#PreMarket Primer: Friday, October 10: Amazon To Offer Face-To-Face Interaction

Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN is planning to open a storefront in New York City, a departure from the company’s 20-year history as an Internet-only business.

The new store, expected to be opened before the holidays, will be located on West 34th Street and is expected to allow customers a face-to-face experience where they can pick up online orders or process returns.

Top News

In news around the markets:

Symantec To Split Businesses

Symantec Corporation SYMC is following in the footsteps of eBay Inc EBAY and Hewlett-Packard Company HPQ by planning to divide its cybersecurity business and its information-management sector into two separate entities. The decision to split into two publicly traded companies is one that several businesses in the tech space are opting for as the quickly changing nature of the technology market makes it difficult to adapt.

Germany Reports Decreased Exports 

Germany added another disappointing economic indicator to a string of poor reports this week after trade data showed that the nation’s growth may have come to a halt and even fallen into recession. The eurozone’s largest economy reported that exports dropped 5.8 percent in August to their lowest level since 2009.

Microsoft CEO Receives Backlash For Comment On Women In Tech Space

Microsoft Corporation MSFT is facing tough criticism after the company’s CEO made remarks that many considered sexist. Satya Nadella said on Thursday that women working in the technology space need not ask for a raise and instead have faith in the “system.” Nadella has since taken to Twitter, saying his remarks were inarticulate and did not accurately express his view that men and women in the tech space should have equal pay.

Hong Kong Protests Pick Back Up

Protests in Hong Kong began to pick up again after government officials canceled talks with the protesters scheduled for Friday. Hundreds took up their positions in the city center, with more expected to return to the protest sites later in the day. The protesters say they are unfazed by the government's unwillingness to communicate and that they plan to continue pushing toward full democracy for Hong Kong.

Asian Markets

Asian markets were down across the board; the NIKKEI was down 1.15 percent, the Shanghai composite fell 0.62 percent, the KOSPI was down 1.24 percent, the Shenzhen composite lost 0.39 percent and the Hang Seng index was down 1.89 percent.

European Markets
European markets were also lower; the FTSE was down 0.65 percent, the STOXX 600 fell 0.91 percent, the DAX lost 0.90 percent and the CAC 40 was down 0.74 percent.
Commodities
Energy futures took a nose dive amid worries about global demand; Brent futures were down 1.10 percent and WTI futures lost 1.52 percent. Gold and silver lost 0.41 percent and 0.88 percent, respectively, while industrial metals were mostly higher with the exception of copper, which lost 0.59 percent. Aluminum was up 0.52 percent, zinc gained 0.69 percent and tin was up 0.25 percent.

Currencies

The euro made its way lower after poor data helped boost expectations for more stimulus from the ECB. The common currency fell 0.30 percent against the dollar and 0.04 percent against the yen, but gained 0.10 percent against the pound. The dollar was also higher against the pound, up 0.43 percent, and gained 0.26 percent against the yen and 0.79 percent against the Australian dollar.

Earnings

Notable earnings released on Thursday included:

• PepsiCo, Inc. PEP reported third quarter EPS of $1.36 on revenue of $17.22 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $1.24 on revenue of $16.91 billion.
• Family Dollar Stores, Inc. FDO reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.73 on revenue of $2.61 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.86 on revenue of $2.50 billion.
• Lindsay Corporation LNN reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.89 on revenue of $147.50 million, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.81 on revenue of $148.40 million.
• VOXX International Corp VOXX reported a second quarter loss of $0.11 on revenue of $117.30 million, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.20.

#PreMarket Movers
Stocks moving in the #PreMarket included:

• Yahoo! Inc. YHOO was down 0.61 percent in premarket trade after gaining 1.48 percent over the past five days.
• Bank of America Corp BAC was down 0.36 percent after falling 3.10 percent on Thursday.
• Carnival Corp CCL fell 0.28 percent in premarket trade after losing 7.54 percent over the past five days.
• PulteGroup, Inc. PHM was down 0.22 percent in premarket trade after falling 2.24 percent on Thursday.

Earnings

Notable earnings releases expected on Friday include:

• The Progressive Corporation PGR is expected to report third quarter EPS of $0.44 on revenue of $4.70 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.36 on revenue of $4.45 billion.
• Infosys Ltd INFY is expected to report second quarter EPS of $0.81 on revenue of $2.20 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.67 on revenue of $2.07 billion.

Economics

Notable economic releases expected on Friday include Italian industrial production, the British trade balance and the Canadian unemployment rate.

For a recap of Thursday’s market action, click here.

Tune in to Benzinga’s #PreMarket Prep show with Alan Brochstein, Mike Bellafiore & Dan Mirkin here.