What to Watch in the Week Ahead and on Monday, January 29

Anthera Pharmaceuticals

26/01/2018 19:49

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WEEK AHEAD 
 
The Dow components featuring in the earnings lineup next week are Apple Inc, reporting 
first-quarter results on Thursday, along with Pfizer Inc and DowDuPont Inc, which are scheduled 
to report fourth-quarter results the same day. Apple is expected to report growth in revenue and 
profit for the holiday quarter. However, all eyes will be on the firm's forecast after analysts 
have raised concerns of a slow March quarter, citing sluggish demand for the iPhone X. The 
anniversary edition iPhone, Apple's priciest till date, began shipping in November, attracting 
long lines at stores. Pfizer is likely to report better-than-expected fourth-quarter results on 
Tuesday, driven by demand for its breast cancer treatment Ibrance and rheumatoid arthritis drug 
Xeljanz. DowDuPont, the world's largest chemical maker, is expected to post a quarterly profit 
that beats Street expectations, on growth across all its business segments. Investors will be on 
a lookout for 2018 capex budget, earnings forecast, updates on divestitures of overlapping 
businesses after the merger of Dow Chemicals and DuPont and details on post merger plans. 
Microsoft Corp is once again expected to post strong second quarter results on Wednesday, fueled 
by its fast-growing Azure cloud-computing service. 
 
Google parent company Alphabet Inc is expected to post a rise in fourth-quarter revenue and 
profit on Thursday, benefiting from healthy mobile search traffic and advertising sales as well 
as higher contributions from its non-search businesses such as YouTube. 
 
Social media giant Facebook Inc is expected to post a jump in fourth-quarter revenue and profit 
on Wednesday. For the past few quarters Facebook's mobile-ad sales have been soaring, boosting 
overall growth, despite the company warning of hitting a limit on its "ad load". Earlier this 
month, Chief Mark Zuckerberg announced changes to its News Feed that he said would hit user 
engagement in the near term. Investors and analysts will be looking to get clarity on the 
changes. 
 
On Thursday, online retail giant Amazon.com Inc is expected to post a rise in fourth-quarter 
profit and revenue. Amazon trounced Wall Street expectations last quarter and is likely to 
report strong results again, reaping the benefits of strong demand during the crucial holiday 
season. Investors will be keen to see if investments in warehouses and content have paid off. 
Analysts expect Amazon Web Services and Amazon Prime, two key initiatives, to continue growing 
this year. 
 
A busy week for economic data kicks off with the release on Monday of September consumer 
spending data. Data from the Labor Department on Tuesday will likely show its employment cost 
index increased 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter after rising 0.7 percent in the prior period. 
Also on Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors is expected to report its, seasonally 
adjusted, monthly index of pending sales of existing U.S. homes. On the same day, the Federal 
Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee begins a two-day meeting on interest rate policy. On 
Thursday, the Institute for Supply Management will likely report that its national manufacturing 
index slipped to a reading of 59.0 in January from 59.9 in December. And, the weekly initial 
claims for state unemployment benefits are forecast to have increased to 235,000, from 233,000 
the previous week. On Friday, the Labor Department's closely watched employment report will 
likely show nonfarm payrolls increased by 178,000 jobs in January, picking up from December's 
148,000 gain. 
 
Health insurer Aetna Inc will report fourth-quarter earnings before the bell on Tuesday. 
Investors will mainly focus on updates related to the $69 billion CVS-Aetna deal and the 
antitrust scrutiny associated with it and any tax reform benefits for 2018 associated with the 
tax law. HCA Healthcare is expected to report its fourth-quarter earnings. Investors would be 
looking out for updates on the impact of tax reform, from which the hospital operator is 
expected to benefit. Drugmaker Eli Lilly will report fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, when 
investors will look closely at revenue from its diabetes franchise, whose future has divided 
experts. On the same day, health insurer Anthem Inc will report fourth-quarter results that will 
likely see a boost from the tax reform.  
 
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams speaks before the Financial Women 
of San Francisco on Friday. 
 
On Thursday, Mastercard Inc, whose payment network is the world's second largest, is poised to 
report a rise in fourth-quarter profit, driven by favorable consumer spending during the holiday 
season and in the aftermath of recent hurricanes. Investors will be looking out for any 2018 
forecasts related to the new tax laws. On the same day, Blackstone Group LP will report its 
fourth-quarter earnings, with the market hoping for an update on whether or not the Republican 
tax plan passed last year could push the private equity giant to change to a corporation from a 
listed partnership. The change would allow more investors to invest in the stock, which CEO 
Steve Schwarzman has long claimed is undervalued, but would rob the firm of some cherished tax 
advantages. 
 
Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest publicly traded oil producer, is expected to post an 18 
percent jump in fourth-quarterly profit on Friday, thanks to rising crude prices and cost cuts. 
On the same day, independent oil refiner Phillips 66 is expected to report higher revenue and 
profit for the fourth quarter due to improved distillate demand.  
 
On Thursday, refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp is expected to report higher profit and revenue for 
last quarter, helped by a wider crude price differential and the U.S. tax reform. The same 
factors are expected to have driven Valero Energy Corp's fourth-quarter results. Valero reports 
on Thursday, as does oil producer ConocoPhillips, which is expected to swing to a fourth-quarter 
profit, helped by rising crude prices and cost cuts. 
 
Toymaker Mattel Inc is expected to report a drop in fourth-quarter revenue and profit on 
Thursday, hurt by the bankruptcy of its largest customer, Toys 'R' Us. The company is also 
expected to take a hit from softening demand for some of its core brands like Barbie and 
Fisher-Price. 
 
MetLife Inc is expected to report its fourth-quarterly results on Wednesday, with investors keen 
for more details about the impact of U.S. tax reforms on large life insurers.  
 
On Wednesday, smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm Inc is likely to report a rise in revenue due to 
demand for its baseband chips. Analysts and investors will be on the lookout for comments on the 
NXP deal, Broadcom's bid and further regulatory action. 
 
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, China's top ecommerce firm, will announce its results for the quarter 
ended Dec. 1 on Thursday. The firm has invested heavily in offline and overseas expansion in the 
past year as the Chinese online market continues to saturate and competition with JD.com 
intensifies. This quarter's results will give indication of how Alibaba performed during 
mega-sale event Singles' Day in November. 
 
Ecommerce platform eBay Inc is expected to post a rise in fourth-quarter revenue and profit on 
Wednesday, boosted by holiday sales even as it spent more to boost its ecommerce platforms. 
     
Also on Wednesday, D.R. Horton Inc, the No.1 U.S. homebuilder, is expected to report a rise in 
quarterly revenue, boosted by strong demand for housing in the United States. 
 
Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc is expected to post a rise in fourth-quarter revenue and 
profit on Tuesday, on strong demand for its graphics chips. However, analysts and investors will 
be on the lookout for any financial impact from the Spectre flaw that affected its Ryzen and 
EPYC processors, potentially letting hackers steal information believed to be very secure. 
Videogame maker Electronic Arts Inc is expected to post a fall in revenue for third quarter on 
the same day, as its much-awaited Star Wars game created outrage among gamers over the 
exorbitant prices of in-games purchases. The move compelled EA to temporarily turn off all micro 
transactions in the game. Analysts and investors will be looking out for details on EA's slate 
for 2018. 
 
On Wednesday, U.S. exchange operator Nasdaq Inc is expected to report it swung to a 
fourth-quarter profit from a loss a year earlier, helped by stronger non-transaction revenues 
and tight expense management. A year ago it took $578 million charge to write down the trade 
name eSpeed for its U.S. Treasury trading business. Investors will be looking out for any 
forecast for 2018. 
 
Xerox Corp is expected to report a rise in fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, as it reaps the 
benefits of cost cutting programs. Investors will watch out for the photocopier's results as 
hedge fund managers Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason have criticized its current management and 
pushed the company to explore options. 
 
On Thursday, private equity behemoth Apollo Global Management LLC will report fourth-quarter 
earnings, with investors' focus on whether it shows signs of strong returns at its recent funds, 
optimism about which helped its share price rise 73 percent in 2017. The market is also hoping 
for an update on whether or not the Republican tax plan passed last year could push it to change 
to a corporation from a listed partnership. The change would allow more investors to invest in 
the stock, but would rob the firm of some cherished tax advantages. 
 
U.S. homebuilder PulteGroup Inc is expected to report a rise in quarterly revenue on Tuesday, as 
strong demand for housing drives higher home sales. On same day, Autoliv Inc, the world's 
biggest maker of airbags and seatbelts, reports its fourth-quarter earnings.  
 
On Tuesday, motorcycle-maker Harley-Davidson Inc will release its fourth-quarter results. While 
Harley is expected to report higher profits, the focus will be on quarterly retail sales 
figures. Investors will also watch out for its shipments forecast for 2018. 
 
Baxter International Inc will report fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday, slightly hit by the 
impact of hurricane Maria on its Puerto Rico facilities. Baxter is expected to provide full-year 
forecast for 2018, reflecting strong demand for its hospital products, such as fluid systems.  
 
Canada's main economic report next week will be gross domestic product data for November, due on 
Wednesday. After growth paused in October, economists will be looking for a pick-up in November 
to help get the fourth quarter back on track. Markets will also get a report on producer and raw 
materials prices for December on Wednesday, while a report on manufacturing business conditions 
will be released on Thursday. 
 
Canadian integrated oil company Imperial Oil Ltd is expected to post a profit on Friday that 
will beat Street estimates, benefiting from strong crude prices during the quarter. Investors 
will seek details on the company's production and earnings forecast for fiscal 2018. Canadian 
dairy Saputo reports quarterly results on Thursday. Of interest is the company's view on how it 
may be affected by tough NAFTA negotiations, and efforts by the United States to crack open the 
protectionist Canadian dairy market. 
 
ON MONDAY, JANUARY 29 
 
The Commerce Department is expected to report that consumer spending, which accounts for more 
than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, accelerated 0.6 percent in November and shipments of 
key capital goods orders increased for the 10th straight month. (0830/1330) 
 
Lockheed Martin Corp, the Pentagon's No. 1 weapons supplier, is expected to report its 
fourth-quarter results.  
 
Negotiators are due to wrap up the sixth and penultimate round of talks on modernizing the North 
American Free Trade Agreement amid deep disagreements between the three partners. Time is 
running out for Canada and Mexico to tackle what they call unacceptable demands by the United 
States. 
 
LIVECHAT - GLOBAL WEEK AHEAD  
Macroeconomist, and off-hours umpire, Kim Rupert is a managing director at Action Economics and 
calls 'em as she sees 'em on the data due, policymaker speeches on tap and other events likely 
to affect global markets in the week ahead. (1115/1615) To join the Global Markets Forum, click 
here http://bit.ly/1kTxdKD 
     
 
 (Reporting By Pradip Kakoti; Editing by Savio D'Souza) 
 ((pradip.kakoti@thomsonreuters.com;)) 
 
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