%; last 0.6%). February Public Sector Net Borrowing GBP1.08 billion (expected GBP2.50 billion; last -GBP11.73 billion). February RPI +1.1% month-over-month (expected 0.8%; last -0.6%); +3.2% year-over-year (consensus 2.9%; previous 2.6%)
  • Spain's trade deficit widened to EUR3.13 billion from EUR2.45 billion
  • Swiss February trade surplus narrowed to CHF3.11 billion from CHF4.83 billion (expected surplus of CHF3.85 billion)

---Equity Markets---

• UK's FTSE is lower by 0.2% with miners and select consumer names showing relative weakness. Rio Tinto, Glencore, and Antofagasta are down between 0.7% and 1.2% while Associated British Foods, Dixons Carphone, Persimmon, Burberry, Barratt Developments, and Diageo show losses between 0.6% and 1.1%.
• Germany's DAX sits just above its flat line. Commerzbank leads with a gain of 1.6% while automakers BMW and Daimler are up 1.6% and 0.5%, respectively. On the downside, Deutsche Bank has plunged 7.5% amid reports the bank is expected to be fined by U.S. regulators for its actions in the currency market.
• France's CAC is higher by 0.3% with financials well ahead of their peers. BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, and Credit Agricole are up between 1.3% and 2.3%. Growth-sensitive names like Total, Air Liquide, and Legrand have added between 0.4% and 0.8% while Nokia Oyj is the weakest performer, falling 1.7%.
• Italy's MIB has spiked 1.1% to a new high for the year. Banco Bpm, Banca Pop Emilia Romagna, UniCredit, Intesa Sanpaolo, UBI Banca, and Banca Mediolanum show gains between 1.1% and 5.3%.

 

On The Wires Asterias Biotherapeutics (AST) reported that including the sixth and final patient in the AIS-A 10 million cell cohort in the company's ongoing SCiStar Phase 1/2a clinical trial has further confirmed previously-announced motor function improvements at 6-months following administration of AST-OPC1. Solvay and Nexeo Solutions (NXEO) announced that effective April 20, 2017, Nexeo Solutions will become an authorized distributor of the Solvay AEROSOL Surfactant Chemistry, formerly sold by Cytec Industries Inc., in the United States and Canada. This decision comes as a result of consolidation and rationalization efforts that will help Solvay focus on the continued development of solutions for the Coatings, Emulsion Polymerization and Industrial markets. Solvay acquired Cytec Industries Inc. in 2015. Solvay will continue to supply these products with the same manufacturing location, process and sales specifications.

 

Progressive upgraded to Buy from Hold at Sandler O'Neill  (40.22)

 

Ally Financial in slide presentation sees FY17 EPS guidance in line with estimates  (21.12) Co issues guidance for FY17 (Dec), sees EPS of +5-15% to ~$2.27-2.49 vs. $2.35 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; medium term target of 15% + CAGR Core ROTCE for FY17: 10% ±.

 Overnight Treasury Summary

French Presidential Debate Leads to Market Relief

• U.S. Treasuries are tracking lower this morning as the U.S. Dollar Index falls 0.58% to 99.82 after French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron appeared to beat Marine Le Pen in a debate on Monday evening. The apparent victory for Macron has weighed on 2-year German schatz prices, pushing the yield on the benchmark security near to a seven-week high at -0.75%. The international economic data was limited but U.K. consumer price inflation ran at 2.3% y/y in February, surpassing the Bank of England's 2% target. The recent jump is an artifact of very sharp year-on-year appreciation in oil prices and the significant depreciation of the pound sterling since the Brexit referendum on June 23, 2016. If these trends do not continue, the recent resurgence of inflation should be one-off event. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.24% to 2,378.8 and WTI crude is higher by 0.75% at $48.58/bbl. Gold is down 0.13% to $1,132.4/troy oz.
• Yield Check:
  • 2-yr: +1 bp to 1.30%
  • 5-yr: +3 bps to 2.02%
  • 10-yr: +3 bps to 2.49%
  • 30-yr: +2 bps to 3.10%

• International News:
  • Australia's House Price Index rose by 4.1% q/q in the fourth quarter, exceeding expectations and improving on Q3's 1.5% growth
    • In the minutes from its March 7 meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia said that it was closely watching the housing sector, where it sees a «build-up of risks»
    • The RBA also noted that a stronger Aussie dollar would «complicate» the country's transition away from export dependence
  • Switzerland's trade surplus narrowed more than expected in February to CHF3.105 bln from CHF4.830 bln in January. January's reading was an all-time high
  • Spain's trade deficit widened in January to EUR3.13 bln, its widest level in more than a year, from EUR2.45 bln in December
  • The U.K.'s consumer price index increased by 0.7% m/m in February (2.3% y/y), topping estimates and reversing January's 0.5% decline. The core CPI was up 2.0% y/y
    • Separately, CBI Industrial Trends Orders remained at 8 in March, beating expectations for a dip. Export orders jumped to a three-year high on strength in mechanical engineering and pharmaceuticals while output expectations for the next three months leapt close to a two-decade high
      • The weakening of the pound sterling since last June's Brexit vote is helping manufacturing exports, as expected

• Data out Tuesday:
  
  • Q4 Current Account Balance (08:30 ET)
• Fed Speakers:
  • New York Fed President Dudley (FOMC voter) (06:00 ET)
  • Kansas City Fed President George (non-FOMC voter) (12:00 ET)
  • Cleveland Fed President Mester (non-FOMC voter) (18:00 ET)

 

Overseas Research Calls Upgrades:  National Grid (NGG) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Exane BNP Paribas Valeo SA (VLEEY) upgraded to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies Tullow Oil plc (TUWLF) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank Downgrades:  Munich Re (MURGY) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein Miscellaneous:  Barrat Developments (BTDPF) initiated with an Overweight at Morgan Stanley

 

BWX Technologies upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill  (46.85)

 On The Wires

• Jacobs Engineering Group (JEC) has been awarded a construction management contract from Oxea Corporation for a Propanol Expansion project at its manufacturing site at Bay City, Texas. Propanol is used to manufacture products such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, printing inks, coatings and adhesives. Jacobs is delivering pre-construction planning and construction management services to help deliver the new Propanol 2 unit that will add a capacity of 100,000 metric ton per year of propanol and 40,000 metric ton per year of propionaldehyde. The unit is scheduled to come on line in 2018. Once commissioned, it will position Oxea for future growth and increased market demand. Financial details were not disclosed.
• Accenture (ACN) acquires Focus Group Europe, a United Kingdom-based, privately owned, ServiceNow consulting services provider and software reseller that is one of the largest remaining pure-play ServiceNow consulting partners in the UK. The acquisition solidifies Accenture's position as a leader in the ServiceNow partner ecosystem, adding to Accenture's already strong technology capabilities and deep industry experience in cloud strategy, implementation, migration, integration and management. Financial details were not disclosed. 

 Apple target raised to $160 from $140 at Bernstein  (141.46)

 S&P futures vs fair value: +4.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +13.60.

After a slightly disappointing start to the week, equity futures point to a modestly higher open for Tuesday's session. The S&P 500 futures trade four points above fair value.

Crude oil has contributed to the positive sentiment amid reports that OPEC members increasingly favor an extension of their original six-month supply cut agreement as a way to combat stubbornly high U.S. inventories. Additionally, crude oil is receiving a boost from the U.S. dollar, which has slipped in early action. The energy component currently trades 0.7% higher at $49.26/bbl while the U.S. Dollar Index (99.65, -0.51) is down 0.5%.

The greenback has lost 0.6% against the euro (1.0808) this morning after opinion polls suggested that Emmanuel Macron had the upper hand on his main rival Marine Le Pen in last night's French presidential debate. This has been construed as a positive for the European Union given Marine Le Pen's anti-EU rhetoric.

U.S. Treasuries are also down this morning, giving back nearly all of Monday's modest gains. The benchmark 10-yr yield trades two basis points higher at 2.48%.

Tuesday's lone economic report, fourth quarter Current Account Balance (Briefing.com consensus -$128.2 billion), will cross the wires at 8:30 ET.

In U.S. corporate news:

• General Mills (GIS 58.22, -2.04): -3.4% despite beating earnings per share estimates.
• Deutsche Bank (DB 17.34, -1.02): -5.6% after Bloomberg reported that the company may be fined by U.S. authorities over forex activities.
• Facebook (FB 141.02, +1.08): +0.8% after the company's stock was upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' at BTIG Research.

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Tuesday on a mostly higher note. Japan's Nikkei -0.3%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.4%, China's Shanghai Composite +0.3%, India's Sensex -0.1%.
  • In economic data:
    • Hong Kong's February CPI -0.1% year-over-year (last 1.3%)
    • Australia's CB Leading Index +0.4% month-over-month (last 0.3%). Q4 House Price Index +4.1% quarter-over-quarter (expected 2.4%; last 1.5%)
    • New Zealand's Credit Card Spending +5.3% year-over-year (last 7.1%) and February External Migration & Visitors +1.8% (last +11.0%)
  • In news:
    • The Reserve Bank of Australia released its latest policy minutes, showing a discussion about rising property prices and slower wage growth.
    • The overall risk sentiment saw an uptick after the French presidential debate ended and an Elabe poll showed that Emmanuel Macron was the most convincing candidate.

• Major European indices trade near their flat lines while Italy's MIB outperforms. UK's FTSE -0.2%, Germany's DAX unch, France's CAC +0.3%, Italy's MIB +1.1%.
  • In economic data:
    • UK's February CPI +0.7% month-over-month (expected 0.5%; last -0.5%); +2.3% year-over-year (consensus 2.1%; last 1.8%). February Core CPI +2.0% year-over-year (consensus 1.8%; previous 1.6%). February Input PPI -0.4% month-over-month (expected 0.1%; last 1.6%) and Output PPI +0.2% month-over-month (expected 0.3%; last 0.6%). February Public Sector Net Borrowing GBP1.08 billion (expected GBP2.50 billion; last -GBP11.73 billion). February RPI +1.1% month-over-month (expected 0.8%; last -0.6%); +3.2% year-over-year (consensus 2.9%; previous 2.6%)
    • Spain's trade deficit widened to EUR3.13 billion from EUR2.45 billion
    • Swiss February trade surplus narrowed to CHF3.11 billion from CHF4.83 billion (expected surplus of CHF3.85 billion)
  • In news:
    • Last evening, five French presidential candidates squared off in a debate that focused mostly on policy. Emmanuel Macron, who was seen as the most convincing candidate by an Elabe poll, spoke in favor of boosting French military spending. Despite last night's showing, a tight vote is still expected in the first round of voting on April 23.

 Atento to acquire a majority stake in Interfile; terms not disclosed  (8.05)

Interfile is a provider of BPO services and solutions for the banking and financial services sector in Brazil.

• Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

 Wright Medical Group upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Northcoast  (29.21)

 

Ciena opens the AI chip set — a major shift in the competitive landscape — Needham  (23.74)Needham notes Ciena is opening its WaveLogic Ai DSP chipset to third party vendors in a move to open its architecture and compete with other third-party chip sets. They think this is a brilliant move by Ciena and they consider it to be a game-changing event in the optical space. In a stroke Ciena has made its platforms more open and while adding additional opportunities for high-margin revenues. The initial partners for this strategic initiative are Oclaro (OCLR), Lumentum (LITE) and NeoPhotonics (NPTN). They are surprised that Finisar (FNSR) was not included and suspect that it could likely be a partner down the line; $30 tgt.

 

European Summary Gilts and Bunds Slide Eurozone core/periphery yield spreads are narrowing today as a strong performance in the French presidential debate by Emmanuel Macron has allayed some investors' fear that Marine Le Pen could emerge as the eventual victor in the upcoming election. The 10-year German bund yield is up to 0.475%, close to its 52-week high of 0.50%, and EUR/USD traded to a six-week high of 1.0812. U.K. inflation rose to 2.3% y/y in February and this has economists debating the consequences for monetary policy and for household spending. Some are concerned that higher prices for consumer goods without higher wages will eventually lead to slowing growth. Very few economists are expecting an imminent response from the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee but they do see this as complicating efforts at the central bank to cushion any growth slowdown The European Union will hold a summit on April 29 to determine its response to the U.K.'s triggering of Article 50 (expected on March 29) European Economic Data: The U.K.'s consumer price index increased by 0.7% m/m in February (2.3% y/y), topping estimates and reversing January's 0.5% decline. The core CPI was up 2.0% y/y Separately, CBI Industrial Trends Orders remained at 8 in March, beating expectations for a dip. Export orders jumped to a three-year high on strength in mechanical engineering and pharmaceuticals while output expectations for the next three months leapt close to a two-decade high Switzerland's trade surplus narrowed more than expected in February to CHF3.105 bln from CHF4.830 bln in January. January's reading was an all-time high Spain's trade deficit widened in January to EUR3.13 bln, its widest level in more than a year, from EUR2.45 bln in December Yield Check: France, 10-yr OAT: +1 bp to 1.13% Germany, 10-yr bund: +4 bps to 0.48% Greece, 10-yr note: -2 bps to 7.35% Italy, 10-yr BTP: -4 bps to 2.32%  Portugal, 10-yr PGB: -2 bps to 3.91% Spain, 10-yr ODE: -2 bps to 1.82% U.K., 10-yr gilt: +4 bps to 1.28%

 Pharma, Biotech and Life Sciences sector upgraded to Overweight from Market Weight at Credit Suisse  (296.58)

 

Lemaitre Vascular initiated with a Overweight at First Analysis Sec  (24.00)

 

Gapping up Gapping up In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: HTBX +25.8%, TENX +18.4%, CMCM +1.9%, FRAN +1.7% Select EU financial related names showing strength: BCS +3.3%, SAN +3.2%, ING +2.5%, BBVA +2.5%, LYG +1.7%, CS +1.6%, RBS +1.4%, PUK +1.1%, HSBC +1% Select oil/gas related names showing strength: WFT +2.1%, TNP +1.4%, STO +1.2%, TOT +1%, WLL +0.9%, RIG +0.8%, BP +0.7%, RDS.A +0.7% Other news: PTIE +48.5% (receives positive regulatory guidance from FDA for REMOXY) HTBX +23.7% (announces the latest results of its ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial of HS-110 in combination with Opdivo for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer) CBK +13.3% (CEO Joel Waller discloses the purchase of 20k shares at $1.26) WCST +0.9% (Enters into a Capital Increase Agreement with Guizhou Sun Seven Stars Technology Company Limited) Analyst comments: WMGI +2.7% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Northcoast) FCX +2.4% (upgraded to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank) CCL +1% (upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair) PAAS +0.9% (upgraded to Outperform at RBC Capital Mkts) BWXT +0.9% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill) FB +0.7% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BTIG Research)

 Warren Resources

• Xcel Brands (XELB) announces Ariel Foxman will be working with their executive team as a consultant who brings more than two decades of leadership, brand building, content creation, e-Commerce execution and digital analytics experience. He will work with Xcel to fully develop digital and media strategy and drive their data analytics effort.
• India Globalization Capital (IGC) announced its provisional patent filing (IGC-506) for the treatment of multiple types of eating disorders by a method and combination of cannabis extracts and other compounds. IGC-506 is being developed for both human and veterinary use, should this filing progress to the issuance of a patent. «The development of cannabis-based combination therapies represents a large, unique opportunity, and we believe we are the first mover in this emerging specialty-pharmaceutical sector. Over the past three years, we have built a strong IP portfolio and now propose to obtain funding to commence pre-clinical and clinical trials as appropriate. Securing FDA approval for combination therapies is generally much faster and less expensive than the process for new drug applications. As a result, we believe that we can bring our cannabis-based pharmaceutical products to market in both an expeditious and cost-effective manner,» states Ram Mukunda, Chief Executive Officer of IGC.
• Silicom (SILC) announced that it has achieved the most significant design win in its history. This design win, from a top-10 Cloud player, is for a highly customized version of Silicom's 100-Gigabit high bandwidth switch fabric on a NIC cloud solution. Based on this design win, Silicom has received initial purchase orders (POs) in the aggregate amount of $17 million to cover a small-volume Alpha phase, an intensive Beta program and the product's first commercial deployment. Having completed deliveries for the Alpha phase, Silicom is now in the process of delivering the Beta-program products while completing two additional activities: 1) finalizing the product configuration and validating the solution's performance within the servers in which the Silicom products will be deployed, in cooperation with a Tier-1 server manufacturer; and 2) ramping up product manufacturing to a full mass-production level. Based on the customer's guidance, Silicom forecasts that revenues related to the design win will build to more than $30 million per year.
• HES International is developing a tank terminal for the storage and transhipment of petroleum products and biofuels at the Hartelstrook, on the south side of the Mississippi harbour at Maasvlakte 1. Oil major BP (BP) — owner of BP Refinery Rotterdam — has committed to the project, including plans for pipeline connections between the refinery and the terminal. On the 27-hectare site, 52 tanks with a capacity of 1.3 million m3 will be built.

 Wynn Resorts upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Aegis Capital  (111.64)

 S&P futures vs fair value: +3.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +12.90.

The S&P 500 futures trade four points above fair value.

Just in, the current account deficit for the four quarter totaled $112.4 billion while the Briefing.com consensus expected the deficit to hit $128.2 billion. The third quarter deficit was revised to $116.0 billion from $113.0 billion.

 

Gapping down Gapping down In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: CSIQ -8.5%, LGL -5.4%, WTT -4.4%, GIS -2.1%, LEN -1.3%, LEN -1.3% M&A news: ERIC -0.8% (ERIC Chairman in CNBC interview says he has never been involved in potential merger discussions with Cisco) Other news: DB -5.6% (Bloomberg reporting that the company may be fined by US authorities over Forex activities) GEL -5.5% (prices offering of 4 mln common units for proceeds of $124 mln) CALA -4.8% (Commences 4.5 mln common stock offering) AKAO -3.9% (Chief Medical Officer Ian R. Friedland, M.D. to resign) LJPC -3.7% (Commences $100 mln common stock offering) RDY -3.6% (report suggesting regulatory concerns from the FDA) GBDC -3.1% (To make a public offering of 1.75 mln shares of its common stock) FSM -2.5% (Announces possible delay in filing its annual financial results) KEYS -1.9% (Launches underwritten public offering of $400 mln of common shares) Analyst comments: SJM -1.5% (downgraded to Underperform at Bernstein) MRUS -1.2% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup) K -0.8% (downgraded to Underperform at Bernstein) CPB -0.5% (downgraded to Underperform at Bernstein)