Pre-Market Movers | August 4th, 2020
SSNT - SilverSun Technologies, Inc.
ATHE - Alterity Therapeutics Limited
DAC - Danaos Corporation
BXC - BlueLinx Holdings Inc.
SONN - Sonnet BioTherapeutics Holdings, Inc.
STRL - Sterling Construction Company Inc
HLIT - Harmonic Inc.
CURO - CURO Group Holdings Corp.
AVT - Avnet, Inc.
BMCH - BMC Stock Holdings, Inc.
(MT Newswires) -- Wall Street is leaning back pre-bell Tuesday as US index futures target an opening bell off 0.2% from Monday's close. European bourses are trading mixed with Frankfurt off, but Asian exchanges rallied sharply, led by technology issues, after Monday's record-close on the Nasdaq. BP (British Petroleum) cut its dividend after reporting losses, and it plans long-term production decreases. Apple (AAPL) approached a $2 trillion market cap. President Trump and Beijing again skirmished on TikTok, the social media app that Microsoft (MSFT) may acquire. Bitcoin trades at $11,280, West Texas Intermediate crude oil trades for $40.47 and 10-year US Treasuries offer 0.56%.
On the thin economic calendar are factory orders at 10 am ET.
Exelon (EXC), US Foods (USFD) and WestRock (WRK) report earnings pre-bell, among others.
In the futures, the S&P 500 is off 0.2%, the Nasdaq is off 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is off 0.1%
In Europe, the British FTSE 100 is up 0.2%, the French CAC is up 0.1%, and the German DAX is off 0.4%
Asian stock markets rallied Tuesday after the overnight all-time record close on the Nasdaq, and the US ISM manufacturing index, released Monday, suggested better news for US factories. Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo all finished higher, as did other regional exchanges.
The Nikkei 225 opened higher on Wall Street's overnight tech-rally and rose in trading, finishing up 1.7% as investors shrugged off pandemic and geopolitical concerns despite a soggy domestic earnings season. The yen was soft against the US dollar, regarded as a positive in export-oriented Japan. The Nikkei 225 had posted a 2.3% gain on Monday, after six consecutive losing trading days.
The benchmark Nikkei rose 378.28 to 22,573.66, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 207 to 16.
Leading the upside were chemical concern Asahi Kasei (AHKSY, 3407:Tokyo), up 14.4% after reporting earnings, followed by soy-sauce maker Kikkoman (KIKOY, 2801:Tokyo), up 14.1% on earnings, and then frozen-food purveyor Maruha Nichiro (1333:Tokyo), up 11.8%.
On the downside were the former Yahoo Japan, Z Holdings (YAHOY, 4689:Tokyo), off 3.2%, and then electronic-components maker TDK Corp. (TTDKY, 6762:Tokyo), off 2.2%.
Japan's Finance Ministry upgraded its overall assessment of the island nation's regional economies, finding signs of economic bottoming out in the 11 regions. The improving outlook comes despite the tenacious COVID-19 virus in Japan, which recently compelled officials in Tokyo and some other prefectures to reimpose certain restrictions.
The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index opened higher on New York signals and gained in trading, finishing up 2.0% as traders again bought tech issues in a broad rally.
The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 488.50 to 24,946.63, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 44 to four.
Leading the upsurge were Wharf Real Estate (1997:HK), up 7.5%, followed by Techtronic Industries
(669:HK), up 6.0%, and then China Life (2628:HK), up 4.5%.
On the scant downside were smartphone components-maker Sunny Optical Technology (2382:HK), off 1.0%, and then China Mengniu Dairy (2319:HK), off 0.9%.
On the mainland the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% to 3,371.69.
In economic news, Carie Li Ruofan, OCBC Wing Hang Bank economist, said the Hong Kong economy is expected to shrink by 6% to 7% in 2020. The former British colony is facing another wave of bankruptcies and layoffs, as well as fresh lockdowns due to COVID-19 spikes. Construction and retail-related sectors may continue to feel pressure.
On the other exchanges, South Korea's Kospi rose 1.3%; the Taiwan TWSE gained 1.6%; the Australian ASX 200 added 1.9%; the Singapore Straits Times Index increased 1.2%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.7%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 2.0%.
The MSCI Asia Apex 50, a broad measure of large-cap Asian stocks outside Japan, rose 1.6%.
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