Stocks - Futures Point to Small Gains; Virus Breeds Uncertainty - Investing.com

© Reuters.

By Peter Nurse

Investing.com - U.S. stocks are set to open marginally higher Monday, rebounding after Friday’s losses which bucked an otherwise strong week. But these gains are likely to be limited as China’s coronavirus outbreak continues to claim victims and cause economic damage.

At 7:00 AM ET (1200 GMT), futures for the traded 2 points, or 0.1%, higher, futures for the up 16 points, or 0.2%, while the contract rose 8 points, or 0.1%.

On Friday, both the S&P 500 cash index and the Nasdaq closed down 0.5%, while the Jones dropped 0.9%. However, despite these losses, the Dow posted its best weekly gain since August last year, the S&P since June, and the Nasdaq had its strongest week since November 2018.

This provides some room for investors to take profits, particularly as the earnings season starts to draw to a close. There are just 68 S&P 500 companies reporting results in the week ahead, with numbers from Restaurant Brands International, Allergan (NYSE:) and Loews (NYSE:) set to capture the market's attention on Monday.

Additionally, shares in Tesla (NASDAQ:) soared 9% premarket, continuing the stock’s recent volatile run, after the electric car maker reopened its $2 billion Shanghai production facility Monday. Factory restarts across China have been in doubt after the Lunar New Year holiday was extended to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

A large number of China’s workers travelled back to offices and factories around the country, but many workplaces still remained closed, including key Apple (NASDAQ:) supplier Foxconn that had sought official permission to open, while many white-collar workers continued to work from home.

The death toll from the disease has officially overtaken that of the SARS outbreak almost two decades ago, as China reported the total number of deaths at 910, with over 40,000 people affected.

The death of a whistleblower doctor last week and the disappearance of citizen journalists in Wuhan who were reporting on the outbreak have also raised suspicions that the scale of the outbreak may be being understated.

The toll on China's already-slowing economy has been heavy, with Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) cutting its first quarter GDP target to 4% from 5.6% previously and saying an even deeper hit is possible.

U.S. economic releases are thin on the ground Monday, so focus could be on speeches from Federal Reserve members and . These come ahead of Fed Chair delivering his semi-annual monetary policy testimony on the economy before Senate and House committees in Washington DC on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Fed chair is expected to reinforce the signal that policy is on hold given that the labor market continues to tighten and private consumption growth remains solid.

Elsewhere, oil headed lower Monday, continuing last week’s losses when the complex posted its fifth weekly loss in a row. Doubts remain over the extent of production cuts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+.

AT 07:00 AM ET (1200 GMT), futures traded 0.1% lower at $50.31 and the international benchmark contract fell 0.1% to $54.45.

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2020-02-10 12:02:00Z
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Coronavirus, Tesla, Victoria's Secret, Allergan and 'Parasite' - 5 Things You Must Know Monday - TheStreet

Coronavirus, Tesla, Victoria's Secret, Allergan and 'Parasite' - 5 Things You Must Know Monday

Stock futures are mixed as the number of new cases of the coronavirus rises in China; factories and businesses in China struggle to get running following an extended break; Tesla's factory in Shanghai resumes production.

Author:

Joseph Woelfel

Updated:

Feb 10, 2020 6:11 AM EST

Original:

Feb 10, 2020

Here are five things you must know for Monday, Feb. 10:

1. -- Stock Futures Mixed as Coronavirus Deaths Surpass SARS

Stock futures were mixed Monday and markets in Asia fell as the number of new cases of the coronavirus rose in China and factories and businesses there struggled to start production following a Lunar New Year break that was extended to help stem the spread of the outbreak.

Contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10 points, S&P 500 futures were up 0.75 1.75 points and Nasdaq futures rose 9.50 points.

Stocks closed lower Friday following four days of gains after the U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in January but worries about the spread of coronavirus lingered.

The virus has killed about 910 people and infected close to 41,000. The coronavirus has now killed more people than the SARS epidemic in 2002-2003.

China has pledged about $10 billion to combat the pandemic, which has forced businesses to close, shuttered factories and severed transportation links as citizens attempt to avoid contracting the respiratory illness.

With analysts forecasting a sharp slowdown in China's economy during the first quarter, and prolonged weakness until the virus is either contained or a feasible vaccine is found, markets in Asia have struggled to find ground, with stocks trading weaker again Monday following Wall Street's post jobs report selloff on Friday. 

2. -- Allergan, EdgeWell and Restaurant Brands Report Earnings

Earnings reports are expected Monday from Allergen (AGN) - Get Report, RingCentral (RNG) - Get Report, XPO Logistics (XPO) - Get Report, Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) - Get Report, Restaurant Brands International (QSR) - Get Report and Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO) - Get Report.

Highlights later in the week are reports from Lyft (LYFT) - Get Report, Under Armour (UAA) - Get Report, Cisco Systems (CSCO) - Get Report, CVS Health (CVS) - Get Report, Alibaba (BABA) - Get Report, Nvidia (NVDA) - Get Report, PepsiCo (PEP) - Get Report and Roku (ROKU) - Get Report.

Cisco, CVS, Nvidia and PepsiCo are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS member club. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells the stocks? Learn more now.

The economic calendar in the U.S. on Monday is bare. Later in the week will see the release of the Consumer Price Index and Retail Sales for January, and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell holds two days of testimony before Congress.

3. -- Tesla's Plant in Shanghai Resumes Production

Tesla's (TSLA) - Get Report plant in Shanghai resumed production Monday, following a government-ordered break to help combat the coronavirus.

Tesla had said the closure of the $2 billion Shanghai gigafactory would delay Model 3 deliveries in the world's largest car market, and also extend the ramp-up of production of its benchmark sedan, which it hopes will hit 150,000 a year when the newly opened facility is running at peak capacity.

"In view of the practical difficulties key manufacturing firms including Tesla have faced in resuming production, we will coordinate to make all efforts to help companies resume production as soon as possible," a spokesman for the Shanghai municipal government said, Reuters reported.

Tesla shares were rising 5.22% in premarket trading Monday to $787.15. The stock rose to all-time high of $968.98 last Tuesday, but then shed more than 22% after analysts warned of high valuations and the potential hit to production targets from the coronavirus outbreak.

4. -- L Brands Is Close to Selling Victoria's Secret

L Brands (LB) - Get Report is close to selling its Victoria’s Secret brand to private-equity firm Sycamore Partners in a deal that could be announced as soon this week, CNBC reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

CNBC said it couldn't immediately be determined what leadership role L Brands CEO Les Wexner would have in such a deal. Wexner is L Brands company's biggest shareholder, with a roughly 17% stake, but he has come under pressure because of his ties to the late sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein and for the poor performance of Victoria’s Secret, CNBC noted.

The Wall Street Journal reported in January that L Brands was considering selling the Victoria's Secret brand, as well as Wexner stepping down as CEO.

5. -- 'Parasite' Wins Best Picture

“Parasite” won best picture at the Academy Awards on Sunday evening, the first foreign language film to win the ceremony’s top honor.

Joaquin Phoenix earned his first Oscar for his starring role in "Joker," while Renee Zellwegger won the best actress award for her portrayal of Judy Garland in "Judy."

Parasite won four Oscars, including for director Bong Joon Ho, international feature film and original screenplay. 

Netflix's (NFLX) - Get Report "The Irishman," which came into the Oscars with 10 nominations, failed to win a single award.

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WorldStocksMarkets5 Things To Know Before The Market Opens

By

Joseph Woelfel

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2020-02-10 10:17:20Z
CAIiEM6VjxXehjDVeA-hyaLtlTkqFQgEKg0IACoGCAow8_0FMPBXMNniAg

Asian markets slip amid warnings that China virus remains a threat - MarketWatch

Asian stock markets slid Monday after China reported an uptick in new cases of its virus outbreak and analysts warned optimism the disease is under control might be premature.

Market benchmarks in Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong retreated. Australia was unchanged.

A decline last week in the number of new Chinese virus cases reported daily fed investor optimism the disease and its economic impact might fade. But economists and industry analysts warn the outbreak still is weighing on retailing, tourism, electronics, shipping and other fields.

Markets took the decline in daily new cases “as an early indication of containment,” said Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Bank in a report.

“But this may well prove to be premature relief,” said Varathan. “And so, the “Coro-NO-virus” relief is at best shallow, if not essentially no relief, at this point.”

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 NIK, -0.60%   and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng HSI, -0.59%   each shed 0.6%, though the Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, +0.51%   rebounded and rose 0.5%.

In South Korea, the Kospi 180721, -0.49%   declined 0.5% while Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.14% closed down 0.1%. Markets in New Zealand NZ50GR, -0.50%  , Taiwan Y9999, -0.33%   and Southeast Asia also retreated. Indonesian stocks slid 1%.

China reported 3,062 new virus cases in the 24 hours through midnight Sunday. That’s up 15% from Saturday’s tally in a reminder of enduring uncertainty about the disease, which has prompted authorities to cut most access to the central city of Wuhan and impose travel and other restrictions on others.

China’s central bank promised additional lending to cushion companies against the blow of intensive controls that closed shops, factories and other businesses nationwide. The government promised tax cuts and subsidies to farmers, makers of medical supplies and other companies.

Authorities are using targeted loans and government spending to fight the virus’s effects instead of a broad-based stimulus, said Iris Pang of ING in a report.

“It seems that policymakers do not want to confuse emergency policies with standard easing policies,” said Pang. “We may not see broad-based economic policy actions in the near term.”

On Wall Street, stocks snapped a four-day winning streak and fell Friday but closed out the U.S. market’s best week in eight months.

Stronger corporate earnings and hopes global central banks can support markets had helped to diffuse fears about the Chinese virus. But analysts said investors took profits Friday amid lingering uncertainty about the virus’s global impact.

The benchmark S&P 500 index SPX, -0.54%   retreated 0.5% to 3,327.71 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.94%   lost 0.9% to 29,102.51. The Nasdaq composite COMP, -0.54%   slid 0.5% to 9,520.51.

Benchmark U.S. crude CLH20, -0.38%   lost 22 cents to $50.09 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 63 cents on Friday to settle at $50.32. Brent crude BRNJ20, -0.35%  , used to price international oils, gave up 14 cents to $54.31 per barrel in London. It slid 46 cents the previous session to close at $54.47 per barrel.

The dollar USDJPY, +0.06%   gained to 109.76 yen from Friday’s 109.87 yen.

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2020-02-10 09:26:00Z
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British Airways flight crosses Atlantic in record time - Fox Business

FOX Business’ Tracee Carrasco breaks down the newly released list of the world’s top airlines.

A British Airways flight has set a new speed mark for a commercial passenger plane crossing the Atlantic.

Continue Reading Below

The fight landed early Sunday morning at Heathrow Airport in London after leaving John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York just four hours and 56 minutes earlier.

British Airways confirmed the flight time for the Boeing 747 plane, saying the company prioritizes safety over speed.

That set a new speed record for subsonic — or slower than the speed of sound — commercial aircraft, according to Flightradar24, which tracks global flights.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

The previous record was held by a Norwegian Air flight, which flew between the two cities with a flight time of five hours and 13 minutes.

The flight had been expected to take 102 minutes longer.

WORLD'S BEST AIRLINES OF 2019

The recent average flight time between New York and London is 6 hours and 13 minutes, according to Flightradar24.

BRITISH AIRWAYS OUTAGE CAUSES CHAOS FOR TRAVELERS

The wind and air currents were considered ideal for a fast flight.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

The supersonic Concorde flights used to fly across the Atlantic in just over three hours, but stopped flying in 2003.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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2020-02-10 06:54:22Z
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Asian markets stem losses as China returns to work but sentiment jittery - Investing.com

© Reuters. A man wearing a mask walk at the Shanghai Stock Exchange building at the Pudong financial district in Shanghai

By Swati Pandey

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Monday as the death toll from a coronavirus outbreak exceeded the SARS epidemic of two decades ago, though Chinese shares gained as authorities lifted some work and travel restrictions, helping businesses to resume operations.

In early European trades, the pan-region , German and futures all slipped 0.1% while U.S. stock futures were more upbeat with e-minis for adding 0.2%.

More than 900 people have so far died mainly in China's central Hubei province as of Sunday with most of the new deaths in the provincial capital of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.

To contain the spread, China's government had ordered lockdowns, canceled flights and shut schools in many cities. But on Monday, workers began trickling back to offices and factories though a large number of workplaces remain closed and many white-collar workers will continue to work from home.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan reversed some of its early losses but was still down 0.4%. Japan's was off 0.6%, South Korea's was 0.5% weaker while Australia's benchmark index eased a shade.

China's indexes were the only ones in the black in Asia with the blue-chip index adding 0.5% and Shanghai's SSE (LON:) Composite up 0.3%.

"Markets have turned around a bit reflecting the news that Chinese businesses were returning to work," said James McGlew, analyst at stockbroker Argonaut.

"Overall, I think, there is still a concern out there that the impact from the coronavirus hasn't been fully quantified," he added.

"Today's (easing of restrictions) seems to be more of a symbolic gesture rather than the government actually being on top of the situation with this virus."

The outbreak has killed more people than the SARS epidemic did globally in 2002/2003. The virus has also spread to at least 27 countries and territories, infecting more than 330 people overseas.

Over the weekend, an American hospitalized in the central city of Wuhan became the first confirmed non-Chinese victim of the virus. A Japanese man who also died there was another suspected victim.

Monday's losses in Asia extended from Wall Street on Friday where the fell 0.9%, the S&P 500 declined 0.5% while the Nasdaq lost 0.5%.

"Expect markets to be sensitive to virus headlines. In this environment, we favor defensive positioning," ANZ economists wrote in a note.

China's central bank has taken a raft of measures to support the economy, including reducing interest rates and flushing the market with liquidity. From Monday, it will provide special funds for banks to re-lend to businesses working to combat the virus.

Despite the measures, analysts expect the world economy to take a hit from an expected slowdown in China.

"For now, our best guess is that the economic disruption related to the coronavirus will cost the world economy over $280 billion in the first quarter of this year," Capital Economics said in a note on Friday.

"If we're right, then this will mean that global (economic output) will not grow in q/q terms for the first time since 2009."

The virus has overshadowed other market news with better-than-expected U.S. jobs data on Friday failing to lift sentiment.

Non-farm payrolls increased by 225,000 jobs in January, with employment at construction sites increasing by the most in a year amid milder-than-normal temperatures, the Labor Department said.

Euro zone bond yields fell after German industrial output tumbled in December to notch its biggest fall since January 2009, fanning concerns about the bloc's biggest economy.

The euro staged a half-hearted bounce from four-month lows to be last at $1.0949.

The dollar reversed losses against the yen to be up 0.1% at 109.79.

The Australian dollar, considered a liquid proxy for China plays, also jumped 0.4% to $0.66975 after briefly hitting an 11-year low of $0.6679. It fell 0.2% last week to clock its sixth consecutive weekly loss.

That left the flat at 98.651.

In commodities, futures eased 3 cents to $54.44 a barrel while futures was flat $50.3 a barrel.

Since Jan. 17, oil prices have fallen by 14% while is down around 10%.

U.S. inched up slightly to $1,574 an ounce.

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2020-02-10 03:51:00Z
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British Airways Boeing 747 Hits a Record 825 MPH During NYC-London Trip - The Drive

Although the British Isles are currently being slammed by Storm Ciara with flooding and gusting winds, the inclement weather has presented at least one benefit for travelers. While ground transportation has been delayed across the United Kingdom because of the intrepid downpours, those in the air are traveling faster than ever with massive tailwinds pushing flights along at record pace. In fact, one British Airways Boeing 747 traveled from New York to London in just four hours and 56 minutes, hitting a top ground speed of 825 miles per hour and setting a subsonic flight record for the route.

Saturday night, British Airways flight BA112 zoomed across the Atlantic Ocean, taking off from JFK at 6:21 p.m. New York time and landing at Heathrow around 4:47 a.m. GMT. Data acquired by plane-tracking site FlightRadar claims this to have been around 80 minutes ahead of schedule. For reference, the same source claims the average flight time from New York to London to be six hours and 13 minutes. That 250+ mph tailwind meant that the 747’s true airspeed was still below the speed of sound, but that doesn’t take away from how incredible it is to get across the Atlantic in just over four hours.

What's more, flight BA112 was one of three flights that beat the previously standing record set by Norwegian Airlines in 2018. It was one minute faster than a Virgin Airbus A350 flight which touched down just a few moments later, and it was three minutes faster than another Virgin flight which landed about 30 minutes afterward. Regardless, they were all far clear of the old benchmark which measured five hours and 13 minutes.

A spokesperson for British Airways told CNN, "We always prioritize safety over speed records, but our highly trained pilots made the most of the conditions to get customers back to London well ahead of time."

It should be mentioned that while flight BA112 smashed the subsonic record, the fastest time from NYC to London was set by the engineering marvel, Concorde. The aircraft's top commercial flight hit speeds of 1,350 mph and accomplished the route in just two hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds.

h/t: Jalopnik

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2020-02-09 20:48:35Z
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Jeff Bezos Is Selling Because Amazon Stock Is In Serious Trouble - CCN.com

• Jeff Bezos unloaded $4 billion worth of Amazon stock last week.
• Rumor has it, Bezos and girlfriend Lauren Sanchez are shopping for a swanky L.A. house. But he doesn’t need $4 billion even for a mega mansion.
• He’s taking profits while Amazon stock is inflated beyond all reason. AMZN’s insane P/E ratio of 90 is a total break with reality.

Jeff Bezos has been on an Amazon stock (NASDAQ:AMZN) selling spree. In the last week, he dumped $4 billion worth of shares in the company he founded.

(As an aside, Bezos will take home about $3 billion of that after paying taxes. Something to include in the conversation about Amazon’s low corporate taxes.)

Speculation has abounded as to why.

Jeff Bezos Has Some Expensive Habits

A Los Angeles high-end real estate broker says Bezos and girlfriend Lauren Sanchez are looking at houses in Bel Air and Beverly Hills. But the mega mansions on their shopping list are in the $100 million range, nowhere near Jeff Bezos’ $4 billion selloff.

Others have pointed out that Bezos has said funding space travel is his only option for putting a dent in his unprecedented personal fortune. Perhaps all of that money will go to Blue Origin, the space travel company in question. But this year’s offloading is unlike anything from previous years.

So why is Jeff Bezos selling so much Amazon stock? And why now?

Amazon Stock Is In A Massive Bubble

Watch the following CBS News segment, which outlines Amazon’s strengths, but examines the threats to sustained growth at recent years’ levels over the long term.

Amazon stock is now one of five powerful tech companies that account for 18% of the entire S&P 500 Index’s market cap today. When the stock market gets this top heavy, it’s a terrifying indication that there’s a dangerous equities bubble.

The last time only five companies made up 18% of the S&P 500 was during the Dot Com bubble in the year 2000:

Back in 2000, Microsoft, Cisco, General Electric, Intel, and ExxonMobil traded on a rich 47 times price-to-earnings multiple… realized sales turned out diving 7%.

In better news for the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite today:

Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Facebook [2020’s big five] trade at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 30 times versus a healthy 14% expected sales growth rate.

You can count Amazon stock out of the rosy picture because its current P/E ratio is soaring like a Blue Origin rocket at an incredible 90.36(!). Compared to its big tech peers, Amazon’s multiples are nothing close to reasonable.

Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) is 25.41.
Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) is 32.03.
Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) is 30.09.
Facebook’s (NASDAQ:FB) is 33.02.

Compared to its retail peer, Walmart (NYSE:WMT), with a P/E ratio of 23.29, Amazon stock is three times overweight. Sure, Amazon has a lot of room to grow. Its cloud business, for one, is very promising. But who seriously thinks Amazon will grow profits at three times the rate of Apple or Alphabet? Especially with threats like these…

Threats To Amazon’s Growth

Because of its sheer size and the rapid pace of its growth, Amazon is a major political target. It faces a number of political threats to the already razor thin margins of its operating cost structure. These range from the potential threat of tough new rules on taxes and labor from the potential Democratic president, to the already actual threat of the current administration’s new anti-counterfeit goods policies.

Fierce competition from Walmart will also keep future Amazon growth in check. The Dow 30 retailer isn’t taking Amazon’s growth laying down. Walmart’s ecommerce sales saw a massive surge last year, 41% in the third quarter alone. And Walmart and Target are even gaining (a little) ground on Amazon over online retail.

In order to maintain its fierce growth, Amazon has to stay committed to tiny margins at volume. Sometimes the thin margins don’t translate to more profit. As with one-day shipping for Prime members, which translated to top line growth last year, but fulfillment costs that grew just as fast.

Amazon was always a smart business and probably always will be, but AMZN stock has dropped over 90% before, during the Dot Com crash. When its multiples are this far out of line with any of its peers, it’s no surprise that Jeff Bezos would rather have the cash.

Disclaimer: The reports and opinions in this article do not represent investment or trading advice from CCN.com.

This article was edited by Sam Bourgi.

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2020-02-09 22:00:00Z
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