- Wall Street indices open
- Russell 2000 tests 2,000 pts area
- Aaron's rallies over 30%, AMC Networks slumps 11%
Wall Street indices launched today's trading slightly lower - S&P 500 dropped 0.1% at session launch, while Dow Jones and small-cap Russell 2000 opened around 0.3% lower. Nasdaq was the outperformer with 0.1% gain at session launch.
This comes on the back of a rather upbeat European session, with indices from the Old Continent posting small gains today. Economic calendar for the day ahead is empty, spare for speeches from Fed members Williams and Harker at 5:00 pm BST and 6:00 pm BST, respectively. New York Fed Empire manufacturing index for June was released earlier today, and it showed an improvement from -15.6 to -6.0 (exp. -11.3). However, markets looked past this release and no market reaction could be spotted.
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Source: xStation5
Small-cap Russell 2000 is a top laggard among major Wall Street indices today. Index launched today's trading lower and tests 2,000 pts mark. Taking a look at Russell 2000 index futures (US2000) chart at D1 interval, we can see that the index continues to pullback from a local high reached slightly above 2,100 pts area in mid-May. There is a potential large head and shoulders pattern in play on the index, with 1,935 pts area serving as a neckline. Should we see the index slide further and drop below this 1,935 pts zone, a deeper decline may be looming. Textbook range of the downside breakout below the neckline suggests a possibility of a move to as low as 1,703 pts area.
Company News
Aaron's (AAN.US), US lease-to-own retailing company, launched today's trading with a massive bullish price gap. Company's stock rallied in response to an M&A announcement. Namely, Aaron's announced that it will be acquired by IQVentures, a fintech company. Financial details of the deal give Aaron's enterprise value of around $504 million and represent an over 34% premium over company's closing price on Friday.
Autodesk (ADSK.US), US design-software company, is trading higher following a Wall Street Journal report. WSJ reported that activist investor Starboard Value took a $500 million stake in the company and is attempting to push for changes at the company.
AMC Networks (AMCX.US) launched today's trading with a big bearish price gap. The drop was triggered by company's announcement that it plans to issue convertible senior notes worth $125 million that are due in 2029. Sale will be made via a private offering and proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.
Analysts' actions
- Best Buy (BBY.US) upgraded to 'buy' at UBS. Price target set at $106.00
- Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings (OLLI.US) upgraded to 'overweight' from JPMorgan. Price target set at $105.00
- Louisianna-Pacific Corp (LPX.US) downgraded to 'sell' at Goldman Sachs. Price target set at $81.00
- Palantir Technologies (PLTR.US) rated 'buy' at Argus Research. Price target set at $29.00
Aaron's launched today's trading with an around-30% bullish price gap after company announced it will be acquired by IQVentures. Source: xStation5
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