Peter Schacknow, Senior Producer, CNBC Breaking News Desk
With the month at the midway point, U.S. stocks have a chance to do something they don’t usually do: rise in August. That hasn’t happened since 2009, and over the past 20 years, this month has been, on average, the worst of the year for the S&P 500.
Investors will have plenty of economic stats to consider during today’s trading session, beginning with the July consumer price index at 8:30 a.m. New York time. Economists look for a 0.2 percent rise following June’s flat performance, with the so-called “core” rate seen matching June’s 0.2 percent increase.
At 9:15 a.m. New York time, the Federal Reserve issues July industrial production and capacity utilization figures. Consensus forecasts call for a 0.6 percent increase in industrial production and a 79.3 percent utilization rate, compared with June figures of +0.4 percent and 78.9 percent respectively.
At 10 a.m., the National Association of Home Builders will be out with its monthly sentiment index for August, which is seen remaining steady at 35.
Weekly reports out today include the Mortgage Bankers Association’s look at mortgage applications at 7 a.m., and the Energy Department’s assessment of oil and gasoline inventories at 10:30 a.m..
Retailers are prominent in this morning’s scheduled earnings reports, with Target (TGT),
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), and Staples (SPLS) all set to report. We’ll also hear from heavy equipment maker Deere & Co. (DE). Dow component Cisco Systems (CSCO) leads the list of companies set to report after the closing bell, joined by Agilent (A), Applied Materials (AMAT),
Limited Brands (LTD), NetApp (NTAP), and PetSmart (PETM).
Quarterly 13F filings — detailing second quarter portfolio changes for hedge funds and significant investors — may help move a number of stocks today. Some highlights:
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) has taken new stakes in Phillips 66 (PSX) and National OIlwell Varco (NOV), while selling off chunks of its holdings in Kraft Foods (KFT) and Procter & Gamble (PG).
Paulson & Co. has taken new stakes in Cablevision (CVC) and Hillshire Brands (HSH), while selling stakes in Medco Health (MHS) and MetLife (MET).
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square took a new stake in Procter & Gamble (PG), while selling stakes in Kraft (KFT) and Family Dollar (FDO).
David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital took new stakes in Aetna (AET) and Chipotle Mexican Grill
(CMG), while dissolving stakes in Dell (DELL) and HCA (HCA).
Facebook (FB) is among the stocks bought by both SAC Capital and George Soros.
Other stocks to watch:
Carlyle Group (CG) is near a deal to acquire privately held Getty Images, according to multiple reports. Sources say the transaction could be worth more than $3.5 billion.
JDS Uniphase (JDSU) earned $0.15 per share for its fourth quarter, three cents above estimates. The maker of networking equipment also says chief financial officer Dave Vellequette is stepping down at month’s end.
Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) is one step closer to being controlled by John Malone’s Liberty Media, which has raised its stake to 48 percent.
The New York Times Co. (NYTA) has named BBC chief Mark Thompson as its new CEO. He’ll start his job in December after moving to New York from the U.K.
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