Trading day in one post 21.07.2017

Overview of Asian indices: Asia markets were subdued on Friday as the euro traded close to two-year highs on Thursday comments from the chief of the European Central Bank and the Australian dollar stumbled. The Nikkei 225 slid 0.17 percent. South Korea's benchmark Kospi reversed earlier losses to gain 0.21 percent. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 traded down 0.19 percent on broad-based declines across most sub-indexes, but was off its session lows. The heavily-weighted financials sub-index was down 0.39 percent after two straight days of gains. The energy and materials sub-indexes declined 1.05 percent and 1 percent respectively. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.15 percent, edging lower after nine consecutive days of gains. Greater China markets were a mixed picture. The Shanghai Composite was off 0.21 percent, but the Shenzhen Composite gained 0.022 percent to trade just above the flat line.

FX overview: During the Asian session, better data came from New Zealand that supported the kiwi by pushing it first against its currencies. The New Zealander received strong support as we can use any correction to position long on NZD. The Australian, in turn and declined as the weakest currency remained in the Asian session, suppressed by the stronger dollar and kiwi, and most likely,  of profits takes after a long rally from the beginning of the month. The dollar ranks second in terms of earnings, despite the negative sentiment around the greenback, which again reminds us that it is now possible to see gains in other currencies as well. The euro traded slightly lower after reaching a two-year high on yesterday's impulse, pushed by positive comments by Mario Draghi. The yen remains weak as the central bank of Japan does not intend to take measures to tighten the country's monetary policy.

Commodities Markets:  On the energy front, oil prices traded slightly higher. Brent crude rose 0.08 percent to trade at $49.34 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 0.06 percent to trade at $46.95. GOLD traded unchanged, probably due to the strong dollar today. At this point, it is difficult to determine the direction of the precious metal as it is between 50 and 200SMA on daily chart, but if we continue to see a weak dollar then the rise of gold is likely to continue. Silver has a direct correlation with gold, which means that if we see a jump on the gold we can expect silver to take the same example.

Overview of the American indices and futures: U.S. stocks closed narrowly mixed near record levels Thursday as earnings season got underway, amid renewed uncertainty about the Trump administration's ability to implement its pro-growth proposals. With about twenty minutes left before the close, the S&P 500 traded 2 points higher with telecommunications and health care leading advancers. The Nasdaq composite traded 8 points higher, helped by a 1 percent gain in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB). Both the S&P and Nasdaq hit record highs earlier in the session. The Dow Jones industrial average lagged the S&P and the Nasdaq, falling 10 points. Home Depot was the biggest contributor of losses on the index after Sears said it will sell Alexa-enabled appliances on Amazon. Sears shares shot up 14 percent on the news. The index traded nearly 1 percent lower.

The economic data and news that will affect the markets today:

11:30 UK - Public Sector Net Borrowing

11:30 UK - Public Sector Net Cash Requirement

15:30 Canada - CPI

15:30 Canada - Retail Sales

US Equity Upgrades
B&G FOODS (BGS) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT CITI
BUFFALO WILD WINGS (BWLD) UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM NEUTRAL AT WEDBUSH
HP INC. (HPQ) UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM SECTOR PERFORM AT RBC CAPITAL
HP INC. (HPQ) UPGRADED TO OVERWEIGHT FROM EQUAL WEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY
NIKE (NKE) UPGRADED TO OVERWEIGHT FROM EQUAL WEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY
ROYAL CARIBBEAN (RCL) UPGRADED TO OVERWEIGHT FROM NEUTRAL AT JPMORGAN
U.S. BANCORP (USB) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT ARGUS

US Equity Downgrades
ADVANTAGE OIL & GAS (AAV) DOWNGRADED TO SECTOR PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT RBC CAPITAL
CARRIZO OIL & GAS (CRZO) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN
CUBESMART (CUBE) DOWNGRADED TO UNDERPERFORM FROM NEUTRAL AT BOFA/MERRILL
ENERGEN (EGN) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN
EP ENERGY (EPE) DOWNGRADED TO SECTOR PERFORM AT RBC CAPITAL
EP ENERGY (EPE) DOWNGRADED TO SECTOR PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT RBC CAPITAL
EXTRA SPACE STORAGE (EXR) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM BUY AT BOFA/MERRILL
FAIRMOUNT SANTROL (FMSA) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OUTPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE
FAIRMOUNT SANTROL (FMSA) DOWNGRADED TO SELL FROM NEUTRAL AT GOLDMAN SACHS
GUARANTY BANCORP (GBNK) DOWNGRADED TO MARKET PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT KEEFE BRUYETTE
GULFPORT ENERGY (GPOR) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN
JONES ENERGY (JONE) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN
MARATHON PETROLEUM (MPC) REMOVED AS FRANCHISE PICK AT JEFFERIES
NEW RELIC (NEWR) DOWNGRADED TO EQUAL WEIGHT FROM OVERWEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY
NVE CORP. (NVEC) DOWNGRADED TO HOLD DUE TO VALUATION AT CRAIG-HALLUM
PFIZER (PFE) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OUTPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE
RINGCENTRAL (RNG) DOWNGRADED TO EQUAL WEIGHT FROM OVERWEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY
RITE AID (RAD) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM BUY AT MIZUHO
SMART SAND (SND) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OUTPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE

US Equity Initiations
CISION (CISN) INITIATED WITH AN OUTPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE
COUPA SOFTWARE (COUP) INITIATED WITH AN OVERWEIGHT AT CANTOR
DISCOVERY (DISCA) INITIATED WITH A MARKET PERFORM AT WELLS FARGO
ELDORADO RESORTS (ERI) INITIATED WITH AN OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN
JOHNSON & JOHNSON (JNJ) REINSTATED WITH AN OUTPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE
MERIT MEDICAL INITIATED WITH A BUY AT BOFA/MERRILL
SCRIPPS NETWORKS (SNI) INITIATED WITH A MARKET PERFORM AT WELLS FARGO
SOLARIS OILFIELD (SOI) INITIATED WITH AN OUTPERFORM AT RAYMOND JAMES
SPRING BANK PHARMACEUTICALS (SBPH) INITIATED WITH AN OVERWEIGHT AT CANTOR
TESLA (TSLA) INITIATED WITH A NEUTRAL AT CITI
TILE SHOP (TTS) INITIATED WITH A HOLD AT LOOP CAPITAL

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