Day Traders Diary

7/12/18

Wall Street is looking to resume its upward trend after hitting a bump in the road on Wednesday when the S&P 500 dropped for the first time in five sessions. The S&P 500 futures are trading 14 points, or 0.5%, above fair value, and the benchmark index enters today's session with a weekly gain of 0.5%.

President Trump is headed to the UK after wrapping up a two-day NATO summit in Brussels earlier this morning. Speaking to reporters, the president said "NATO is much stronger now than it was two days ago" and affirmed that pulling out of the group would be "unnecessary" after allies agreed to increase their defense spending.

U.S. Treasuries are lower today, pushing yields higher across the curve; the benchmark 10-yr yield is up three basis points at 2.87%. WTI crude futures have reclaimed a chunk of yesterday's 5.0% plunge, up 0.8% at $70.96 per barrel, and the U.S. Dollar Index is up 0.2% at 94.66, inching closer to a 12-month high.

In economic data, the Consumer Price Index for June (Briefing.com consensus +0.2%) and the weekly Initial Claims reading (Briefing.com consensus 225K) will be released at 8:30 AM ET. The only other report on today's calendar is the June Treasury Budget, which will cross the wires at 2:00 PM ET.

The earnings calendar is pretty light today, but will pick up tomorrow when a host of big banks kick off the second quarter earnings season.

In U.S. corporate news:

• CA Tech (CA 44.14, +6.93): +18.6% after agreeing to be acquired by Broadcom (AVGO 221.90, -21.54, -8.9%) for $44.50 per share in cash.
• Delta Air Lines (DAL 50.57, +0.73): +1.5% after beating earnings estimates, which overshadowed below-consensus guidance.
• L Brands (LB 34.50, -2.27): -6.2% after reporting an increase of 3% in June same-store-sales, down from 5% in May.

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a higher note. Japan's Nikkei +1.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.6%, China's Shanghai Composite +2.2%, India's Sensex +0.8%.
  • In economic data:
    • China's June FDI +1.1% year-over-year (last 1.3%)
    • Singapore's May Retail Sales +0.1% month-over-month (last -0.2%); +0.1% year-over-year (last 0.6%)
    • Australia's MI Inflation Expectations 3.9% (last 4.2%)
    • New Zealand's June FPI +0.5% month-over-month (last 0.0%)
  • In news:
    • Korean press noted that analysts in South Korea see an opportunity in the trade dispute between the United States and China.
    • Press reports from China cautioned that Chinese banks should show an uptick in lending in June due to a crackdown on shadow banking flows.
    • The Bank of Korea left its repurchase rate at 1.50%, as expected.

• Major European indices trade in the green. Germany's DAX +0.6%, UK's FTSE +0.8%, France's CAC +0.8%.
  • In economic data:
    • Eurozone May Industrial Production +1.3% month-over-month (expected 1.2%; last -0.8%); +2.4% year-over-year (expected 2.1%; last 1.7%)
    • Germany's June CPI +0.1% month-over-month, as expected (last 0.1%); +2.1% year-over-year, as expected (last 2.1%)
    • France's June CPI 0.0% month-over-month (expected 0.1%; last 0.1%)
  • In news:
    • The Bank of England released its Credit Conditions & Bank Liabilities Survey for Q2, noting that lenders don't expect any changes in the availability of loans to businesses over the next three months.
    • British Prime Minister Theresa May tweeted about 12 key principles to guide Brexit negotiations with the EU. The first principle reiterated the intention to exit the European Union on March 29, 2019.
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• Headlines provided by Briefing.com