Coffee With Greta: Key Manufacturing Index Rebounds
DJIA Futures: +25 (+0.1%)
SPX Futures: +5 (+0.1%)
NASDAQ Futures: +20 (+0.1%)
Good morning friends!
Futures are up slightly as the market attempts to resume its recent rally.
Let’s get right to it!
Philly Fed Manufacturing Index Turns Positive
The Philadelphia Fed’s Manufacturing Index unexpectedly turned positive this month.
The general activity index rose 18.5 points to 6.2.
That was better than economists’ expectations for -5.0.
The new orders index jumped 20 points but remained in negative territory for the third month in a row at -5.1.
The prices index declined for the 4th consecutive month.
Prices paid dropped by 9 points to 43.6, the lowest since December 2020.
56% of firms reported increased input prices.
This comes after the New York Fed’s Empire State Manufacturing Index plummeted 42 points to -31.3 earlier this week.
That was the second largest decline on record.
The two regional reports are seen as barometers for the broader U.S. manufacturing sector.
Weekly Jobless Claims Stabilize
Weekly jobless claims dipped in mid-August and appear to have stabilized.
The Labor Department reported 250,000 Americans filed initial unemployment claims last week, down 2,000 from the revised 252,000 the prior week.
The previous week was revised lower from 262,000.
The latest increase was smaller than economists’ expectations for new claims to rise to 260,000.
Continuing claims rose by 7,000 to 1.44 million in the week ending August 6.
Kohl’s Tumbles After Cutting Outlook
Kohl’s (KSS) shares are falling 7.4% ahead of the open after topping Q2 expectations but cutting its full-year outlook.
The retailer reported adjusted earnings of $1.11 per share on $4.09 billion in revenue.
That was better than analysts’ expectations for adjusted EPS of $1.03 on $3.85 billion in revenue.
Kohl’s now expects net sales in 2022 to fall 5% to 6% year over year vs its previous outlook for growth to be flat up to 1%.
The company also forecast full-year adjusted EPS between $2.80 and $3.20, down sharply from earlier guidance of $6.45 to $6.85.
Kohl’s said its middle-income customers have been squeezed by inflation, putting a damper on discretionary spending.
The CEO said the company is adjusted its business plan and taking action to reduce inventory and expenses.
Ryan Cohen Reveals Intent to Sell $BBBY Stake
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) shares are tumbling 14.5% in premarket trade after investor and GameStop (GME) Chairman Ryan Cohen revealed his intent to sell his stake in the company.
A Form 144 filing with the SEC shows Cohen’s investment firm RC Ventures intends to sell 9.45 million BBBY shares.
That represents the total amount of shares it holds.
Cohen first revealed his more than 10% stake in the company in March and purchased January 2023 call options on more than 1.67 million shares earlier this week.
BBBY shares surged 11.8% on Wednesday after those call options were revealed Tuesday.
The stock has skyrocketed about 300% so far in August as part of the latest meme stock rally.
Oil Prices Rise As U.S. Inventories Drop
Oil prices are rising after new data showed much lower inventories than expected in the U.S.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures are up 1.4% to over $89 bbl while Brent crude futures are up 1.7% to over $95 bbl.
The Energy Information Administration reported a sharp drop in U.S. oil and gas inventories last week.
Crude stockpiles fell by 7.1 million barrels vs the 1.7 million barrel decline analysts were expecting.
That drop came as U.S. crude exports hit a record-high 5 million barrels per day.
Gasoline inventories dropped by 4.6 million barrels as demand rose vs analysts’ expectations for a 1.7 million barrel decline.
Existing Home Sales Expected to Fall
The National Association of Realtors reports existing home sales for July at 10:00 a.m. ET.
That report is expected to show sales dropped again last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million units.
The housing market has seen a rapid slowdown as mortgage rates pile on top of record-high prices.
In Case You Missed It
- The Fed’s July meeting minutes show the Central Bank is planning on an extended schedule of rate hikes. The report said “moving to a restrictive stance of policy” may be required to lower inflation. Fed officials indicated they would be willing to slow the pace of rate hikes when it becomes apparent inflation is slowing. The Fed continued to say all future decisions will be based on incoming data. Officials said there are few signs inflation is abating at this point and it would “take some time” before rate hikes have a meaningful impact.