Apple Today 3/23/2017 (AAPL)
seymour_greenz • March 23rd 2017 11:06:15 AM
Good Morning,
S&P Futures are up 5 with +2 Fair Value, NASDAQ Futures are up 8 with +3 Fair Value and Dow Futures are up 16 on this action-packed Thursday as Futures are relatively flat amid a brief quiet period in the markets. Yellen is scheduled to give a speech at 8:30 am and the February New Home Sales report is expected at 10am. After scraping 1000 yesterday, the price of Bitcoin is solidly in the 1050-area this morning despite "hard fork" concerns brewing.
This morning's Economic Calendar includes: Janet Yellen speech, Initial Jobless Claims, Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, New Home Sales, EIA Natural Gas Inventory followed by Fed's Kashkari speech, Fed Balance Sheet, Money Supply and Fed's Kaplan: Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy.
The earnings winners are: Herman Miller, Inc. (MLHR), up nearly 7% and Cintas Corporation (CTAS), up over 1%. On the other hand, Accenture plc (ACN) is down nearly 3%.
Futures were up in early morning, peaked shortly before 1:30am and then dipped to lows by 5am, bouncing back shortly afterwards and are off the highs as we approach the open.
Asian markets ended up. China gained 0.10%, Hong Kong went up 0.03% and Japan led the advance, up 0.23%. European markets are mostly up. The UK is down 0.06%, Germany is up 0.37% and France is up 0.21%.
Commodities are mixed this morning. Oil is up 0.27%, natural gas is up 0.96% and gold is up 0.06%. Unleaded gas is down 0.45% and heating oil is up 0.31%. Metals are are up. Meats are mostly up. Cotton and wheat are up while cocoa, coffee, corn, and soybeans are down.
All eyes on healthcare vote after flat open. Claims for US jobless benefits increase to 7-week high. US new-home sales climbed to a 7-month high in February. Saudi pledges stable oil supply as market confused by data.
Herman Miller, Inc. (MLHR) reported Q3 earnings yesterday afternoon with adjusted earnings of 39 cents per share that beat expectations and is up nearly 7% in pre-market. Cintas Corporation (CTAS) announced Q3 results with adjusted earnings of $1.11 per share that beat expectations and is up over 1%.
Accenture plc (ACN) reported Q2 results with profit of $1.33 per share that beat expectations and is down nearly 3% in pre-market. ConAgra Brands, Inc. (CAG) announced Q3 earnings with mixed results and is up over 0.5%.
This afternoon after the bell, look out for earnings from Shoe Carnival, Inc. (SCVL), KB Home (KBH), GameStop Corp. (GME) and Micron Technology Inc. (MU).
Tomorrow before the open, The Finish Line, Inc. (FINL) is expected to report.
A leading Bearish MU swing trade strategy is: When the 5 EMA is Above the 28 DMA, daily bars.
AAPL bounced off of the 140 water-line, ending up 1.13% on lower than average volume. AAPL opened up at 139.85 to high volume and immediately set an intra-day low of 139.78 on high volume and then quickly shot up towards 141 on moderate volume before slipping back to 140 at 10:30am on low volume. AAPL subsequently bounced sharply to the mid-141 area on mild volume and held the 141 area in the afternoon, setting an intra-day high of 141.60 at 3:56pm on strong volume within minutes of the close before dipping slightly into the bell. AAPL ended the day up $1.58 at 141.42 and gained 8 more cents after-hours to 141.50.
This morning in pre-market, AAPL picked up with yesterday's close, scraped a pre-market low of 141.13 at 4:56am and then regained the mid-141 zone as rumors swirled that iPhone production in India will ramp up within the next 2 months. AAPL is currently down 14 cents at 141.28 as we approach the open.
Classic max-pain is 140.
All eyes on healthcare vote after flat open:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUSKBN16U1DH
Claims for US jobless benefits increase to 7-week high:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-23/claims-for-u-s-jobless-benefits-increase-to-seven-week-high
US new-home sales climbed to a 7-month high in February:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-23/u-s-new-home-sales-climbed-to-a-seven-month-high-in-february
Fed's Yellen does not comment on monetary policy:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-yellen-idUSKBN16U1NU
Saudi pledges stable oil supply as market confused by data:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-opec-saudi-oil-idUSKBN16U1OL
Ford drops after Q1 profit forecast trails estimates:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-23/ford-sees-profit-falling-from-last-year-s-record-first-quarter
Apple snaps up Workflow, an iOS automation app for power users:
https://arstechnica.com/apple/2017/03/apple-snaps-up-workflow-an-ios-automation-app-for-power-users/
The $329 iPad could be just the thing for the education market:
http://www.macworld.com/article/3183270/ipad/the-329-ipad-could-be-just-the-thing-for-the-education-market.html
Big US companies pull YouTube ads after extremist content sparks uncertainty:
https://arstechnica.com/business/2017/03/big-us-companies-pull-youtube-ads-after-extremist-content-sparks-uncertainty/
Hands-on with Android O:
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/03/hands-on-with-android-o-snooze-that-notification-and-customize-everything/
Corsair One review:
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/03/corsair-one-review/
MSI Reveals 5 custom GTX 1080 Ti cards:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/msi-geforce-gtx-1080ti-graphics-cards,33965.html
Mars Curiosity rover's wheels are breaking:
http://www.popsci.com/curiosity-mars-rovers-wheels-are-starting-to-break
German scientists just tested the "world's largest artificial sun":
http://time.com/4710726/germany-artificial-sun/
Dinosaurs may have UK origin:
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-39305750
Impossible Foods to supersize production of lab-grown burger:
https://www.cnet.com/news/impossible-foods-ramps-up-production-of-its-lab-grown-hamburger/
Solar-powered skin for prosthetic limbs:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-39353751
Got a smartphone, $5 and fertility questions?
https://arstechnica.co.uk/science/2017/03/at-home-male-fertility-test-smartphone/
Doctor turns up possible treatment for deadly sepsis:
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/23/521096488/doctor-turns-up-possible-treatment-for-deadly-sepsis
Will 100% fruit juice make your child gain weight?
http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/23/health/fruit-juice-weight-gain-kids-study/
The benefits of being an older mother:
http://time.com/4709403/older-mother-benefits/
April the Giraffe is slowing down amid "mind blowing" belly growth:
http://wnep.com/2017/03/23/watch-live-april-the-giraffe-slowing-down-belly-growth-mind-blowing/
Today's Economic Calendar:
8:00 PM Janet Yellen speech
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:00 New Home Sales
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
12:00 PM Fed's Kashkari speech
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
7:00 PM Fed's Kaplan: Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy
Notable earnings this afternoon after the bell: BAS, CYTX, NBY, *SCVL*, *KBH*, OXM, SPWH, *GME*, *MU*, BPMX, NVCN, CBAY, UPLD, AGLE, OPGN, VSTM
And tomorrow before the open: LFC, REX, *FINL*, SPP, LTBR, ADK, SMGKF, PIRGF