MORNING CALL 2/6

Barchart Morning Call

Barchart.com - 1 hour ago

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH17 -0.04%) are up +0.01% on positive carry-over from Friday's employment data that showed U.S. employers added the most jobs in four months. European stocks are down -0.19%, led by losses in automakers, after Bank of America-Merrill Lynch downgraded the sector to underweight. Another negative for European equities is political risks from France where French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen unveiled her plans to take France out of the EU should she be elected in April. Losses in European stocks were limited after German Dec factory orders posted their largest year-on-year increase in over 5 years. Asian stocks settled mostly higher: Japan +0.31%, Hong Kong +0.95%, China +0.54%, Taiwan +0.87%, Australia -0.11%, Singapore +0.49%, South Korea +0.24%, India +0.70%.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.14%) is up +0.14%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.42%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.12%.

Mar 10-year T-note prices (ZNH17 +0.31%) are up +12 ticks as they garner support form a rally in 10-year German bunds which rallied to a 1-1/2 week high.

Eurozone Feb Sentix investor confidence fell -0.8 to 17.4, stronger than expectations of -1.4 to 16.8.

German Dec factory orders rose +8.1% y/y, stronger than expectations of +4.2% y/y and the largest year-on-year increase in 5-1/3 years.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) USDA weekly grain export inspections, (2) Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker (voter) speaks at a payment conference in San Diego.

Notable S&P 500 earnings reports today include: Tyson Foods (consensus $1.27), Lowes (0.63), Newell Brands (0.80), Sysco (0.54), Hasbro (1.28), Twenty-First Century Fox (0.49), FMC (0.88), Tesoro (-0.14), Macerich 1.16).

U.S. IPO's scheduled to price today: none.

Equity conferences: Credit Suisse Financial Services Forum on Tue-Wed, Cowen Aerospace/Defense & Industrials Conference on Wed-Thu.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

American Airlines Group (AAL +0.43%) was upgraded to 'Market Perform' from 'Underperform' at Bernstein with a price target of $43.

Delta Air Lines (DAL +0.91%) was upgraded to 'Outperform' from 'Market Perform' at Bernstein with a price target of $61.

FedEx (FDX +1.95%) was upgraded to 'Outperform' from 'Market Perform' at Raymond James.

AutoNation (AN -3.86%) was downgraded to 'Hold' from 'Buy' at Evercore ISI.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA -0.15%) was upgraded to 'Overweight' from 'Neutral' at Atlantic Equities with a 12-month target price of $95.

CVS Health Corp. (CVS +0.88%) was downgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Overweight' at Atlantic Equities with a 12-month target price of $84.

Barracuda Networks (CUDA +2.54%) was rated a new 'Buy' at Needham with a price target of $28.

Nvidia (NVDA -0.88%) was downgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Buy' at Roth Capital

Parexel International (PRXL -1.44%) was downgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Outperform' at Credit Suisse with a target price of $65.

CBS (CBS +0.02%) was upgraded to 'Overweight' from 'Neutral' at Atlantic Equities with a price target of $78.

U.S. Steel (X -3.07%) was upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Hold' at Argus with a price target of $39.

Lone Star boosted its stake in Edgewater Technology (EDGW -2.90%) to 6.2% from 1.4%.

Credit Acceptance Corp. (CACC +2.01%) slipped 2% in after-hours trading after the company received FTC civil investigative demand seeking information on car dealers using GPS Starter Interrupters on consumer vehicles.

Atwood Oceanics (ATW +4.37%) lost 1% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 revenue of $157.6 million, below consensus of $159.4 million.

MARKET COMMENTS

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH17 -0.04%) this morning are little changed, up +0.25 of a point (+0.01%). Friday's closes: S&P 500 +0.73%, Dow Jones +0.94%, Nasdaq +0.27%. The S&P 500 on Friday closed higher on the +227,000 increase in U.S. Jan non-farm payrolls (stronger than expectations of +180,000), and the +1.3% increase in U.S. Dec factory orders (stronger than expectations of +0.5%). A negative factor was the +2.5% y/y increase in U.S. Jan average hourly earnings, weaker than expectations of +2.7% y/y.

Mar 10-year T-notes (ZNH17 +0.31%) this morning are up +12 ticks. Friday's closes: TYH7 -3.00, FVH7 -1.75. Mar 10-year T-notes on Friday fell back from a 1-1/2 week high and closed lower on the larger-than-expected increase in U.S. Jan non-farm payrolls and stronger-than-expected U.S. Dec factory orders reports that bolstered the case for additional Fed rate hikes. T-notes were boosted by increased safe-haven demand with the fairly sharp rally in stocks. T-notes found some underlying support from the Jan hourly earnings report of +2.5% y/y, weaker than expectations of +2.7% y/y.

The dollar index (DXY00 +0.14%) this morning is up +0.142 (+0.14%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0045 (-0.42%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.13 (-0.12%). Friday's closes: Dollar index +0.078 (+0.08%), EUR/USD +0.0024 (+0.22%), USD/JPY -0.19 (-0.17%). The dollar index on Friday closed higher on the stronger-than-expected U.S. payroll and factory orders reports and the increase in U.S. T-note yields, which improved the dollar's interest rate differentials.

Mar WTI crude oil prices (CLH17 +0.22%) this morning are up +17 cents (+0.32%) and Mar gasoline (RBH17 +0.83%) is +0.0074 (+0.48%). Friday's closes: Mar crude +0.29 (+0.54%), Mar gasoline +0.0208 (+1.36%). Mar crude oil and gasoline on Friday closed higher on reduced output by OPEC as OPEC Jan crude production fell -840,000 bpd to 32.2 million bpd, a 14-month low. Crude oil prices were also boosted by increased geopolitical tensions after the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Iran for conducting ballistic missile tests. Crude oil prices were undercut by the Baker Hughes report that U.S. active oil rigs in the week ended Feb 3 rose by 17 rigs to a 1-1/4 year high of 583 rigs.

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR02/06/2017

		Monday, Feb 6
US	1100 ET	USDA weekly grain export inspections.
	1630 ET	Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker (voter) speaks at a payment conference in San Diego.
		Tuesday, Feb 7
US	0830 ET	Dec trade balance expected -$45.0 billion, Nov -$45.2 billion.
	1000 ET	Dec JOLTS job openings expected +47,000 to 5.569 million, Nov +71,000 to 5.522 million.
	1300 ET	Treasury auctions $24 billion of 3-year T-notes.
	1500 ET	Dec consumer credit expected +$20.0 billion, Nov +$24.532 billion.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR02/06/2017

Company	Ticker	Time	Event Description	Period	Estimate
Loews Corp	L US	Bf-mkt	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	0.63
Newell Brands Inc	NWL US	Bf-mkt	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	0.8
Sysco Corp	SYY US	Bf-mkt	Q2 2017 Earnings Release	Q2 2017	0.542
Hasbro Inc	HAS US	6:30	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	1.281
Fastenal Co	FAST US	7:00	January 2017 Sales and Revenue Release	2017
Tyson Foods Inc	TSN US	7:30	Q1 2017 Earnings Release	Q1 2017	1.268
Newell Brands Inc	NWL US	8:30	Q4 2016 Earnings Call	Q4 2016
Hasbro Inc	HAS US	8:30	Q4 2016 Earnings Call	Q4 2016
Tyson Foods Inc	TSN US	9:00	Q1 2017 Earnings Call	Q1 2017
Sysco Corp	SYY US	10:00	Q2 2017 Earnings Call	Q2 2017
Loews Corp	L US	11:00	Q4 2016 Earnings Call	Q4 2016
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc	FOXA US	16:00	Q2 2017 Earnings Release	Q2 2017	0.49
Gap Inc/The	GPS US	16:15	January 2017 Sales and Revenue Release	2017
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc	FOXA US	16:30	Q2 2017 Earnings Call	Q2 2017
FMC Corp	FMC US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	0.884
Tesoro Corp	TSO US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	-0.103
Macerich Co/The	MAC US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	1.16
Credicorp Ltd	BAP US	18:00	Q4 2016 Earnings Release	Q4 2016	10.375
Viacom Inc	VIAB US		Annual General Meeting

MORNING CALL 9/6

MORNING CALL

Tuesday, September 6th, 2016View Older Reports

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OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

Sep E-mini S&Ps (ESU16 +0.09%) are up +0.09% and European stocks are up +0.18% on speculation that last Friday's weaker-than-expected U.S. Aug non-farm payrolls will keep the Fed from raising interest rates this month. Also, signs of increased M&A activity lifted stock prices with Monsanto up nearly 3% in pre-market trading after Bayer AG raised its takeover bid for a second time and said the two companies are in advanced talks. In addition, Navistar International surged 26% in pre-market trading after the WSJ reported that Volkswagen is said to be near a deal to take a 19.9% stake in the company. Energy-producing stocks are higher as well with crude oil prices up +1.33% after Saudi Arabia and Russia pledged to cooperate to stabilize oil markets, although they failed to announce any specific measures to boost prices. Asian stocks settled mostly higher: Japan +0.26%, Hong Kong +0.58%, China +0.61%, Taiwan +1.01%, Australia -0.29%, Singapore +1.47%, South Korea +0.50%, India +1.56%.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.27%) is down -0.26%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.16%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.15% as the yen strengthened after Koichi Hamada, an economic advisor to Prime Minister Abe, said the BOJ should wait until after the Fed decides on interest rates before it acts itself.

Dec T-note prices (ZNZ16 +0.02%) are little changed, down -0.5 of a tick.

German Jul factory orders of +0.2% m/m and -0.7% y/y were weaker than expectations of +0.5% m/m and -0.2% y/y.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) final-Aug Markit services PMI (expected +0.2 to 51.1), (2) Aug ISM non-manufacturing PMI (expected -0.2 to 55.3, Jul-1.0 to 55.5), (3) San Francisco Fed President John Williams (non-voter) speaks on the economic outlook at an event in Reno, NV, (4) USDA weekly grain export inspections, (5) USDA Weekly Crop Progress.

Russell 1000 companies that report earnings today: Marvel Technology Group (consensus $0.11), Casey's General Stores (1.81).

U.S. IPO's scheduled to price today: none.

Equity conferences during the remainder of this week include: Citi Global Technology Conference on Tue-Thu, Barclays CEO Energy Power Conference on Tue-Thu, Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference on Tue-Thu, Barclays Back-to-School Conference on Tue-Thu, Cowen and Company Global Transportation Conference on Wed, Citi Biotech Conference on Wed, Avondale Partners Tech Services Conference on Wed, Goldman Sachs Global Retailing Conference on Wed-Thu, Drexel Hamilton Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Wed-Thu, Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods Insurance Conference on Wed-Thu, Goldman Sachs Financial Technology Conference on Thu, Evercore ISI Real Estate Conference on Thu, Gabelli & Company Aircraft Supplier & Connectivity Conference on Thu.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

Monsanto (MON +0.50%) is up nearly 3% in pre-market trading after Bayer AG raised its takeover bid for a second time as it up its offer to $127.50 a share and said the two companies are in advanced talks.

Navistar International (NAV +3.99%) soared over 25% in pre-market trading after the WSJ reported that Volkswagen is said to be near a deal to take a 19.9% stake in the company and a person with knowledge of the matter said the stake could ultimately provide a stepping stone for a full takeover.

Danaher (DHR -0.31%) agreed to buy Cepheid (CPHD +0.47%) in a deal valued at about $4 billion or $53 a share in cash, a 54% premium to last Friday's close.

State Street (STT +0.73%) was downgraded to 'Hold' from 'Buy' at Sandler O'Neill with a 12-month target price of $73.

CBS Corp. (CBS +0.35%) was rated a new 'Buy' at Drexel Hamilton LLC with a 12-month target price of $65.

Equinix (EQIX +1.28%) was upgraded to 'Outperform' from 'Market Perform' at Oppenheimer with an 18-month target price of $420.

Credit Acceptance (CACC -0.49%) was downgraded to 'Sell' from 'Neutral' at Compass Point Research & Trading LLC with a 12-month target price of $170.

Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF +1.34%) was rated a new 'Buy' at Brean Capital with a 12-month target price of $27.

AvalonBay Communities (AVB -0.20%) was upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Hold' at Sandler O'Neill with a 12-month target price of $200.

Herbalife (HLF +0.29%) gained almost 1% in after-hours trading after Carl Icahn disclosed that he bought 306,846 shares of Herbalife on Aug 31 at $60.39 to bring his total holdings to 19.6 million shares.

PennantPark Investment (PNNT +1.00%) rose 4% in after-hours trading after it declared a 28 cent quarterly dividend.

MARKET COMMENTS

Sep E-mini S&Ps (ESU16 +0.09%) this morning are up +2.00 points (+0.09%). Friday's closes: S&P 500 +0.42%, Dow Jones +0.39%, Nasdaq +0.31%. The S&P 500 on Friday closed higher on speculation the Fed may delay a rate hike after U.S. Aug non-farm payrolls rose +151,000, less than expectations of +180,000. Also, a rally in energy stocks boosted the overall market after the price of crude oil rose +2.97%. On the negative side was the +0.1% m/m and +2.4% y/y increase in U.S. Aug avg hourly earnings, weaker than expectations of +0.2% m/m and +2.5% y/y.

Dec 10-year T-notes (ZNZ16 +0.02%) this morning are down -0.5 of a tick. Friday's closes: TYZ6 -5.50, FVZ6 -0.50. Dec T-notes on Friday erased an early rally and closed lower as stocks rallied, which reduced the safe-haven demand for government debt. T-note prices were also weighed down on speculation that even though the increase in U.S. Aug non-farm payrolls (+151,000 vs. expectations of +180,000), was not as big as expected, it may still be strong enough for the Fed to raise interest rates.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.27%) this morning is down -0.250 (-0.26%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.0018 (+0.16%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down-0.15 (-0.15%). Friday's closes: Dollar index +0.191 (+0.20%), EUR/USD -0.0041 (-0.37%), USD/JPY +0.69 (+0.67%). The dollar index on Friday closed higher on speculation that Friday's U.S. Aug non-farm payrolls, although weaker than expected, is still strong enough to warrant a Fed interest rate increase. The dollar also garnered support from a weak yen as USD/JPY rallied to a 5-week high on expectations for the BOJ to expand stimulus while the Fed hikes rates.

Oct crude oil (CLV16 +1.22%) this morning is up +59 cents (+1.33%) and Oct gasoline (RBV16 +1.88%) is up +0.0245 (+1.88%). Friday's closes: CLV6 +1.28 (+2.97%), RBV6 +0.0169 (+1.33%). Oct crude oil and gasoline on Friday closed higher due to comments from Russian President Putin who said he'd like OPEC and Russia, producers of half of the world's oil, to reach a deal to freeze production with an exemption for Iran. A rally in stocks was also supportive for crude as it boosts confidence in the economic outlook and energy demand.

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR09/06/2016

		Tuesday, Sep 6
US	0945 ET	Revised Aug Markit services PMI expected +0.2 to 51.1, prelim-Aug -0.5 to 50.9.
	1000 ET	Aug ISM non-manufacturing PMI expected -0.2 to 55.3, Jul -1.0 to 55.5.
	1100 ET	USDA weekly grain export inspections.
	1600 ET	USDA Weekly Crop Progress.
	2115 ET	San Francisco Fed President John Williams (non-voter) speaks on the economic outlook at an event in Reno, NV.
GER	0200 ET	German Jul factory orders expected +0.6% m/m and -0.1% y/y, Jun-0.4% m/m and -3.1% y/y
	0330 ET	German Aug construction PMI, Jul 51.6.
UK	0400 ET	UK Aug new car registrations, Jul +0.1% y/y.
	1901 ET	UK Aug BRC shop price index, Jul -1.6% y/y.
EUR	0500 ET	Revised Eurozone Q3 GDP, previous +0.3% q/q and +1.6% y/y.
		Wednesday, Sep 7
US	0700 ET	Weekly MBA mortgage applications, previous +2.8% with purchase sub-index +1.3% and refi sub-index +3.7%.
	1000 ET	Jul JOLTS job openings, Jun +110,000 to 5.624 million.
	1400 ET	Fed Beige Book.
JPN	0100 ET	Japan Jul leading index CI expected -0.6 to 98.6, Jun 99.2. Jul coincident index expected +0.6 to 111.7, Jun 111.1.
	1950 ET	Revised Japan Q2 GDP, previous +0.2% (q/q annualized). Revised Q2 deflator, previous +0.8% y/y.
GER	0200 ET	German Jul industrial production expected +0.1% m/m and +0.1% y/y, Jun +0.8% m/m and +0.5% y/y.
UK	0330 ET	UK Aug Halifax house prices expected -0.3% m/m and +7.0% 3-mo/year-over-year, Jul -1.0% m/m and +8.4% 3-mo/year-over-year.
	0430 ET	UK Jul industrial production expected -0.3% m/m and +1.9% y/y, Jun +0.1% m/m and +1.6% y/y.
	0430 ET	UK Jul manufacturing production expected -0.4% m/m and +1.6% y/y, Jun -0.3% m/m and +0.9% y/y.
	1901 ET	UK Aug RICS house price balance expected 2%, Jul 5%.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR09/06/2016

Company	Ticker	Time	Event Description	Period	Estimate
Marvell Technology Group Ltd	MRVL US	Bef-mkt	Q2 2017 Earnings Release	Q2 2017	0.111
Casey's General Stores Inc	CASY US	16:00	Q1 2017 Earnings Release	Q1 2017	1.806

MORNING CALL 7/7

MORNING CALL

Thursday, July 7th, 2016View Older Reports

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OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

Sep E-mini S&Ps (ESU16 -0.12%) are down -0.06% ahead of Jun ADP employment data later this morning and European stocks are up +1.21%. Energy producing stocks higher as crude oil (CLQ16 +1.08%) is up +0.97% after API data released late yesterday showed U.S. crude stockpiles dropped -6.7 million bbl last week. Increased M&A activity is another positive factor for stocks with Danone up 7% after it agreed to buy WhiteWave Foods for about $10 billion. EUR/USD fell -0.20% and gains in European stocks were limited after German May industrial production unexpectedly declined by the most in 1-3/4 years. Asian stocks settled mixed: Japan -0.67%, Hong Kong +1.03%, China -0.01%, Taiwan +0.76%, Australia +0.59%, Singapore -0.09%, South Korea +1.13%, India +0.13%.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.02%) is down -0.03%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.20%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY)is down -0.17%.

Sep T-note prices (ZNU16 -0.05%) are unchanged.

German May industrial production unexpectedly fell -1.3% m/m, weaker than expectations of +0.1% m/m and the biggest decline in 1-3/4 years.

UK May industrial production fell -0.5% m/m and rose +1.4% y/y, stronger than expectations of -1.0% m/m and +0.5% y/y.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Key U.S. news today includes: (1) Jun Challenger job cuts (May -26.5% y/y), (2) June ADP employment change (expected +160,000, May +173,000), (3) weekly initial unemployment claims (expected -1,000 to 267,000, previous +10,000 to 268,000) and continuing claims (expected unch at 2.120 million, previous 20,000 to 2.120 million), and (4) EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report.

Russell 1000 companies reporting earnings today: PepsiCo (consensus $1.29).

U.S. IPO's scheduled to price today: none.

Equity conferences this week include: none.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

First Solar (FSLR +2.85%) slipped 3% in pre-market trading after it was downgraded to 'Hold' from 'Buy' at Deutsche Bank.

WhiteWave Foods (WWAV +0.94%) jumped 18% in pre-market trading after Danone agreed to buy the company for about $10 billion.

Endologix (ELGX +2.49%) was upgraded to 'Outperform' from 'Market Perform' at BMO Capital Markets.

Depomed (DEPO +3.79%) was downgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Buy' at UBS.

Red Hat (RHT +1.25%) was downgraded to 'Equalweight' from 'Overweight' at Morgan Stanley.

Pepsico (PEP -0.47%) reported Q2 EPS of $1.35, better than consensus of $1.29.

Plains GP Holdings LP (PSGP unch) was downgraded to 'Hold' from 'Buy' at Evercore ISI.

Seagate Technology (STX +1.55%) gained almost 2% in after-hours trading after the company announced that Mark Long will become CFO in addition to his current role as chief strategy officer.

Time Warner (TWX +0.93%) was rated a new 'Buy' at Brean Capital with a 12-month price target of $90.

Western Digital (WDC +1.65%) climbed nearly 3% in after-hours trading after it reported preliminary Q4 adjusted EPS of 72 cents, above a previous forecast of 65 cents-70 cents.

CBS Corp. (CBS +0.77%) was rated a new 'Buy' at Brean Capital with a 12-month price target of $65.

MARKET COMMENTS

September E-mini S&Ps (ESU16 -0.12%) this morning are down -1.25 ponts (-0.06%). Wedneday's closes: S&P 500 +0.54%, Dow Jones +0.44%, Nasdaq +0.77%. The S&P 500 on Wednesday rebounded from early losses and closed higher on the +3.6 point increase in the U.S. Jun ISM non-manufacturing index to 56.5, stronger than expectations of +0.4 to 53.3 and the fastest pace of expansion in 7 months. Stocks were also boosted by a rally in drug companies that lifted the health-care sector.

Sep 10-year T-note prices (ZNU16 -0.05%) this morning are unchnaged. Wedneday's closes: TYU6 -7.00. FVU6 -4.25. Sep T-notes on Wednesday fell back from a 3-1/2 year nearest-futures high and closed lower on signs of economic strength after the U.S. Jun ISM non-manufacturing index expanded at the fastest pace in 7 months (+3.6 to 56.5). T-notes were also undercut by reduced safe-haven demand after the S&P 500 rebounded from early losses and moved higher. T-notes found support from carryover support from rallies in German bunds and UK gilts to all-time highs and from dovish comments from Fed Governor Tarullo who said that inflation and unemployment haven't yet reached levels that would justify an interest rate hike.

The dollar index (DXY00 -0.02%) this morning is down -0.032 (-0.03%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0022 (-0.20%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down-0.17 (-0.17%). Wedneday's closes: Dollar Index -0.113 (-0.12%), EUR/USD +0.0024 (+0.22%), USD/JPY -0.42 (-0.41%). The dollar index on Wednesday fell back from a 1-week high and closed lower on weakness in USD/JPY, which fell to a 1-week low, and on dovish comments from Fed Governor Tarullo who said that inflation and unemployment haven't yet reached levels that would justify an interest rate increase. The dollar index was boosted by weakness in GBP/USD which fell to a fresh 31-year low, and by the stronger-than-expected U.S. Jun ISM non-manufacturing index.

Aug WTI crude oil (CLQ16 +1.08%) this morning is up +46 cents (+0.97%). Aug gasoline (RBQ16 +2.13%) is up +0.0313 (+2.18%). Wedneday's closes: CLQ6 +0.83 (+1.78%), RBQ6 +0.0042 (+0.29%). Aug crude oil and gasoline on Wednesday closed higher as Aug crude recovered from a 1-week low and Aug gasoline rebounded from a 2-3/4 month low. Crude oil prices were boosted by a weaker dollar and by expectations that Thursday's weekly EIA report will show that U.S. crude inventories fell -2.5 million bbl.

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR07/07/2016

		Thursday, July 7, 2016
US	0730 ET	Jun Challenger job cuts, May -26.5% y/y.
	0815 ET	Jun ADP employment change expected +160,000, May +173,000.
	0830 ET	Weekly initial unemployment claims expected -1,000 to 267,000, previous +10,000 to 268,000. Weekly continuing claims expected unch at 2.120 million, previous -20,000 to 2.120 million.
	1100 ET	EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
	1100 ET	Treasury announces amount of 3-year T-notes (previous $24 billion), 10-year T-notes (previous $20 billion), and 30-year T-bonds (previous $12 billion) to be auctioned Jul 11-13.
		Friday, July 8, 2016
US	0830 ET	Jun non-farm payrolls expected +180,000, May +38,000. Jun private payrolls expected +170,000, May +25,000. Jun manufacturing payrolls expected -1,000, May 10,000. Jun unemployment rate expected +0.1 to 4.8%, May -0.3 to 4.7%.
	0830 ET	Jun avg hourly earnings expected +0.2% m/m and +2.7% y/y, May +0.2% m/m and +2.5% y/y. Jun avg weekly hours all employees expected unch at 34.4 hours, May unch at 34.4 hours.
	0830 ET	USDA weekly Export Sales.
	1500 ET	May consumer credit expected +$16.250 billion, Apr +$13.416 billion.
	n/a	G-20 trade ministers meet in Shanghai.
JPN	0030 ET	Japan Jun bankruptcies, May -7.32% y/y.
	0100 ET	Japan Jun eco watchers survey outlook expected -0.6 to 46.7, May 47.3. Jun eco watchers survey current expected +0.1 to 43.1, May 43.0.
GER	0200 ET	German May trade balance expected +23.5 billion euros, Apr +25.7 billion euros. May exports expected +0.4% m/m, Apr +0.1% m/m. May imports expected +0.7% m/m, Apr -0.3% m/m.
	0200 ET	German May current account balance expected +24.6 billion euros, Apr +28.8 billion euros.
UK	0430 ET	UK Q1 unit labor costs expected +1.6% y/y, Q4 +1.3% y/y.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR07/07/2016

Company	Ticker	Time	Event Description	Period	Estimate
PepsiCo Inc	PEP US	6:30	Q2 2016 Earnings Release	Q2 2016	1.294
Fastenal Co	FAST US	7:00	June 2016 Sales and Revenue Release	2016
L Brands Inc	LB US	7:30	June 2016 Sales and Revenue Call	2016
PepsiCo Inc	PEP US	8:00	Q2 2016 Earnings Call	Q2 2016
Gap Inc/The	GPS US	16:15	June 2016 Sales and Revenue Release	2016
L Brands Inc	LB US		June 2016 Sales and Revenue Release	2016
Healthcare Trust of America Inc	HTA US		Annual General Meeting

5 Large Caps with Steady Gains

Many times the best Large Cap stocks aren't the ones that rose the most or the ones with the most positive indicators.  I also like to see a stock with steady upward momentum.  One of the best ways to find those stocks is to use Barchart to sort the S&P 500 Large Cap Index stocks for the most frequent new highs in the last month and then review the charts using the Flipchart feature.

Today's watch list includes CBS Corp (CBS), Prologis (PLD), Exelon (EXC),  Avalonbay Communities (AVB), and Whirlpool (WHR).

CBS Corp (CBS)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 80% technical buy indicators:
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 17 new highs and up 21.69% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 69.19%
• Technical support level at 50.38
• Recently traded at 52.99 with a 50 day moving average of 47.17

Prologis (PLD)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 40% technical buy signals
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 17 new highs and up 18.44% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 67.24%
• Technical support level at 40.17
• Recently traded at 42.14 with a 50 day moving average of 39.55

Excelon (EXC)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 96% technical buy signals
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 17 new highs and up 14.25% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 74.08%
• Technical support level at 33.82
• Recently traded at 34.64 with a 50 day moving average of 30.31

Avalonbay Communities (AVB)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 40% technical buy signals
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
• 17 new highs and up 11.69% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 63.61
• Technical support level at 175.39
• Recently traded at 180.72 with a 50 day moving average of 174.23

Whirlpool (WHR)

Barchart technical indicators:

• 80% technical buy signal
• Trend Spotter buy signal
• Above its 20, 50 and  100 day moving averages
• 16 new highs and up 27.12% in the last month
• Relative Strength Index 75.04%
• Technical support level at 154.40
• Recently traded at 164.95 with a 50 day moving average of 142.17