Stocks opened to narrow losses Monday, as oil prices jumped, chip stocks were volatile on analyst actions and overseas market lagged.
XDrugmaker Bluebird Bio (BLUE) popped in early trade after announcing a development deal with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN). Intel (INTC), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Qualcomm (QCOM) were among the chipmakers moving on analyst actions. Among companies reporting quarterly results Monday morning, Jacobs Engineering (JEC) and Henry Schein (HSIC) posted some of the widest gains.
The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 0.2% in early trade. Intel fell furthest, down 1.4%, on an analyst downgrade. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each gave up 0.1%. Henry Schein led the Nasdaq 100. Henry Schein and Jacobs Engineering topped the S&P 500.
Weight Watchers (WTW), Twilio (TWLO), Zillow Group (Z) and Carrizo Oil & Gas (CRZO) are among the names scheduled to report after the close.
Markets typically see trading volume fall off in August, through Labor Day, as traders pack the family up for vacation. Earnings reports and trade war news could provide exceptions. But the market enters August's first full trading week in healthy standing, with the Dow and the S&P 500 each sitting atop five-week advances. Trade on the Nasdaq has been more choppy, but the index remains less than 2% below its July 25 high and continues to find solid support at its 50-day moving average.
Intel Slumps; AMD, Qualcomm Jump On Analyst Moves
Intel opened down 1.4% while Advanced Micro Devices climbed 0.8% after an analyst's report. Barclay's downgraded Intel, to equal weight from overweight, based on AMD taking a lead in next-generation chips. The note kept AMD's rating at underweight, but raised its price target to 15, from 9. AMD shares are extended after clearing a three-month saucer base in June. Intel is down 14% from its June high, and testing support at its 40-week moving average.
Qualcomm added 0.6% to lead the Nasdaq 100. Cowen ratcheted the stock up to outperform, from market perform. The note cited the abandonment of the NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) deal, the company's $30 billion share buyback initiative and $700 million in good-faith catch-up payments, possibly from the Huawei royalty dispute. The report also hoisted the stock's price target to 84, from 60. Qualcomm is up 35% since April, and climbing out of a seven-month consolidation.
Bluebird, Praxair, Jacobs In Motion
Among the big names reporting early Monday, Tyson Foods (TSN) jumped 4% on its quarter results. Cardinal Health (CAH) slipped 2%. Sotheby's (BID) dived 8% after reporting a steep, second-quarter earnings miss.
Bluebird Bio popped 4% in premarket trade, after announcing a cell therapy cancer treatment collaboration with Regeneron. Regeneron shares traded down 0.2%.
Industrial gases leader Praxair (PX) dived 6% on news that U.S. antitrust regulators would again press for higher levels of divestment in the company's $47 billion takeover by Germany's Linde. The hitch puts at risk the Oct. 24 headline, in the companies' two-year effort to complete the deal.
Jacobs Engineering climbed 2.6% after a strong fiscal third-quarter performance topped analyst targets. The stock ended Friday in a buy range, above a 66.82 buy point in a cup-with-handle base.
Medical supplies leader Henry Schein swung up more than 4% at the start of trade. The Melville, N.Y.-based distributor reported narrows second quarter revenue and earnings wins, and said it would announce a restructuring plan later today. Shares are up 28% from a March low, climbing the right side of a 14-month consolidation.
Oil Prices, Europe's Markets Rise
Markets ended widely mixed in China as the Shanghai Composite fell 1.3%, plunging deeper into bear-market status. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 0.5%. Stocks turned lower in Europe, hit by a slump in German factory orders and negative comments from a British official on a Brexit deal. Frankfurt's DAX and the CAC-40 in Paris fell 0.2%. London's FTSE 100 was down 0.1% in afternoon trade.
Oil prices jumped early, with West Texas Intermediate up 1.3% to above $69 per barrel. Oil prices have declined for the past five weeks, but are still holding within the trading range of their 14-month advance.
The week's earnings calendar does't kick in until Tuesday, when the Labor Department reports its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey and the Federal Reserve delivers consumer credit numbers, both for June.
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