28Apr2021 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Futures Flat Ahead Of Powell, Biden Doubleheader, DOW Down 75 Points, Nasdaq Down 0.2%, Bitcoin 55300, U.S. Trade Deficit In Goods Hits Record High

Written by Gary

Starbucks shares fall as investors worry about international growth (SPY +0.01%). Biggest premarket movers: Alphabet, Spotify, Pinterest, Shopify.

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money
	European markets are mixed. The DAX is higher by 0.06%, while the CAC 40 is leading the FTSE 100 lower. They are down 0.43% and 0.07% respectively.

What Is Moving the Markets

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Cautious Hedging Costs U.S. Drillers Billions A month ago, ConocoPhillips warned it would book a $600-million impairment to its first-quarter profits from its acquisition of Concho Resources and, as Reuters reported at the time, related oil price hedges. Now, it is emerging that Concho is not the only one that hedged too early. When the price of crude oil began to recover last year after a devastating first half of the year, U.S. oil producers began to hedge their 2021 output at higher prices. They hedged less than normally, Rystad Energy noted in an October report, at 41 percent of their
	European Oil Majors Out-Traded U.S. Peers In 2020 Last year might have been a harrowing one for oil markets, but dozens of big-time oil traders netted tons of profit harnessing the volatility opportunities. Exxon wasn’t among them. The American oil giant appears to have failed where its giant European counterparts excelled, according to an eye-opening Reuters report detailing how the supermajor cut funding for its trading unit and relegated it to the sidelines amid a COVID-19 pandemic that others capitalized on, heartily. While Dutch energy and commodity trading giant Vitol raked
	Oil Markets On Edge As Iranian Elections Loom A major threat is brewing for international oil and commodity markets in the coming months. There has been an increase in the amount of drone and missile attacks on Saudi oil and transportation infrastructure in the last couple of years, and now it seems that threat is evolving. The Saudi ministry of defense stated that an explosive-laden boat was intercepted off the Red Sea port of Yanbu, one of Saudi Arabias main oil export ports. The media is still waiting on further details to emerge from Saudi Arabia, but maritime security sources stated
	Is Californias Fracking Ban A Big Deal For The Oil Industry? California needs to move beyond oil, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Friday when he directed the Department of Conservations Geologic Energy Management (CalGEM) Division to initiate regulatory action to end the issuance of new fracking permits by January 2024. Thats headline-catching news, but is it really a big deal for Californias oil industry? The bigger news is that Governor Newsom has also asked the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to evaluate pathways to phase out all oil extraction across the state by
	U.S. Oil Inventories Rise Beyond Expectations The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported an extensive build in crude oil inventories of 4.319 million barrels for the week ending April 23. Analysts had predicted a much smaller build of 659,000 barrels for the week. In the previous week, the API reported a build in oil inventories of 436,000 barrels after analysts had predicted a draw of 2.860-million barrels. Enbridge tanks at main Cushing area as of April 16. Oil prices were trading up on the day prior to the data release despite the coronavirus surge in the worlds third-largest
	China Makes Big Move On Battery Metals In Africa Over the past few decades, China has been all over Africa, building railroads, airports, bridges, and power dams, doing what Africa’s colonial masters should have done eons ago. Trade between China and Africa has surged dramatically from US$1 billion in 1980 to US$128 billion in 2016, while cumulative loans to African governments have hit US$143 billion, with half of them given over the last four years alone, making it Africa’s largest bilateral creditor. China’s lending to African countries has particularly skyrocketed under the massive Belt and
	Shoemaker Allbirds reportedly in talks with banks for IPO as public market heats up Shoe brand Allbirds is in the process of interviewing banks in preparation for an initial public offering, according to The New York Times.
	5 things to know before the stock market opens Wednesday U.S. stock futures were flat as investors digest tech earnings and look ahead to the end of the Fed’s April meeting.
	Taco Bell parent Yum Brands tops earnings estimates fueled by U.S. sales growth Yum Brands reported quarterlyÂ earningsÂ that crushed analysts’ expectations as U.S. consumers returned to its restaurants.
	Tesla is now sitting on $2.5 billion of bitcoin The company announced earlier this year that it had purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and planned to accept it as payment for vehicles.
	Boeing posts sixth consecutive quarterly loss, expects turning point in 2021 Boeing said it expects 2021 to be a turning point as more people are vaccinated against Covid-19.
	One dose of a Covid vaccine can almost halve transmission, study finds A single dose of a coronavirus vaccine can reduce household transmission by up to half, a study by Public Health England has found.
	Starbucks faces more competition from local beverage brands in China, its biggest market outside the U.S. Investors in China are stepping up their bets that locals will buy more beverages that aren’t from Starbucks.
	India reports record new cases and fatalities, official Covid death toll surpasses 200,000 Government data showed at least another 3,293 people died, while overall cases also rose by a record 360,960 reported infections.
	Former HHS official applauds ‘data-driven’ easing of CDC mask guidance “I think the president made the right point today, which is that guidance today is not about politics,” Dr. Mario Ramirez said.
	Auto lobby seeks update to federal car safety standards following Tesla crashes Auto lobby seeks update to federal car safety standards following Tesla crashes
	Starbucks shares fall despite higher forecast as investors worry about international growth Starbucks on Tuesday reported mixed quarterly results and raised its full-year forecast for earnings and revenue.
	A major new facility in Oregon could help transform the prospects of wave energy Construction work on PacWave South could begin this summer, with operations starting by 2023.
	Public demand for AstraZeneca vaccine falls in Britain after blood clot scares Public preference for the AstraZeneca vaccine has fallen since reports potentially linking it to some cases of unusual blood clotting cases, a U.K. study shows.
	Boeing Slides After Missing Earnings, Burning More Cash Than Expected Boeing Slides After Missing Earnings, Burning More Cash Than Expected Challenged aircraft-maker Boeing reported a smaller quarterly loss – helped by an improvement in aircraft deliveries as its 737 MAX jets come back on line and airlines prepare for a recovery in travel this summer – even as it missed adjusted EPS expectations despite beating on revenue. Below is a snapshot of the company’s Q1 results: Adj EPS Loss $1.53 vs. Loss $1.70 Y/Y, Est. loss 1.16 Neg Operating Cash Flow $3.39B, Est. Negative $3.12B Neg Adj Free Cash Flow $3.678B, Est. Negative $3.34B Revenue $15.22B, down from $16.9B Y/Y; Est. $15.12B While the company missed EPS, it’s worth noting that Boeing’s tax rate was 1.9% in the quarter, reflecting a benefit from its pre-tax losses and œtrue-ups to tax benefits previously recorded in 2020.” Translation: it’s loss would have been even worse. A breakdown of revenue: Commercial Airplanes: 4.27bln (exp. 4.96bln) Global Services: 3.75bln (exp. 3.93bln) …
	Apple SlashesÂ AirPods Production As Sales FizzleÂ Apple SlashesÂ AirPods Production As Sales FizzleÂ Sources in the supply chain toldÂ Nikkei AsiaÂ that Apple had slashed AirPods production by 25% to 30% this year as competition dents sales of the tech giant’s fastest-growing product line.Â Apple originally planned to make 110 million AirPods this year but has slashed production to between 75 and 85 million units. The downward revision indicates that demand is weakening after several years of double-digit growth.Â “The most significant order reduction is for the second quarter toward the start of the third quarter,” said one of the sources. “The levels of inventory [in warehouses] and in-store stocks of AirPods are currently high … and demand is not as strong as expected.” The retail price of AirPods Pro on Amazon is $197, a 20% discount compared with its original price of $249.Â Nikkei Asia did not break down any differences across AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max – though judging by price discounts on Amazon, the price reduc …
	European Parliament Approves Post-Brexit Trade Deal With Britain European Parliament Approves Post-Brexit Trade Deal With Britain Authored by Alexander Zhang via The Epoch Times, The European Parliament announced on Wednesday that EU lawmakers had voted overwhelmingly in favor of the agreement with Britain on post-BrexitÂ trade arrangements. EU lawmakers approved the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement by 660 votes to five, with 32 abstentions. The vote cleared the last hurdle towards the full ratification of the agreement, and marks the end of more than four years of negotiations that began after the UK decided to leave the European Union in a referendum in June 2016. Great news that the European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favour of our zero tariffs, zero quotas Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
	Futures Flat Ahead Of Powell, Biden Doubleheader Futures Flat Ahead Of Powell, Biden Doubleheader For the third day in a row, US equity futures were broadly flat, with the emini trading virtually unchanged from where it was this time on Monday and Tuesday as traders hunkered down ahead of today’s main event: the FOMC announcement at 2pm where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to reaffirm that easy monetary policy will remain in place for a prolonged period and dismiss any suggestions of tapering bond purchases. S&P 500 e-mini stock futures rose 0.09%. or 5 points, while Dow Jones futures were down 31 points ot 0.09% and the Nasdaq was down 7.75 or -0.06% as investors digested a mixed bag of earnings from Tesla, 3M, Microsoft and Google overnight, with tech heavyweights Apple, Facebook and Amazon due to report in the next 48 hours. “We expect the Fed’s tone on the economy to be more positive than at the March FOMC meeting, reflecting the ongoing pickup in the data, but we don’t expect any substantive new signal yet on tapering,” TD Securities analysts wrote. “While we do not expect much price action due to the Fed decision, Biden’s remarks cou …
	Reckitt: More sex, fewer colds drive sales at Durex maker Consumer goods giant Reckitt saw a rise in sales of its condoms in countries where lockdowns eased.
	Sainsbury’s: Cost of Covid has been high While full-year sales jumped 8% the supermarket giant made a loss due to pandemic costs.
	‘I feel much safer on board ship than in a supermarket’ It’s hoped cruises around England will be able to resume in May and already a demand for bookings is high.
	As D-Street speculates on Zomato IPO price, Info Edge awaits windfall Info Edge, which will be selling shares worth Rs 750 crore through the IPO, stands to make windfall gains. The company was one of the early investors in the startup, and it currently owns 1,244,029,200 shares in Zomato, DRHP said.
	IndiGrid NCD issue oversubscribed nearly 10 times, to raise Rs 1,000 cr Through the issue of non-convertible debt securities IndiGrid aims to raise up to Rs 1,000 crore.
	When will Covid 2.0 peak? These signs may help allay fears CLSA said various parameters suggest Maharashtra Covid cases should peak anytime between now and the end of May. It foresees chances of some relaxation in the current lockdown measures sometime between mid-May and mid-June.
	: With advertising spending back, here’s why WPP is an economic recovery play WPP is viewed as a bellwether for the health of the global economy, because marketing budgets are typically the first on the chopping block in tough times and the first to benefit when business picks up.
	Market Snapshot: Dow futures edge lower as investors weigh tech earnings, await Fed U.S. stock-index futures point to a flat to slightly lower for Wall Street Wednesday as investors awaited the conclusion of a Federal Reserve policy meeting and continued to sift through quarterly results from tech heavyweights.
	Earnings Results: Shopify’s stock gains after revenue more than doubles Shares of Shopify Inc. were up more than 5% in premarket trading Wednesday after the e-commerce company delivered better-than-expected financial results, indicating continued momentum for online shopping even as the broader economy reopens.