The Market In 5 Minutes: Stocks Sell Off For Second Day In A Row

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Macro Focus

The U.S. stock market sold off on Wednesday for the second straight day after a strong opening to the week on Monday. Losses were modest, but the vast majority of sectors finished the trading session in the red, led by energy, which fell 1.37 percent and basic materials stocks, which lost 1.24 percent. The losses are a part of a broader sell-off in commodities in recent days.

Oil prices continued to fall Thursday, after an initial rebound faded amid expectations of a stronger dollar and continued concerns over the mismatch in crude’s supply and demand. The falls extend Wednesday’s steeper drops which had taken both benchmarks to multiweek lows on the back of strong U.S. inventory levels.

USA Initial Jobless Claims for Aug 26 263.0K vs 265.0K consensus estimate. The prior reading was 261.0K.

Data on motor vehicle sales for August will be released today.
The Markit PMI manufacturing data for August is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET.
The ISM manufacturing index for August is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Data on construction spending for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.
The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester is set to speak in Lexington, Kentucky at 12:25 p.m. ET.
Data on money supply for the recent week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.

BZ News Desk Focus

Five Below FIVE Reports Q2 EPS $0.18 vs. Est. $0.17, Rev. $220.1M vs. Est. $219.5M
Salesforce CRM Reports Q2 EPS $0.24 vs. Est. $0.22, Rev. $2.04B vs. Est. $2.02B
Box BOX Q2 EPS ($0.14) vs ($0.19) est, Revenue $95.7M vs $94.7M est
Costco COST Reports Q4 Sales of $35.7B vs $37.19B Est
Joy Global JOY Q3 EPS $0.10 vs $0.12 est, Revenue $587M vs $605M est
Ciena CIEN Q3 EPS $0.42 vs $0.38 est, Revenue $670.6M vs $672.2M est
Campbell CPB Q4 EPS $0.46 vs $0.50 est, Revenue $1.69B vs $1.69B est

Sell-Side Themes

Roth Capital initiated coverage on a bunch of semiconductor stocks, including a Buy rating and $40 target for Intel INTC.

Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls

Cowen downgraded Pentair PNR to Underperform.
Jefferies upgraded Nomura NMR to Hold.
Keefe Bruyette upgraded Seacoast SBCF Outperform.
Credit Suisse started Core Laboratories CLB at Neutral.

Deal Talk

Infoblox BLOX is said to be in the process of selling itself, according to sources as reported by Reuters on Wednesday. Intersil is said to have received takeover interest from private equity firms, including Thoma Bravo, the sources said. Infoblox declined comment on the rumor. Thoma Bravo had not responded to a request for comment.

Twitter TWTR spiked sharply higher in Wednesday, once again moving on rumors of a buyout. Check out all of Twitter's takeover rumors in 2016.

In the News

Donald Trump, hours after seeming to ease his immigration and trade policy while standing with Mexico's president, told a crowd that all illegal immigrants are "subject to deportation" and that all those seeking legalization will have to go home and re-enter the country legally.

Wall Street's next frontier? Hacking into the emotions of traders. Startups wielding sensors and algorithms promise a new era of surveillance.

Blogosphere

Here are 10 things investors can learn from the horse track: "Even a horse with a very high likelihood of winning can be either a very good or a very bad bet, and the difference between the two is determined by only one thing: the odds."

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