TODAYS PRIMER
Peter Schacknow, Senior Producer, CNBC Breaking News Desk
Wall Street’s latest trend is one of very little movement in either direction: the Dow is coming off two straight days of single-digit moves and narrow trading ranges, while the S&P 500 has moved less than a tenth of one percent in three of the past six sessions, and not much more in the others.
It’s another busy day for economic numbers, with the government out with both initial jobless claims and housing starts at 8:300 a.m. New York time. The Labor Department’s weekly report is expected to show 365,000 new claims for the week ending August 11, compared with 361,000 the prior week. Housing starts are expected to register a 0.5 percent drop for July after jumping 6.9% in June.
At 10 a.m., the widely watched Philadelphia Fed Survey index is seen coming in at -6.5 for August, according to consensus forecast. That would be a less negative reading than the -12.9 registered a month ago.
At 10:30 a.m., the Energy Department will be out with its weekly assessment of natural gas inventories.
Retailers are once again prominent in this morning’s earnings reports, with Dow component Wal-Mart (WMT) leading the way. Dollar Tree (DLTR), Sears (SHLD), Gamestop (GME), and Ross Stores (ROST) will also issue quarterly numbers this morning. Gap (GPS) will be out with its quarterly numbers after today’s closing bell.
Dow component Cisco Systems (CSCO) leads our stocks to watch this morning, after beating estimates with its latest earnings and boosting its dividend by 74 percent. Cisco earned $0.47 per share for its fiscal fourth quarter, two cents above estimates, and raised the quarterly payout to $0.14 per share from $0.08.
Applied Materials (AMAT) earned $0.24 per share for its third quarter, two cents above consensus, but its current quarter forecast of $0.00 — $0.06 falls below estimates of $0.12. The maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment had warned of a slowdown in business when it slashed its full year forecast a month ago.
Facebook (FB) will be in the spotlight today, as the lockup period for insider stock sales expires.
Limited Brands (LTD) earned $0.50 per share for the second quarter, two cents above estimates. It’s forecasting current quarter profit of $0.15-$0.20 per share, falling below current analysts forecasts of $0.24.
Agrium (AGU) has met with Jana Partners, the hedge fund that has a less than 5 percent stake in the Canadian fertilizer producer. Jana wants Agrium to spin off its retail operations, but Agrium says the move would not be in the best interests of the company or its shareholders.
A judge has ruled that American Airlines parent AMR (AAMRQ) cannot scrap its existing pilots union contract as it tries to make its way out of bankruptcy. The pilots had rejected a new contract offer from the airline last week.
Chinese internet company Sina (SINA) reported a tripling of its second quarter profit, but says earnings will be weak for the rest of the year as it confronts rising expenses and tighter government restrictions.
Coinstar (CSTR) is reportedly considering a potential sale, according to the New York Post. The paper says the maker of coin counting machines and parent of the Redbox DVD rental service has been in talks with an unnamed private equity firm for several months. Coinstar would not comment on what it calls “rumor and speculation”.
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