080720 US PRE OPEN

US Futures steady, watch TSLA, AAPL, LEVI, ALL

The S&P 500 Futures are around flat, after another historical high reached by the Nasdaq 100 during Tuesday trading session.

Today, U.S. Federal Reserve will report May consumer credit.

European indices are easing. No major economic data have been released. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated his commitment to reaching an early trade deal with the European Union while U.K. chief negotiator David Frost met his European Union counterpart Michel Barnier on Tuesday evening, and investors were hopeful ahead of the trade talks scheduled later today.

Asian indices ended mixed with the China Mainland CSI 300 adding 1.62% extending a 7-day rally. The index is now up 16.54% year to date while the Nasdaq 100 is up 20.51%. Also, Hong Kong HSI gained 0.59% while on the flipside Australian ASX 200 dropped 1.54% and the Japanese Nikkei eased 0.78%. The Reserve Bank of Australia kept its benchmark rate unchanged at 0.25% as expected. The RBA said "the nature and speed of the economic recovery remains highly uncertain" and "this accommodative approach will be maintained as long as it is required."

WTI Crude Oil futures are flat. The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that U.S. crude oil stockpile rose by 2M barrels for week ended July 3. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) raised 2020 U.S. oil demand to 18.34M b/d from 18.06M b/d in the previous estimation, while crude oil output forecast added to 11.63M b/d from 11.56m b/d previously, according to EIA's short term energy outlook. Besides, EIA also raised 2020 WTI forecast average price to $37.55/bbl, comparing to $35.14/bbl previously. Later today, EIA will release crude oil inventories data for last week.

Gold hold gains, close to a 2011 high, on COVID-19 concerns and as a new stimulus measures from the Fed are anticipated.

Gold rose 6.36 dollars (+0.35%) to 1801.21 dollars.

The US dollar steadies as risk sentiment is damped by economic fears.

EUR/USD rose 6pips to 1.128 while GBP/USD fell 1pip to 1.2541.

US Equity Snapshot

Tesla's (TSLA), the electric-vehicle maker, Model 3 sales in China jumped 35% month on month in June to 14,954 units.

Apple's (AAPL) price target was raised to 400 dollars from 380 dollars at Deutsche Bank.

Levi Strauss (LEVI), a designer and seller of a variety of clothing products, reported second quarter adjusted LPS of 0.48 dollar, slightly missing estimates, vs an EPS of 0.17 dollar a year ago, on net sales of 500.0 million dollars, below the consensus, down from 1.3 billion dollars in the previous year. The Co also stated that it will be cutting its workforce by 15%.

Allstate (ALL), an insurance group, announced that it has agreed to acquire general insurance company National General (NGHC) for 4 billion dollars in cash, or 34.50 dollars per share, a 69% premium over National General July 7 closing price.

KKR (KKR), an investment firm, signed a deal to buy Global Atlantic, a leading retirement and life insurance company. "As of March 31, 2020, Global Atlantic’s Book Value was approximately 4.4 billion dollars."

American Express (AXP), a globally integrated payments company, was downgraded to "neutral" from "buy" at Citi.

Source: TradingVIEW, Gain Capital

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