-
Wall Street set for a strong opening
-
Nasdaq (US100) climbs back above the 9000 pts mark
-
Pfizer, 3M and United Technologies reported Q4 earnings, Apple to report
European indices seesawed between gains and losses during today’s trading. However, US stock markets are expected to open higher with S&P 500 futures pointing to a 0.6% bullish gap at session launch. Earnings season is in full swing with 3M, Pfizer and United Technologies reporting results ahead of the session open. Tech major Apple will publish earnings report after the session close.
Nasdaq (US100) dipped below the lower limit of the Overbalance structure yesterday but managed to recover before hitting support at 8910 pts. The first level to watch should the recovery continue can be found at 30-period exponential moving average (green line, H4 interval). This moving average runs in the vicinity of 9100 pts handle at press time and has acted as a guide for the uptrend over the previous 2 months. Source: xStation5
3M (MMM.US), Pfizer (PFE.US) and United Technologies (UTX.US) are 3 Dow Jones members that reported Q4 earnings ahead of today’s opening bell. Each of those three companies managed to report revenue that was slightly higher than expected (less than 1% higher). However, when it comes to earnings, the situation was not that unambiguous. United Technologies reported EPS of $1.94 - 5.3% higher than expected. On the other hand, Pfizer and 3M disappointed. The former showed an EPS of $0.55 against expected $0.57 while the latter reported EPS of $1.95 against expected $2.10.
Pfizer (PFE.US) has been trading in a steady upward move since mid-August 2019. Earnings miss may exert some pressure on the stock today and if this is the case, support zone ranging near $38.50 handle could come into play. Source: xStation5
Traders should expect elevated volatility on Apple (AAPL.US) today and tomorrow. Manufacturer of iPhones will report earnings for the fourth quarter of 2019 (fiscal Q1 2020) after today’s session close. Company is expected to report EPS of $4.56 (+8.8% YoY) and revenue of $88.38 billion (+4.8% YoY). The stock may also move today in response to a report from Nikkei. The financial newspaper reports that Apple plans to ramp up iPhone production in the first half of 2020 by 10%. However, in a later report Nikkei claimed that this plan may be in danger as coronavirus may disrupt supply chains.
Apple (AAPL.US) has been rallying throughout the previous year and continues to do so in 2020. The stock slumped yesterday as coronavirus concerns arrived at Wall Street. The incoming quarterly report has a chance to be a major market mover as Apple executives may address the impact of coronavirus on supply chains during analyst call. Source: xStation5
