Apple Today 12/23/2016 OPEX XMAS (AAPL)
seymour_greenz • December 23rd 2016 10:59:16 AM
Good Morning,
S&P Futures are down 2 with flat Fair Value, NASDAQ Futures are down 6 with -5 Fair Value and Dow Futures are down 18 on this Friday OPEX ahead of the Christmas weekend as the Dow still eyes 20,000 and Lockheed Martin (LMT) dips after a "rogue tweet" suggesting their F-35 Joint Strike Fighter should be replaced with the F/A-18 Super Hornet from rival Boeing (BA). Italian bank Monte dei Paschi (BMDPF) continues working on a government bailout and Deutsche Bank (DB) and Credit Suisse (CS) have announced a $12.5 billion deal with the US government to settle claims in the US mortgage meltdown of 2007 and 2008.
Despite the impending holiday, the economic calendar is taking no time off yet with New Home Sales and Consumer Sentiment this morning, followed by Baker-Hughes Rig Count this afternoon. The bond market, however, closes at 2pm.
As for earnings, Cintas Corporation (CTAS) is down nearly 2.5% after a miss.
Futures were up modestly in early morning, peaking near 3am and then dipped sharply just before 7:30am and are near the lows as we approach the open.
Asian markets ended down. Japan was closed for Emperor's Birthday holiday, Hong Kong dropped 0.28% and China led the decline, down 0.94%. European markets are mixed. The UK is up 0.06%, Germany is down 0.17% and France is down 0.02%.
Commodities are mixed this morning. Oil is down 1.15%, natural gas is up 0.82% and gold is up 0.11%. Unleaded gas is down 1.12% and heating oil is down 0.57%. Metals are mixed, gold and copper are up while silver and platinum are down. Meats are mostly up. Cocoa, coffee, cotton, corn and soybeans are down while wheat is flat.
Market opens little changed in light trading. Gold heading for longest run of losses in more than a year.
Cintas Corporation (CTAS) reported Q2 results with adjusted earnings of $1.15 per share, missing expectations and is down nearly 2.5% in pre-market.
A leading bullish SBUX trade strategy is: When the 9 SMA is Above the 25 SMA AND the 20 SMA is Above the 32 SMA, daily bars.
AAPL surfed the 116 wave, ending down 0.66% on low volume. Though AAPL showed promise for 117+ in yesterday's pre-market, AAPL opened down at 116.35 to high volume and initially dipped sharply to below 116 on strong volume before bounding back sharply towards the mid-116 area and then set an intra-day high of 116.51 at 10:40am on low volume before slipping to the upper-115 zone and putting in an intra-day low of 115.64 at 11:48am on relatively heavy volume. AAPL bounced back to the low-116 area on low volume later in the afternoon around 2pm and then dipped to the 115.75 area shortly after 3pm on moderate volume. AAPL ran back up to the low-116 zone into the close on moderate volume and ended the day down 77 cents at 116.29 and lost the 29 cents in after-hours to 116.
This morning in pre-market, AAPL opened lower and scraped a pre-market low of 115.73, perhaps due to Consumer Reports failure to recommend the new Macbook Pros alongside a bearish Baron's article. AAPL is currently down 51 cents at 115.78 as we approach the open.
Classic max-pain is 115. Today is OPEX. Have a very happy and safe holiday weekend with your friends and family! The markets are closed on Monday.
Market opens little changed in light trading:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN14C1AM
Gold heading for longest run of losses in more than a year:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-23/gold-heading-for-longest-run-of-losses-in-more-than-a-year
China fines GM venture $29 million for monopolistic pricing:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-autos-penalty-idUSKBN14C0WV
Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse settle US subprime probes:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-23/deutsche-bank-credit-suisse-settle-u-s-probes-as-barclays-sued
Consumer Reports doesn't recommend the new MacBook Pro:
http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/23/technology/consumer-reports-macbook-pro/index.html
The 2016 highs and lows for Apple:
https://www.cnet.com/videos/the-highs-and-lows-for-apple-in-2016/
Google will launch two flagship smartwatches early next year:
http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/22/14057656/google-smartwatch-android-wear-2-0-launch
Honda in talks with Google's Waymo on self-drive tech:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-21/honda-in-talks-on-self-driving-technology-with-google-s-waymo
Zuckerberg finally admits Facebook is a media company:
http://fortune.com/2016/12/23/zuckerberg-media-company/
Tesla rings in 2017 with self-driving cars:
https://www.cnet.com/news/teslas-elon-musk-to-ring-in-2017-with-self-driving-cars/
Tesla to hike UK prices by 5% in the new year:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/22/tesla-uk-prices-new-year-currency-brexit-vote
Weight Watchers shares soar after Oprah Winfrey loses 40 pounds:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-22/weight-watchers-campaign-touts-oprah-winfrey-losing-40-pounds
Did Barnes & Noble Nook tablets ship with spyware?
https://www.cnet.com/uk/news/barnes-and-noble-tablets-adups/
Restaurants and stores open on Christmas day:
http://fortune.com/2016/12/23/christmas-day-restaurants-stores-open/
USPS delivers on Christmas day:
http://fortune.com/2016/12/23/us-postal-service-christmas-day-deliveries/
Flight delayed because of bad Wi-Fi hotspot name:
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/12/22/14063842/samsung-galaxy-note-7-virgin-america-flight-sfo
Is NASA's next stop Mars or the Moon?
http://arstechnica.co.uk/science/2016/12/nasa-mars-or-the-moon-next/
2016 breakthrough of the year in gravitational waves:
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/189979/20161223/2016-breakthrough-of-the-year-gravitational-wave-discovery-earns-top-award-from-science-magazine.htm
Ignoring climate change just got more expensive:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-23/ignoring-climate-change-just-got-more-expensive
Some young dinosaurs shed teeth, say experts:
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38392397
Ebola vaccine is safe and effective!
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/22/ebola-vaccine-is-safe-and-effective-scientists-declare-after-trials-successful
FDA aims to limit lead levels in lipstick and other cosmetics:
http://time.com/4614134/fda-lead-cosmetic-guidance/
China reports first two human deaths from bird flu this winter:
http://www.reuters.com/article/health-birdflu-china-idUSL4N1EI1UP
New drug gives hope for those with progressive multiple sclerosis:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-drug-gives-hope-for-those-with-progressive-multiple-sclerosis/
Stress of Christmas season linked to increase in heart attacks:
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2016/12/23/Christmas-season-linked-to-increase-in-heart-attacks/6421482502209/
Today's Economic Calendar:
10:00 New Home Sales
10:00 Reuters/UofM Consumer Sentiment
1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count
2:00 PM Bond markets close