The Market In 5 Minutes: iPhone 7 Arrives

Below is a tool used by the Benzinga News Desk each trading day -- it's a look at everything happening in the market, in five minutes. Apply for daily AM access by clicking here or email minutes@benzinga.com.

Macro Focus

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 10 points to 18,524.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 1.25 points to 2,185.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 1.50 points to 4,830.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.33 percent to trade at $48.62 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 1.67 percent to trade at $46.26 a barrel.

The European Central Bank left deposit and refinance rates unchanged.

USA Initial Jobless Claims for Sep 2 259.0K vs 265.0K consensus estimate. The prior reading was 263.0K.

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.
The EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Data on consumer credit for July will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Data on money supply for the latest week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.

BZ News Desk Focus

HP HPQ Reports Q3 Adj. EPS $0.48 vs $0.36 Est., Sales $11.9B vs $11.84B Est.
HPE HPE Reports Q3 EPS $0.49 vs. Est. $0.45, Rev. $12.2B vs. Est. $12.6B
Guidewire Software GWRE Reports Q4 Adj. EPS $0.39 vs $0.32 Est., Sales $141.2M vs $136.1M Est.
Conn's CONN Q2 EPS ($0.04) vs ($0.08) est, Revenue $398.16M vs $413.12M est
Sky Solar SKYS Q2 EPS ($0.03) vs ($0.05) est, Revenue $17M vs $14M est

Sell-Side Themes

Pier I Imports PIR was downgraded by at least three firms, while Tractor Supply TSCO was cut nearly across the board. Both companies cut guidance on Wednesday afternoon.

Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls

Wells Fargo downgraded Apple AAPL to Market Perform.
Piper Jaffray downgrades Nike NKE to Neutral.
RBC upgraded Rio Tinto RIO to Outperform.
JPMorgan upgraded Eli Lilly LLY to Overweight.
KeyBanc started Wingstop WING at Overweight.
JMP Securities started First Solar FSLR at Market Underperform.

Deal Talk

GW Pharmaceuticals GWPH is said to have hired Morgan Stanley as an advisor to assist the developer of marijuana-based pain killers in handling expressions of interest from potential buyers, according to sources as reported by Reuters on Wednesday. Large pharmaceutical companies are interested GW's key drug, Epidolex, used to treat Epilepsy.

Twitter TWTR is said to have "no bids on the table," to explore cost cuts, according to CNBC.

In The News

Apple's iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are water-resistant and will not have a headphone jack. The new iPhones have a revised home button with force sensitivity, which will vibrate to give feedback. The Plus model of the new iPhone includes a dual-lens camera to take professional-grade photos. A new Apple Watch, called Apple Watch Series 2, will include GPS.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton sketched dueling visions of the U.S. role on the global stage, both arguing that their experience better prepares them to make the life-or-death decisions required of the commander in chief.

Blogosphere

Gadfly's Michael Regan: "Goldman Sachs' risk-management system -- known as SecDB -- was widely credited with helping the firm sidestep the worst of the bloodbath in markets during the financial crisis. That's the positive. On the negative side, SecDB was widely credited with helping Goldman sidestep the worst of the bloodbath in markets during the financial crisis."

Guess This Chart

Five years ago today, this stock was $27.
During a recent media day, this company's CEO discussed with Benzinga expansion into Sub-Saharan Africa.
Sympathy plays include Yum! Brands And Papa Murphy's.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

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