Morning Briefing: September 12, 2023

Equity Futures: A decline is observed after a favorable finish yesterday. Contributing heavily to this decline is Oracle’s substantial drop after an unfavorable future guidance.
Oil Prices: WTI crude oil futures rose by 0.9% and are now at $88.09/bbl. These increasing rates may exert pressure on the broader market.
Bond Yields: Both the 2-yr and 10-yr note yields remained constant at 4.99% and 4.28% respectively.

NFIB Small Business Optimism: August data shows a dip from 91.9 to 91.3, signaling cautious sentiment among small businesses.
Upcoming Data Release: Market participants are eyeing the August Consumer Price Index, set to release tomorrow. This will provide a clearer picture of inflation and its current trajectory.

Oracle (ORCL): Despite beating estimates by $0.04, Oracle has had a drop of 10.2%. This is primarily due to their Q2 EPS guidance and revenue falling below the consensus.
Apple (AAPL): Apple is gearing up for their annual hardware refresh, expected to unveil the latest iPhone iteration today at 1:00 p.m.
WestRock (WRK) and Smurfit Kappa (SMFKY): These two companies are set to merge, aiming to be a worldwide leader in sustainable packaging.
CVS: Received an upgrade from Wolfe Research, improving its status from Peer Perform to Outperform.
Casey’s General (CASY): Positive news for CASY as it beats expectations by $1.16 and reports revenues in line with forecasts. This comes alongside an affirmation of FY24 financial targets.
Enphase Energy (ENPH): Facing a downgrade from Truist to a ‘Hold’ from its previous ‘Buy’ status.

Oracle’s Decline: After revealing slowing cloud sales, tech stocks face some skepticism. Oracle’s decline, in particular, has raised questions about AI demand translating to business revenue.
Nasdaq 100 Index Futures: A 0.3% dip indicates a slight pullback from yesterday’s 1.2% rally.
Apple & SoftBank: Both these tech giants are set to capture attention, with Apple’s product announcement and SoftBank’s Arm Ltd. prepping for a significant IPO.

Currency depreciation is noticed in both the euro and the pound against the dollar. This can be attributed to the looming threat of stagflation in Europe.
The UK’s consistent wage growth, combined with Germany’s stagnating economy, places added pressure on central banks. Key decisions from the European Central Bank are awaited this Thursday.

The upcoming consumer-price index report will be pivotal in understanding the Federal Reserve’s future moves. Any inflation number above the expected 0.6% might prompt the bond market to anticipate a further rate hike, possibly even before 2023 concludes.

Asian stocks show mixed sentiments with Chinese shares facing a decline. Although Country Garden Holdings Co. showed positive momentum, it wasn’t sufficient to maintain a broader bullish outlook.
Currency Watch: Yen faces a dip while the yuan remains stable. Noteworthy is the Japanese government’s bond auction which saw an unexpected cut-off price, especially after remarks on the negative interest rate policy.

Oil: Continues its upward trend, approaching its highest value for the year.
Gold: Remains stable, with no significant fluctuations observed

Market Summary for September 12, 2023