• The cos entered into joint venture and definitive purchase agreements to form Ball Metalpack, a new packaging company that manufactures steel containers for aerosol products, food, household consumables, pet food, nutritional and other products. Platinum Equity will own 51%, Ball Metalpack and Ball Corporation will own 49%.
• Ball Corporation will contribute its U.S. steel food and aerosol packaging manufacturing assets to the joint venture. In 2017, these U.S. tinplate steel assets had sales of $746 million and comparable operating earnings of $48 million. In return, Ball Corporation will receive more than $600 million in pre-tax proceeds from the transaction and will retain a 49% interest in Ball Metalpack, for a total value of ~$675 million.
• "More than half of the proceeds from today's announcement will be used to repurchase stock, increasing the 2018 share buyback to be in the range of $675 million by year end. Our 2019 financial goals of $2 billion of comparable EBITDA and free cash flow in excess of $1 billion remain unchanged, although they will be slightly more challenging to achieve following the sale of these assets and its related earnings and cash flow."

• Ally Financial ALLY. 6.8, 2017- 6.5
  
• American Express AXP 7.8, 2017- 10.6
  
• Bank of America BAC 7.9, 2017- 8.9
  
• The Bank of New York Mellon BK 9.0, 2017- 11.2
• Barclays USA BCS unit 9.6% (Not in 2017)
• BB&T BBT 7.9, 2017-7.9
  
• BBVA Compass BBVA 7.6, 2017- 7.7
  
• BMO BMO 8.3, 2017-8.0
• BNP BNPQY 7.9% (Not in 2017)
• Capital One Financial COF 5.7, 2017- 7.0 
• Citigroup C 7.2, 2017- 9.7
  
• Citizens Financial Group CFG, 2017- 7.7
• Credit Suisse CS 6% (Not in 2017)
• DB USA DB unit 12.2
  
• Discover Financial DFS 8/9, 2017- 10.4
  
• Fifth Third Bancorp FITB 7.5, 2017- 8.0
  
• The Goldman Sachs Group GS 5.6, 2017- 8.4
  
• HSBC North America HSCB unit. 8.1, 2017- 12.9
  
• Huntington Bancshares HBAN 8.1, 2017- 7.0
  
• JPMorgan Chase JPM Co.7.2, 2017-  9.1
  
• KeyCorp KEY 6.8, 2017- 6.8
  
• M&T Bank MTB 7.5, 2017- 7.9
  
• Morgan Stanley MS 7.3, 2017- 9.4
  
• MUFG Americas 12.2, 2017- 12.5
  
• Northern Trust NTRS 11.7, 2017- 10.9
  
• The PNC Financial Services Group PNC 6.4, 2017- 8.0
• RBC USA RY unit 11.2% (Not in 2017)
• Regions Financial RF 8.1, 2017- 8.2
  
• Santander Holdings USA SAN unit 15.2, 2017- 12.4
  
• State Street STT 5.3, 2017- 7.4
  
• SunTrust Banks STI 6.6, 2017- 7.1
  
• TD Group US TD unit 11.2, 2017- 11.3
• UBS America UBS unit 16.4% (Not in 2017)
• U.S. Bancorp USB 7.5, 2017- 7.6
  
• Wells Fargo WFC 8.6, 2017- 8.6
  

• The nation's largest bank holding companies are strongly capitalized and would be able to lend to households and businesses during a severe global recession, according to the results of supervisory stress tests released Thursday by the Federal Reserve Board. The most severe hypothetical scenario projects $578 billion in total losses for the 35 participating bank holding companies during the nine quarters tested. The "severely adverse" scenario, the most stringent scenario yet used in the Board's stress tests, features a severe global recession with the U.S. unemployment rate rising by almost 6 percentage points to 10 percent, accompanied by a steepening Treasury yield curve.
• The firms' aggregate common equity tier 1 capital ratio, which compares high-quality capital to risk-weighted assets, would fall from an actual level of 12.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 to a minimum level of 7.9 percent in the hypothetical stress scenario. Since 2009, the 35 firms have added about $800 billion in common equity capital.
• "Despite a tough scenario and other factors that affected this year's test, the capital levels of the firms after the hypothetical severe global recession are higher than the actual capital levels of large banks in the years leading up to the most recent recession," Vice Chairman Randal K. Quarles said.
• Several factors affected the post-stress capital ratios this year. Credit card balances are generally higher, producing increased losses under stress, totaling $113 billion this year. Additionally, recent changes to the tax code affected the firms and the effects were different across the firms. Several firms had immediate, one-time declines in their starting capital ratios because of certain accounting consequences of the tax changes. The tax law also eliminated some beneficial tax treatments that tended to raise post-tax income in times of stress. Capital is critical to banking organizations, the financial system, and the economy, because it acts as a cushion to absorb losses and helps to ensure that losses are borne by shareholders.
• The Board's stress scenarios assume deliberately stringent and conservative hypothetical economic and financial market conditions.
• The 35 firms tested this year represent about 80 percent of the assets of all banks operating in the U.S.
• CCAR results will be released on Thursday, June 28, at 4:30 p.m. EDT.
• Also on Thursday, the Board announced that to be consistent with the recently passed Economic Growth, Regulatory Reform, and Consumer Protection Act, bank holding companies with less than $100 billion in total consolidated assets are no longer subject to supervisory stress testing, including both the Dodd-Frank Act stress tests and CCAR. As a result, the Board will not include CIT Group Inc., Comerica Incorporated, and Zions Bancorporation in this year's results and future cycles. The Board will have further information on its implementation of the new law at a later date.
• DFAST Results
• ALLY, AXP, BBT, BBVA, BMO, BNPQY, CIT, CFG, CMA, DFS, FITB, HBAN, KEY, MTB, MUFG, NTRS, RF, SAN, STI, ZION, BCS, BNPQY, CS, DB, RBC, UBS DFAST: BAC, BK, BCS, COF, C, CS, DB, GS, HSBC, JPM, MS, PNC, RBC, STT, TD, UBS, USB, WFC.

• Reports Q1 (May) earnings of $0.72 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.68 and above prior guidance of approx $0.68; revenues rose 20.2% year/year to $813.53 mln vs the $807.48 mln Capital IQ Consensus and vs prior guidance of $800-810 mln.
  • Red Hat Q1 billings $709 mln vs. ~$725 mln estimates; non-GAAP operating margin came in at 20.7% vs prior guidance of approx 20.5%.
• Co issues downside guidance for Q2 (Aug), sees EPS of $0.81, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.89 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $822-830 mln vs. $854.74 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co issues mixed guidance for FY19, sees EPS of $3.44-3.48, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.43 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate and vs prior guidance of $3.38-3.41; sees FY19 revs of $3.375-3.410 bln vs. $3.45 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate and vs prior guidance of $3.425-3.460 bln.
• Stock Repurchase Plan: Co authorizes the repurchase of up to $1 bln of common stock. The new program is to replace the previous $1 bln repurchase program that will expire on June 30, 2018. From its commencement on July 1, 2016 through June 20, 2018, the company repurchased 8.2 mln shares for $751 mln.

• First-ever application for an I-O/I-O combination in lung cancer to be accepted
• Submission based on positive results from Part 1 of the Phase 3 study CheckMate -227

Stocks dropped for the fourth time in five sessions on Thursday, with energy and industrial shares leading the retreat. The S&P 500 shed 0.6%, extending its weekly loss to 1.1%. The market opened flat, but dropped sharply about 30 minutes into the session. The S&P 500 settled near the bottom of its daily range.

E-commerce names took a hit on Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states can require online retailers to collect sales tax, overturning a 1992 precedent. Shares of eBay (EBAY 38.01, -1.25) and Overstock.com (OSTK 36.15, -2.80) tumbled 3.2% and 7.2%, respectively, while shares of online retail behemoth Amazon (AMZN 1730.22, -19.86) declined 1.1%.

Meanwhile, energy shares in the S&P 500 lost 1.9% as top oil producers kicked off a two-day meeting in Vienna, Austria. The summit is expected to result in an agreement to raise production levels following more than 18 months of a deal designed to reduce output by 1.8 million barrels per day. WTI crude futures were down more than 1.0% in early trading, but ended lower by 0.3% at $65.54/bbl.

In the tech space (-0.8%), chipmakers were in focus following better-than-expected earnings from Micron (MU 59.44, +0.49) and the resignation of Intel's (INTC 52.19, -1.27) chief executive, Brian Krzanich, who is stepping down after violating the company's non-fraternization policy. Micron shares added 0.8%, while Intel shares declined 2.4%.

Elsewhere, shares of Kroger (KR 28.73, +2.55) and Darden Restaurants (DRI 107.06, +13.79) spiked 9.7% and 14.8%, respectively, after the companies beat quarterly earnings estimates. However, shares of German automaker Daimler (DDAIF 67.09, -3.18) lost 4.5% after the company issued a profit warning due to pending Chinese retaliatory tariffs on cars built in the United States.

In the UK, the Bank of England voted in favor of maintaining its key policy rate, but the decision was split with three of the nine policymakers pushing for a rate hike. The degree of disunity surprised some investors and helped increase demand for the pound, which climbed 0.6% against the U.S. dollar to 1.3245.

U.S. Treasuries rallied on Thursday, pushing yields lower across the curve. The benchmark 10-yr yield dropped to 2.90% from 2.93%.

Reviewing Thursday's economic data, which included the weekly Initial Claims report, the Philadelphia Fed Index for June, the FHFA Housing Price Index for April, and the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for May:

• The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 218,000, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 220,000. Today's tally was above the revised prior week count of 215,000 (from 218,000). As for continuing claims, they rose to 1.723 million from a revised count of 1.701 million (from 1.697 million).
  • If one wanted to extrapolate a concern from the initial claims report, it would be the notion that the low level of initial claims will keep the Fed inclined to raise interest rates.
• The Philadelphia Fed Survey for June declined to 19.9 (Briefing.com consensus 27.0) from an unrevised 34.4 in May.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the downturn was led by a sharp pullback in the New Orders Index, which dropped to 17.9 from 40.6, and that the Unfilled Orders Index dropped to -2.7 (first negative reading since January) from 15.3, suggesting firms' backlog diminished.
• The FHFA Housing Price Index rose 0.1% in April, and the March increase was revised to 0.2% from 0.1%.
• The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index increased 0.2% in May (Briefing.com consensus +0.4%), and the April increase was left unrevised at 0.4%.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the strength among the leading indicators remains very widespread.

Investors will not receive any notable economic data on Friday.

• Nasdaq Composite +11.7% YTD
• Russell 2000 +10.0% YTD
• S&P 500 +2.9% YTD
• Dow Jones Industrial Average -1.0% YTD

• Co announced the appointment of Ted Bloomberg to its executive team as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), a new position within HealthEquity created in response to its continued rapid growth
• Bloomberg will join HealthEquity from his current position as Senior Vice President of Operations, Strategy and Support for Financial Engines (FNGN).

• Prior to the acquisition of the broker/dealer network of National Planning Holdings (NPH), total brokerage and advisory assets at the end of May were approx. $587 bln, a 1.2% increase compared to the end of April 2018.
• Total net new assets for May were $0.3 bln. Prior to NPH, total net new assets for May were $0.8 bln, including net new advisory assets of $1.9 bln.
• Total client cash sweep balances at the end of May were $28.6 bln, a 1.0% decrease compared to April 2018.

• Reports Q3 (May) earnings of $1.84 per share, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.77; revenues rose 62.1% year/year to $335.5 mln vs the $331.47 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Reports Adj EBITDA of $51.5 mln.
• Co issues guidance for Q4, sees EPS of 1.62-1.71 vs. $1.67 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $360-$380 mln vs. $348.50 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Sees gross margin of 22-23%.
• Commentary: "The strength in net sales in the third fiscal quarter was due to continued strength in our Specialty Memory business and our increased penetration into the Brazilian market. That said, due to the recent depreciation of the Brazilian Real, we saw a $0.27 per share negative impact to our GAAP earnings due to foreign currency losses..."

• The expiration date of the current repurchase program has been extended from June 30, 2018 to June 30, 2019 and the amount of stock the Company is authorized to repurchase has been increased from approximately $23.5 million, the amount remaining in the current program, to $50 million. This expansion is effective from June 15, 2018 to June 30, 2019.

• hosted its inaugural analyst and investor meeting in New York, where it presented the company's new strategic framework and its plan for delivering the next chapter of growth alongside an update around the company's rebranding and renaming into "Avanos".
• Avanos' new strategic framework is designed to continue to accelerate the company's growth and leverage its strong momentum following the successful transformation into a pure-play medical devices business.
• The company disclosed the following long-term financial targets to be achieved on or before the end of 2021:
  • Organic top-line growth: from mid-single digits to high single digits
  • Gross margin: from low-60s to mid-60s R&D spend (as % of sales): from less than 6% to 6-7%
  • SG&A (as % of sales): from low 40s to mid-30s
  • EBITDA margins: from mid-teens to mid-20s

• This afternoon: RHT, SGH
• Tomorrow morning: BB, KMX

2-Yr Note Leads Treasuries Higher

• U.S. Treasuries ended Thursday with modest gains across the curve. The Treasury market climbed out of the gate amid a shaky showing from global equity markets. Italy's MIB (-2.0%) was among the laggards while the country's debt faced renewed pressure after the appointment of two euroskeptics to important government posts. Alberto Bagnai was named head of the Senate Finance Committee while Claudio Borghi was named the head of the Budget Committee in the lower house. U.S. Treasuries extended their opening gains during the first hour of trade, but 2s, 5s, and 10s found resistance just below yesterday's opening highs with the 2-yr note maintaining its lead until the close. The morning advance was followed by a pullback that left most tenors in the middle of the day's trading range.
• Yield Check:
  • 2-yr: -4 bps to 2.53%
  • 5-yr: -3 bps to 2.77%
  • 10-yr: -3 bps to 2.90%
  • 30-yr: -2 bps to 3.04%

• News:
  • Initial claims decreased by 3,000 for the week ending June 16 to 218,000 (Briefing.com consensus 220,000). Continuing claims for the week ending June 9 increased by 22,000 to 1.723 million.
    • If one wanted to extrapolate a concern from the initial claims report, it would be the notion that the low level of initial claims will keep the Fed inclined to raise interest rates.
  • The Philadelphia Fed Index was a bit disappointing, checking in at 19.9 for June (Briefing.com consensus 27.0) versus 34.4 for May. A number above 0.0, however, still denotes expansion.
    • The key takeaway from the report is that the downturn was led by a sharp pullback in the New Orders Index, which dropped to 17.9 from 40.6, and that the Unfilled Orders Index dropped to -2.7 (first negative reading since January) from 15.3, suggesting firms' backlog diminished.
  • The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index increased 0.2% in May (Briefing.com consensus +0.4%) following an unrevised 0.4% increase in April. The May increase was driven by positive contributions from seven of the ten indicators that make up the index.
    • The key takeaway from the report is that the strength among the leading indicators remains very widespread.
  • The FHFA Housing Price Index increased 0.1% in April after increasing a revised 0.2% (from 0.1%) in March.
• Commodities:
  • WTI crude: -0.3% to $65.54/bbl
  • Gold: -0.6% to $1270.70/ozt
  • Copper: -1.0% to $3.02/lb
• Currencies:
  • EUR/USD: +0.4% to 1.1620
  • USD/JPY: -0.4% to 109.90
• A Look to Friday:
  • Participants will not receive any economic data tomorrow

Dollar Index Pulls Back After Marking Fresh 2018 High

• The U.S. Dollar Index is down 0.3% at 94.80, tracking its first decline since Monday. The Dollar Index marked another fresh 2018 high in overnight trade, but sellers pounced on that brief gain, driving the Index back into negative territory. The British pound has capitalized on the dollar's softness, climbing after the Bank of England elected to leave its policy unchanged amid growing hawkish dissent.
• EUR/USD: +0.36% to 1.1615
  • Euro rebounds after touching fresh 2018 low (1.1508)
  • Eurozone June Consumer Confidence -0.5 (expected -0.1; last 0.2)
  • France's June Business Survey 110 (expected 108; last 109)
• GBP/USD: +0.62% to 1.3254
  • Bank of England voted 6-3 to keep its official cash rate and asset purchase program at their respective 0.50% and GBP435 billion
  • UK's May Public Sector Net Borrowing GBP3.36 billion (expected GBP5.10 billion; last GBP5.27 billion)
• USD/CHF: -0.44% to 0.9914
  • 50-day moving average at 0.9895
  • The Swiss National Bank left its SARON unchanged at -0.75%, as expected
  • Swiss May trade surplus CHF2.76 billion (expected CHF1.89 billion; last surplus of CHF2.25 billion)
• USD/JPY: -0.36% to 109.95
  • Action returns beneath 200-day moving average (110.22)
• USD/CNY: +0.29% to 6.489
  • 200-day moving average at 6.454
• USD/INR: -0.41% to 67.82
  • India's M3 Money Supply 10.4% (last 10.7%)
• USD/RUB: +0.09% to 63.65
  • CBR Reserves $462.40 billion (last $461.00 billion)
• USD/TRY: -0.25% to 4.725
• USD/BRL: +0.44% to 3.785
  • Brazil's June mid-month CPI +1.11% month-over-month (expected 1.00%; last 0.14%); +3.68% year-over-year (expected 3.52%; last 2.70%)
• USD/ARS: -0.84% to 27.49
• USD/MXN: -0.50% to 20.28
  • Bank of Mexico unexpectedly increased its overnight rate by 25 basis points to 7.75%
• USD/ZAR: -0.61% to 13.57
  • South Africa's Q1 Current Account deficit ZAR229.00 billion (expected deficit of ZAR177.00 billion; last deficit of ZAR137.00 billion)
• USD/CAD: -0.02% to 1.3307
  • Canada's April Wholesale Sales +0.1% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; last 1.4%)
• AUD/USD: +0.24% to 0.7384
• NZD/USD: +0.22% to 0.6877
  • Kiwi bounces after touching fresh 2018 low (0.6826)
  • New Zealand's Q1 GDP +0.5% quarter-over-quarter, as expected (last 0.6%); +2.7% year-over-year, as expected (last 2.9%). Q1 GDP Expenditure +0.3% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.1%; last 0.4%)

Stocks are down for the fourth time in five sessions today in what's been a broad-based retreat thus far. The S&P 500 is currently lower by 0.5%, extending its weekly loss to 1.0%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is down 0.6%, retreating from the record high it hit on Wednesday. 

The energy sector (-1.6%) is leading today's retreat as investors turn their attention to Vienna, where OPEC and non-OPEC oil ministers are meeting to discuss their production cut agreement. The ministers are expected to increase production caps, which have decreased output by roughly 1.8 million barrels per day since January 2017. The potential increase in supply was weighing on the crude oil futures market earlier, but WTI crude is now trading roughly flat at $65.72 per barrel.

As for the other laggards, the industrials (-0.9%) technology (-0.7%), health care (-0.8%), and materials (-0.7%) sectors are the next worst-performing groups. Within the tech space, chipmakers have been a focal point today following better-than-expected earnings from Micron (MU 60.14, +1.19, +2.0%) and the resignation of Intel's (INTC 52.18, -1.27, -2.3%) chief executive, Brian Krzanich, who is stepping down after breaching the company's non-fraternization policy. Intel also issued encouraging second quarter guidance.

On the earnings front, Kroger (KR 28.54, +2.36, +9.0%) has hit its highest level since February after beating earnings estimates for the first quarter and raising the bottom end of its guidance for the fiscal year. Similarly, Darden Restaurants (DRI 104.15, +10.93, +11.7%) has surged to a new record after reporting above-consensus quarterly results.

In Washington, the Supreme Court overturned a 1992 precedent, allowing states to now force online retailers to collect sales taxes. Online giant Amazon (AMZN 1734.49, -15.31, -0.9%) is roughly in line with the broader market, but other e-commerce names like Wayfair (W 114.07, -2.08, -1.9%), Etsy (ETSY 42.82, -1.39, -3.1%), and Overstock (OSTK 37.02, -1.92, -5.0%) are showing relative weakness.

Away from equities, U.S. Treasuries are broadly higher today in another curve-flattening trade. The yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note is down three basis points at 2.90%, and the yield on the 2-yr Treasury note is down four basis points at 2.52%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index has given back an early gain and is now down 0.2% at 94.56.

The greenback has shed 0.6% against the British pound after the Bank of England voted 6-3 to maintain interest rates, but took a less dovish line in suggesting it intends not to reduce its stock of asset purchases until the Bank Rate reaches around 1.5%, compared to its previous guidance of around 2.0%.

Reviewing today's economic data, which included the weekly Initial Claims report, the Philadelphia Fed Index for June, the FHFA Housing Price Index for April, and the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for May:

• The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 218,000, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 220,000. Today's tally was above the revised prior week count of 215,000 (from 218,000). As for continuing claims, they rose to 1.723 million from a revised count of 1.701 million (from 1.697 million).
  • If one wanted to extrapolate a concern from the initial claims report, it would be the notion that the low level of initial claims will keep the Fed inclined to raise interest rates.
• The Philadelphia Fed Survey for June declined to 19.9 (Briefing.com consensus 27.0) from an unrevised 34.4 in May.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the downturn was led by a sharp pullback in the New Orders Index, which dropped to 17.9 from 40.6, and that the Unfilled Orders Index dropped to -2.7 (first negative reading since January) from 15.3, suggesting firms' backlog diminished.
• The FHFA Housing Price Index rose 0.1% in April, and the March increase was revised to 0.2% from 0.1%.
• The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index increased 0.2% in May (Briefing.com consensus +0.4%), and the April increase was left unrevised at 0.4%.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the strength among the leading indicators remains very widespread.

• Prices offerings of $500 mln of 6.375% senior notes due 2026 by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Energizer Gamma Acquisition and EUR650 mln of 4.625% senior notes due 2026 by its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Energizer Gamma Acquisition B.V. The notes priced at 100% of the principal amount thereof.
• Energizer intends to use the net proceeds from the offerings to fund the previously announced acquisition of the global battery and portable lighting business of Spectrum Brands Holdings (SPB).

• notably meat, seafood, and floral were outperformers..
• Natural Foods +DD
• says space optimization will continue to be headwind to ID sales until late Q3
• says if not for the update of ID sales definition that it would have just reaffirmed prior comps guidance

The major averages are roughly flat in the opening minutes, with the S&P 500 down 0.1%.

Most S&P sectors are drifting within 0.3% of their unchanged marks, although the industrials (-0.7%) and energy (-1.0%) sectors are showing relative weakness. Energy is down with WTI crude futures, which have slipped 1.1% to $65.02 per barrel. On the flip side, the telecom services sector (+0.4%) is showing relative strength.

As a reminder, the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for May (Briefing.com consensus +0.4%) will be released at 10:00 AM ET.

• Diana Shipping (DSX) announced that, through a separate, wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract commencing June 18 with Koch Shipping Pte., Singapore for one of its Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Philadelphia. The gross charter rate is $20K per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of about 20-23 months. This employment is anticipated to generate approximately $11.7 mln of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the time charter.

• Under the terms of the merger agreement, Klein shareholders will receive 7.92 shares of Old National common stock for each share of common stock of Klein they hold, representing a total transaction value of approx. $433.8 mln.
• Old National expects the acquisition to be 6.2% accretive to EPS in 2020, including fully realized cost savings, and 3.4% dilutive to tangible book value per share at closing with an earnback period of approx. 3.5 years. The transaction is anticipated to close in Q4 of 2018.
• As of March 31, 2018, KleinBank had $2.0 bln in total assets, $1.1 bln in loans, $1.7 bln in deposits, $184 mln in common shareholders' equity, and 18 full-service banking locations.
• This transaction greatly strengthens and complements Old National's recent expansion via its Anchor Bank Partnership into the demographically attractive and economically vibrant Twin Cities market.

The stock market is on course for a slightly lower open this morning, as the S&P 500 futures are trading one point below fair value.

Oil ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major oil-producing countries, including Russia, will kick off a two-day meeting in Vienna today to review their current production cut deal, which has decreased output by roughly 1.8 million barrels per day since January 2017. The deal helped boost oil prices to a three-and-a-half year high, and the expectation is that the countries will now decide to increase output. WTI crude futures are down 1.1% at $65.02/bbl.

In corporate news, Micron (MU 61.26, +2.31, +3.8%), Kroger (KR 28.54, +2.36, +9.0%), and Darden Restaurants (DRI 104.87, +11.60, +12.4%) are higher in pre-market trading after all three companies beat earnings estimates. Micron and Kroger also issued upbeat guidance. Outside of earnings, Intel (INTC 54.33, +0.87, +2.4%) announced that CEO Brian Krzanich has resigned after breaching the company's non-fraternization policy.

On the data front, investors have received several pieces of economic data this morning:

• The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 218,000, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 220,000. Today's tally was above the revised prior week count of 215,000 (from 218,000). As for continuing claims, they rose to 1.723 million from a revised count of 1.701 million (from 1.697 million).
• The Philadelphia Fed Survey for June declined to 19.9 (Briefing.com consensus 27.0) from an unrevised 34.4 in May.
• The FHFA Housing Price Index rose 0.1% in April, and the March increase was revised to 0.2% from 0.1%.

Today's last economic report, the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for May (Briefing.com consensus +0.4%), will cross the wires at 10:00 AM ET.

• Verra Mobility is a leading provider of tech-enabled smart transportation solutions and a portfolio company of Platinum Equity.
• Upon closing, this transaction will introduce Verra Mobility as a publicly listed company, with an anticipated initial enterprise value of approximately $2.4 billion or 11.0x the Company's estimated 2018 pro forma Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $219 million.
• The consideration payable to the stockholders of Verra Mobility will consist of a combination of cash and shares of Gores Holdings II common stock. In addition to the $400 million of cash held in Gores Holdings II's trust account, additional investors have committed to participate in the transaction through a $400 million private placement, led by Alec Gores, Chairman and CEO of The Gores Group, and including large institutional investors such as GIC, Hamilton Lane and Northwestern Mutual.

• The Board has named Chief Financial Officer Robert Swan Interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.
• Intel was recently informed that Mr. Krzanich had a past consensual relationship with an Intel employee. An ongoing investigation by internal and external counsel has confirmed a violation of Intel's non-fraternization policy, which applies to all managers. Given the expectation that all employees will respect Intel's values and adhere to the company's code of conduct, the Board has accepted Mr. Krzanich's resignation.
• Guidance: Intel expects to deliver a record second quarter, with revenues of ~$16.9 billion vs. $16.33 bln consensus and non-GAAP EPS of ~$0.99 vs. $0.86 consensus. With accelerating data-centric revenue, the company is off to an excellent start in the first half of the year and expects 2018 to be another record year. Intel will provide full second quarter results and an updated outlook for the full year on the second quarter earnings call on July 26.
• The Board has begun a search for a permanent CEO, including both internal and external candidates.

• Based in Pasadena, Binney, Chase & Van Horne offers property/casualty and employee benefits coverages and services to clients across Southern California, with a focus on serving nonprofit organizations and affordable housing developers.

The S&P 500 futures are trading four points below fair value.

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mostly lower note with markets in China and Hong Kong showing relative weakness. IMF official Paul Cashin said Japan needs to increase its consumption tax to 15.0% and cut social security spending to curb unsustainable debt. Meanwhile, Bank of Japan policymaker Yukitoshi Funo said the central bank needs to maintain its strong monetary easing to reach the 2.0% inflation target. China's state-run Global Times reported that the country could act against Dow-listed U.S. companies if trade tensions worsen.

• In economic data:
  • South Korea's May PPI +0.2% month-over-month (last 0.1%); +2.2% year-over-year (last 1.7%)
  • New Zealand's Q1 GDP +0.5% quarter-over-quarter, as expected (last 0.6%); +2.7% year-over-year, as expected (last 2.9%). Q1 GDP Expenditure +0.3% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.1%; last 0.4%)
  • Hong Kong's May CPI +2.1% year-over-year (last 1.9%)

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei gained 0.6%. Showa Denko, Softbank, TDK, Familymart, Fast Retailing, Konami, Sony, Fanuc, Shin-Etsu Chemical, and Kikkoman gained between 0.9% and 5.0%.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.4%, pausing just above this year's low. Apple supplier Sunny Optical Tech was the weakest performer, falling 9.0%, while CNOOC, Geely Automobile, Henderson Land, China Overseas, Link Reit, Bank of East Asia, and ICBC lost between 1.6% and 3.7%.
• China's Shanghai Composite ended lower by 1.4%. Hubei Kaile Science & Technology, Nanjing Xinjiekou Department Store, AVIC Heavy Machinery, and Shenzhen Kingdom Sci-Tech all lost near 10.0%.
• India's Sensex shed 0.3%. Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, SBI, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, AXIS Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank dropped between 1.1% and 2.3%.

Major European indices trade on a lower note with Italy's MIB (-1.6%) showing relative weakness. Italian debt has faced renewed selling pressure after Alberto Bagnai was named head of the Senate Finance Committee while Claudio Borghi was named the head of the Budget Committee in the lower house. Mr. Bagnai and Mr. Borghi are both considered to be euroskeptics. Press reports indicate that European officials have drafted a proposal on migration, which will call for stronger external border protection and support for migrant reception and resettlement outside of the EU. The Bank of England voted 6-3 to leave its official cash rate and asset purchase program at their respective 0.50% and GBP435 billion, as expected. The Swiss National Bank left its SARON unchanged at -0.75%, as expected.

• In economic data:
  • UK's May Public Sector Net Borrowing GBP3.36 billion (expected GBP5.10 billion; last GBP5.27 billion)
  • France's June Business Survey 110 (expected 108; last 109)
  • Swiss May trade surplus CHF2.76 billion (expected CHF1.89 billion; last surplus of CHF2.25 billion)

---Equity Markets---

• France's CAC is down 0.7%. STMicroelectronics, Peugeot, Valeo, Cap Gemini, TechnipFMC, Accor, and Societe Generale show losses between 0.8% and 1.5%. On the upside, Michelin, Louis Vuitton, Danone, and Kering hold gains between 0.2% and 0.4%.
• UK's FTSE has given up 0.7%. Berkeley Group, GlaxoSmithKline, Barratt Developments, Persimmon, InterContinental Hotels, Imperial Brands, and Barclays are down between 1.1% and 2.7%.
• Germany's DAX is down 1.1%. Automakers Daimler, BMW, and Volkswagen hold losses between 2.4% and 3.9% while Infineon, Commerzbank, BASF, Siemens, Deutsche Bank, and SAP are down between 0.4% and 1.3%. On the upside, Merck and Adidas hold respective gains of 0.6% and 1.1%.
• Italy's MIB has slid 1.6%. Fiat, UniCredit, STMicroelectronics, UBI Banca, Banca Generali, Bper Banca, Telecom Italia, ENI, FInecoBank, Banca Mediolanum, and Intesa Sanpaolo are down between 1.2% and 2.9%.

• The proposed transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018 and is subject to approval by Web.com's shareholders, along with the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and antitrust regulatory approvals, as necessary.
• Web.com may solicit alternative acquisition proposals from third parties during a "go-shop" period from the date of the agreement until August 5, 2018. There is no guarantee that this process will result in a superior proposal, and the agreement provides Siris with a customary right to match a superior proposal. Web.com does not intend to disclose developments with respect to the solicitation process unless and until the company determines such disclosure is appropriate.

The S&P 500 futures are trading one point above fair value.

Just in, the latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 218,000, while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 220,000. Today's tally was above the revised prior week count of 215,000 (from 218,000). As for continuing claims, they rose to 1.723 million from a revised count of 1.701 million (from 1.697 million).

Separately, the Philadelphia Fed Survey for June declined to 19.9 (Briefing.com consensus 27.0) from an unrevised 34.4 in May.

• Reports Q4 (Apr) GAAP loss of $0.29 per share, $0.07 worse than the two analyst GAAP estimate of ($0.22); revenues fell 4.3% year/year to $786.08 mln vs the $774.71 mln two analyst estimate.
• Comparable store sales declined 4.1% for the fourth quarter and 5.4% for the full year.
• Excluding non-recurring or unusual charges in both years, consolidated EBITDA was $6.7 million in the fourth quarter, as compared to $5.6 million a year ago, and $145.4 million in fiscal 2018, as compared to $187.2 million a year ago.
• For fiscal year 2019, the Company expects consolidated EBITDA to be in a range of $175 million to $200 million.

Italy Lags

• European debt trades mixed with Italian issues underperforming notably. Weakness in Italian BTPs has driven up the country's 10-yr yield to a one-week high after the appointment of two euroskeptics to important government posts. Alberto Bagnai was named head of the Senate Finance Committee while Claudio Borghi was named the head of the Budget Committee in the lower house. Two regional central banks released their latest policy statements, but neither the Bank of England nor the Swiss National Bank called for changes to current policy. That said, dissenters at the Bank of England have grown louder, as three policymakers called for a June hike after only two members voted for a rate increase at the last meeting.
• European Economic Data:
  • UK's May Public Sector Net Borrowing GBP3.36 billion (expected GBP5.10 billion; last GBP5.27 billion)
  • France's June Business Survey 110 (expected 108; last 109)
  • Swiss May trade surplus CHF2.76 billion (expected CHF1.89 billion; last surplus of CHF2.25 billion)
• Yield Check:
  • France, 10-yr OAT: +1 bp to 0.71%
  • Germany, 10-yr bund: -1 bp to 0.36%
  • Greece, 10-yr note: -5 bps to 4.32%
  • Italy, 10-yr BTP: +11 bps to 2.68%
  • Portugal, 10-yr PGB: +4 bps to 1.79%
  • Spain, 10-yr ODE: +4 bps to 1.29%
  • U.K., 10-yr gilt: +3 bps to 1.33%

• Blueprint Medicines Corporation (BPMC) doses the first patient in the VOYAGER Phase 3 clinical trial, which is evaluating the safety and efficacy of avapritinib compared to regorafenib in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors. The VOYAGER trial is designed to enroll patients previously treated with imatinib and one or two additional tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
• Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) doses the first patient as part of its Phase 1/2 immuno-oncology trial in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. The efficacy trial is designed to evaluate Inovio's INO-5401 T cell activating immunotherapy encoding multiple antigens expressed by gliobalstoma and INO-9012, an immune activator encoding IL-12, in combination with cemiplimab (REGN2810), a PD-1 inhibitor developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
• MeiraGTx (MGTX) has been granted a Manufacturer's Authorization for Investigational Medicinal Products from the United Kingdom's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The license allows MeiraGTx to manufacture gene therapy product candidates in their current Good Manufacturing Practices compliant manufacturing facility.

Set for Flat Start

• U.S. Treasuries are on track for a flat start after enduring a quiet overnight session. Treasury futured edged higher as attention turned from Asia to Europe, but the modest gains have been mostly erased in recent trade. The leader of IMF's delegation to Japan Paul Cashin said Japan needs to increase its consumption tax to 15.0% and cut social security spending to curb unsustainable debt. Elsewhere, China's state-run Global Times reported that the country could act against Dow-listed U.S. companies if trade tensions worsen.
• Yield Check:
  • 2-yr: -1 bp to 2.56%
  • 5-yr: UNCH at 2.80%
  • 10-yr: UNCH at 2.93%
  • 30-yr: UNCH at 3.06%

• News:
  • South Korea's May PPI +0.2% month-over-month (last 0.1%); +2.2% year-over-year (last 1.7%)
  • New Zealand's Q1 GDP +0.5% quarter-over-quarter, as expected (last 0.6%); +2.7% year-over-year, as expected (last 2.9%). Q1 GDP Expenditure +0.3% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.1%; last 0.4%)
  • Hong Kong's May CPI +2.1% year-over-year (last 1.9%)
• Data out Today:
  • Weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 220K; prior 218K), Continuing Claims (prior 1697K), and June Philadelphia Fed Survey (Briefing.com consensus 27.0; prior 34.4) at 8:30 ET
  • April FHFA Housing Price Index (prior 0.1%) at 9:00 ET
  • May Leading Indicators (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%; prior 0.4%) at 10:00 ET
  • Weekly natural gas inventories (prior +96 bcf) at 10:30 ET

• Total Knee Arthroplasty (Study 209) Results
  • The HTX-011 combination and HTX-011 alone resulted in reductions of 23% and 19%, respectively, in pain intensity measured at rest through 48 hours when compared to placebo (p<0.0001 and p=0.0002, respectively). These pain reductions from HTX-011 were approximately double that of bupivacaine, which resulted in a reduction of 11%. The HTX-011 combination reduction was significantly better than that of bupivacaine (p=0.0212).
• Breast Augmentation (Study 211) Results
  • A total of 243 patients were enrolled. The primary endpoint was pain intensity as measured by the AUC from 0 to 24 hours post-surgery (AUC 0-24) compared to placebo. The primary endpoint of the study was achieved: HTX-011 400 mg administered by instillation into the surgical site and HTX-011 400 mg administered as a nerve block both resulted in reductions of 22% in pain intensity measured at rest through 24 hours when compared to placebo (p=0.0023 and p=0.0055, respectively).

The stock market ended a three-session losing streak yesterday, but is on course to open today's session slightly lower. The S&P 500 futures are down 0.1%.

Oil ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major oil-producing countries, including Russia, will kick off a two-day meeting in Vienna today to review their current production cut deal, which has decreased output by roughly 1.8 million barrels per day since January 2017. The deal helped boost oil prices to a three-and-a-half year high, and the expectation is that the countries will now decide to ramp up output. WTI crude futures are down 1.6% at $64.67/bbl.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the Bank of England voted 6-3 to leave interest rates and its asset purchase program unchanged, as expected.

Elsewhere, U.S. Treasuries are flat to slightly higher, with the yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note unchanged at 2.93%, and the U.S. Dollar Index is up 0.2% at 94.98, which marks a fresh 11-month high. The greenback is up 0.3% against the euro at 1.1542 and up 0.1% against the yen at 110.52.

On the data front, the weekly Initial Claims reading (Briefing.com consensus 220K) and the Philadelphia Fed Index for June (Briefing.com consensus 27.0) will be released at 8:30 AM ET, the FHFA Housing Price Index for April will be released at 9:00 AM ET, and the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for May (Briefing.com consensus +0.4%) will cross the wires at 10:00 AM ET.

Also of note, banks will be in focus today as the Fed is scheduled to release the first set of results from its annual stress test this afternoon.

In U.S. corporate news:

• Micron (MU 61.83, +2.88): +4.9% after beating earnings estimates and issuing better-than-expected guidance.
• Kroger (KR 28.49, +2.31): +8.8% after reporting upbeat earnings and raising the bottom end of its guidance for FY19.
• Darden Restaurants (DRI 101.31, +8.04): +8.6% after reporting above-consensus earnings.

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mostly lower note with markets in China and Hong Kong showing relative weakness. Japan's Nikkei +0.6%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng -1.4%, China's Shanghai Composite -1.4%, India's Sensex -0.3%.
  • In economic data:
    • South Korea's May PPI +0.2% month-over-month (last 0.1%); +2.2% year-over-year (last 1.7%)
    • New Zealand's Q1 GDP +0.5% quarter-over-quarter, as expected (last 0.6%); +2.7% year-over-year, as expected (last 2.9%). Q1 GDP Expenditure +0.3% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.1%; last 0.4%)
    • Hong Kong's May CPI +2.1% year-over-year (last 1.9%)
  • In news:
    • IMF official Paul Cashin said Japan needs to increase its consumption tax to 15.0% and cut social security spending to curb unsustainable debt.
    • Bank of Japan policymaker Yukitoshi Funo said the central bank needs to maintain its strong monetary easing to reach the 2.0% inflation target.
    • China's state-run Global Times reported that the country could act against Dow-listed U.S. companies if trade tensions worsen.

• Major European indices trade on a lower note with Italy's MIB (-1.3%) showing relative weakness. France's CAC -0.4%, UK's FTSE -0.5%, Germany's DAX -0.7%.
  • In economic data:
    • UK's May Public Sector Net Borrowing GBP3.36 billion (expected GBP5.10 billion; last GBP5.27 billion)
    • France's June Business Survey 110 (expected 108; last 109)
    • Swiss May trade surplus CHF2.76 billion (expected CHF1.89 billion; last surplus of CHF2.25 billion)
  • In news:
    • Italian debt has faced renewed selling pressure after Alberto Bagnai was named head of the Senate Finance Committee while Claudio Borghi was named the head of the Budget Committee in the lower house. Mr. Bagnai and Mr. Borghi are both considered to be euroskeptics.
    • Press reports indicate that European officials have drafted a proposal on migration, which will call for stronger external border protection and support for migrant reception and resettlement outside of the EU.
    • The Bank of England voted 6-3 to leave its official cash rate and asset purchase program at their respective 0.50% and GBP435 billion, as expected.
    • The Swiss National Bank left its SARON unchanged at -0.75%, as expected.

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:

• AOBC -7%, SCS -4.2%, CMC -2.4%, MEI -1.7%

Other news:

• LMNR -14.3% (to acquire a ranch and related assets of Fruticola San Pablo S.A in La Serena, Chile for $13 million; prices 2,727,272 common stock offering at $22.00/share)
• VERI -11.6% (commenced an underwritten public offering of shares of its common stock)
• CLPS -8.9% (following 55% move higher following Chairman update to shareholders)
• TRUP -7.2% (proposed public offering of common stock)
• YTRA -5.2% (to launch follow-on offering of approximately 8.5 million of its ordinary shares)
• FCEL -3.6% (FuelCell Energy notified by POSCO (PKX) in writing MOU will terminate effective July 15, 2018)
• WIX -1.7% (commences $350 mln offering of Convertible Senior Notes due 2023)
• GOOS -1.6% (to offer for sale 10 mln subordinate voting shares by shareholders, including executive officers and directors ), .

Analyst comments:

• ARRS -2% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman)
• SIRI -1.6% (downgraded to Sell at Goldman)
• PH -1.5% (downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo)
• NKE -0.8% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS)

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:

• BNED +10.8%, DRI +9%, KR +8.9%, MU +5%, PDCO +2.1%

M&A news:

• MTCH +1.1% (acquired a 51% ownership stake in Hinge, the NYC-based relationship app; has the right to acquire all the remaining shares of Hinge within the next 12 months)

Argentina-exposed ADRs higher on MSCI reclassification to Emerging Markets status:

• TGS +20.6%, BFR +12.6%, EDN +11.6%, LOMA +11.3%, GGAL +11.1%, TEO +10.6%, BMA +9.4%, ARGT +8.8%, PAM +7.7%, YPF +6.6%, IRS +4.8%

Other news:

• CASI +38.2% (announces strategic and long-term manufacturing agreement with Yiling Wanzhou International Pharmaceutical Co., for the manufacturing of entecavir and cilostazol)
• MESO +7.4% (announces key Day 100 survival outcomes of its Phase 3 trial for remestemcel-L, an allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell product candidate)
• HPQ +2.6% (authorized an additional $4.0 billion for future repurchases of its outstanding shares of common stock)
• RYTM +2.2% (prices public offering of 5,732,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $26.42 per share)
• WDC +2% (following MU results)
• LGF.A +2% (continued strength)
• THO +1.7% (announces $250 million share repurchase authorization)
• INCY +1.5% (announces 'positive' topline results from its ongoing pivotal Phase 2 REACH1 trial)
• FOXA +1.4% (extending today's move higher)
• AMD +0.9% (following MU results)
• SHPG +0.7% (announces FDA approval for label expansion of Cinryze for prevention of attacks in pediatric hereditary angioedema patients)

Analyst comments:

• LITE +4% (upgraded to Buy at Goldman)
• BDX +1.7% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan)
• GLW +1.4% (upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman)
• VZ +1.3% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman)
• CHTR +1.2% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman)

• The MPC said it now intends not to reduce the stock of purchased assets until Bank Rate reaches around 1.5%, compared to the previous guidance of around 2%.

• Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.73 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.63; revenues rose 3.4% year/year to $37.53 bln vs the $37.25 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co reported identical supermarket sales, without fuel, of 1.4% for the first quarter of 2018. When calculating identical sales to be more inclusive of company business units -- including Kroger Specialty Pharmacy and ship-to-home solutions -- Kroger's identical sales, without fuel, were 1.9% in the first quarter.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY19, raises bottom end of EPS to $2.00-2.15 from $1.95-2.15, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.07 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Kroger expects identical sales growth, excluding fuel, to range from 2.0% to 2.5% in 2018 (prior guidance 1-5-2.0%). This reflects the company's updated definition of identical sales and is supported by its expectation for identical supermarket sales that is the same as its original guidance for the year.

Major European indices trade on a lower note with Italy's MIB (-1.3%) showing relative weakness. Italian debt has faced renewed selling pressure after Alberto Bagnai was named head of the Senate Finance Committee while Claudio Borghi was named the head of the Budget Committee in the lower house. Mr. Bagnai and Mr. Borghi are both considered to be euroskeptics. Press reports indicate that European officials have drafted a proposal on migration, which will call for stronger external border protection and support for migrant reception and resettlement outside of the EU. The Bank of England voted 6-3 to leave its official cash rate and asset purchase program at their respective 0.50% and GBP435 billion, as expected. The Swiss National Bank left its SARON unchanged at -0.75%, as expected.

• In economic data:
  • UK's May Public Sector Net Borrowing GBP3.36 billion (expected GBP5.10 billion; last GBP5.27 billion)
  • France's June Business Survey 110 (expected 108; last 109)
  • Swiss May trade surplus CHF2.76 billion (expected CHF1.89 billion; last surplus of CHF2.25 billion)

---Equity Markets---

• France's CAC is down 0.4%. STMicroelectronics, Peugeot, Valeo, Cap Gemini, TechnipFMC, Accor, and Societe Generale show losses between 0.8% and 1.5%. On the upside, Michelin, Louis Vuitton, Danone, and Kering hold gains between 0.2% and 0.4%.
• UK's FTSE has given up 0.5%. Berkeley Group, GlaxoSmithKline, Barratt Developments, Persimmon, InterContinental Hotels, Imperial Brands, and Barclays are down between 1.1% and 2.7%.
• Germany's DAX is down 0.7%. Automakers Daimler, BMW, and Volkswagen hold losses between 2.4% and 3.9% while Infineon, Commerzbank, BASF, Siemens, Deutsche Bank, and SAP are down between 0.4% and 1.3%. On the upside, Merck and Adidas hold respective gains of 0.6% and 1.1%.
• Italy's MIB has slid 1.3%. Fiat, UniCredit, STMicroelectronics, UBI Banca, Banca Generali, Bper Banca, Telecom Italia, ENI, FInecoBank, Banca Mediolanum, and Intesa Sanpaolo are down between 1.2% and 2.9%.

• Reports Q4 (May) earnings of $1.39 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.35; revenues rose 10.3% year/year to $2.13 bln vs the $2.13 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Blended same-restaurant sales from Darden's legacy brands increased 2.2%
• On June 20, 2018, the Board of Directors increased the quarterly dividend 19% to $0.75 per common share (Prior $0.63/share)
• During the quarter, the Company repurchased approximately 0.3 million shares of its common stock for a total cost of approximately $27 million. In addition, Darden's Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to $500 million of its outstanding common stock. This repurchase program does not have an expiration and replaces the previously existing share repurchase authorization.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY19, sees EPS of $5.40-5.56 vs. $5.41 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY19 revs of $8.4-8.48 bln (+4-5%) vs. $8.44 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees same-restaurant sales growth of 1.0% to 2.0%

• Reports Q4 (Apr) earnings of $0.30 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.30; revenues fell 3.1% year/year to $1.4 bln vs the $1.43 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY19, sees EPS of $1.73-1.83, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.76 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mostly lower note with markets in China and Hong Kong showing relative weakness. IMF official Paul Cashin said Japan needs to increase its consumption tax to 15.0% and cut social security spending to curb unsustainable debt. Meanwhile, Bank of Japan policymaker Yukitoshi Funo said the central bank needs to maintain its strong monetary easing to reach the 2.0% inflation target. China's state-run Global Times reported that the country could act against Dow-listed U.S. companies if trade tensions worsen.

• In economic data:
  • South Korea's May PPI +0.2% month-over-month (last 0.1%); +2.2% year-over-year (last 1.7%)
  • New Zealand's Q1 GDP +0.5% quarter-over-quarter, as expected (last 0.6%); +2.7% year-over-year, as expected (last 2.9%). Q1 GDP Expenditure +0.3% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.1%; last 0.4%)
  • Hong Kong's May CPI +2.1% year-over-year (last 1.9%)

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei gained 0.6%. Showa Denko, Softbank, TDK, Familymart, Fast Retailing, Konami, Sony, Fanuc, Shin-Etsu Chemical, and Kikkoman gained between 0.9% and 5.0%.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.4%, pausing just above this year's low. Apple supplier Sunny Optical Tech was the weakest performer, falling 9.0%, while CNOOC, Geely Automobile, Henderson Land, China Overseas, Link Reit, Bank of East Asia, and ICBC lost between 1.6% and 3.7%.
• China's Shanghai Composite ended lower by 1.4%. Hubei Kaile Science & Technology, Nanjing Xinjiekou Department Store, AVIC Heavy Machinery, and Shenzhen Kingdom Sci-Tech all lost near 10.0%.
• India's Sensex shed 0.3%. Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, SBI, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, AXIS Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank dropped between 1.1% and 2.3%.

---FX---

• USDJPY +0.1% to 110.43
• USDCNY +0.4% to 6.498
• USDINR UNCH at 68.09

• Reports Q3 (May) earnings of $0.41 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 15.3% year/year to $1.2 bln vs the $1.27 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Outlook: "We are confident in our outlook of continued strong results for CMC...Leading indicators of macroeconomic and market conditions in both the United States and Poland suggest continuing economic growth and strong long steel product demand. In addition, we applaud the U.S. trade measures implemented by the President and believe they will assist in creating a fair and level playing field."

• Reports Q4 (Apr) earnings of $0.98 per share, $0.24 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.74; revenues rose 13.3% year/year to $249 mln vs the $247.16 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues downside guidance for FY19, sees EPS of $2.81-2.96 vs. $3.09 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY19 revs of $950-970 mln vs. $974.85 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

• iClick Interactive Asia Group Limited (ICLK) announced a strategic partnership with Bilibili Inc. (BILI). This collaboration will help international and local brands more effectively target the large Generation Z and Millennial userbase of Bilibili.
• Abraaj Holdings, Abraaj Investment Management Limited (together "the Group") and Colony Capital (CLNS) through the Group's Joint Provisional Liquidators, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte, are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement on the principal terms for the sale and purchase of the Group's Latin America, Sub Saharan Africa, North Africa and Turkey Funds management business and the Group's Limited Partnership interests in the underlying Funds, along with staff in the eight offices being transferred under the terms of the deal.
• Cheetah Mobile Inc. (CMCM) announced that its President, Mr. Ming Xu, has resigned for personal reasons, effective July 21, 2018. Mr. Xu will continue to serve as a consultant and help with the Company's strategic planning. His previous responsibilities will be assumed by the Company's CEO, Mr. Sheng Fu, and Senior Vice President, Mr. Edward Mingyan Sun.
• Braskem S.A. (BAK) hereby announces to its shareholders and the general market that, due to the normalization of logistics operations after the end of the truck drivers' strike, the utilization rates of its crackers in Brazil have returned to normal levels.
• Woolworths Ltd. (WOLWF) announces that it has been notified by BP (BP) Australia that BP will not continue with the proposed purchase of the Petrol business as announced on 28 December 2016. As a result, the sale agreements, and strategic partnership agreements, entered with BP on 24 December 2016 will no longer be continued by BP.
• NexGen Energy Ltd. (NXE) announced that the summer 2018 drilling program has commenced at the 100% Company owned, Rook I property, in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan.
• WABCO Holdings Inc. (WBC) announced that it has extended its long-term agreement to supply automated manual transmission control technology for a leading global original equipment manufacturer, which is headquartered in Europe. Under this extended agreement which is valued at over $500 million, WABCO will continue to supply this global manufacturer with its current generation of AMT control technology.
  

• North American Construction Group (NOA) announced the successful negotiation of a second term contract related to the recently notified extension to a key Master Services Agreement, with a major oil sands customer. The work-scope involves mine reclamation services and has duration of three years, commencing with this winter season. The value of this incremental backlog is expected to be around $160 million.
• Eldorado Gold Corporation (EGO) provided an update on its exploration programs and construction progress at the Lamaque project in Quebec. Mill refurbishment and underground mine development are ahead of schedule and production from the refurbished mill remains on track for 2019.

The NEJM publication provides the final results from the SIOPEL 6 study, a multi-centre open label randomized phase 3 study evaluating the efficacy of STS in reducing ototoxicity in patients receiving cisplatin monotherapy for standard risk hepatoblastoma. It includes hearing assessments in 101 patients and 52 month median follow up of 3 year event-free survival and 3 year overall survival data.

• The SIOPEL 6 study met its primary endpoint. Sodium thiosulfate, administered 6 hours after cisplatin chemotherapy, reduced the incidence of cisplatin-induced hearing loss in children with standard-risk hepatoblastoma without jeopardizing overall or event-free survival.
• Fennec plans to pursue regulatory approval for PEDMARKTM based on the data from the SIOPEL 6 study along with the data from Children Oncology Group (COG) ACCL0431 study. Fennec anticipates commencing regulatory submissions in the fourth quarter of 2018. STS has received Orphan Drug Designation in the US in this setting and plans to pursue European Market Exclusivity for Pediatric Use upon approval.

• The approval was based on data from a dedicated Phase 3 multicenter single-blind study (0624-301) that evaluated the use of CINRYZE in 12 patients living with HAE aged 7 to 11. Compared to the baseline observational period, the mean reduction in the normalized number of attacks for CINRYZE 500 U and CINRYZE 1,000 U was 71.1% and 84.5%, respectively.

• The notes will be senior unsecured obligations of WMG and pay interest semiannually in arrears at a rate of 1.625% per annum on June 15 and December 15 of each year, beginning on December 15, 2018. 

• Birkett will succeed William Federici, who announced in March his intention to retire later this year. Federici will remain at West in an advisory capacity to oversee a smooth transition.

• Under this transaction between Buenaventura, Newmont (NEM) and Sumitomo (SSUMF / SSUMY), Sumitomo takes the place of the International Finance Corporation as minority shareholder. Buenaventura's total ownership in Yanacocha will return to 43.65% and Newmont's ownership will return to 51.35%, and Newmont will continue to operate Yanacocha.

• Broadcom will showcase SFF-TA-1001 (U.3) ecosystem demo with Toshiba Memory America this week at HPE Discover. U.3 allows SAS and SATA HDDs and SAS, SATA, and NVMe SSDs to operate in a single bay without the complexity of wiring for multiple protocols.
• The Broadcom 24-port RAID controller is now featured in the HPE ProLiant Gen10 server family, extending the range of Broadcom Data Center server storage products offered to HPE customers and providing a better solution to scale on demand.

• MU expects FY18 CapEx to be approx $8 bln;
• Sees Q4 Revenue in the range of $8.0-8.4 bln, Capital IQ consensus $8.0 bln
• Sees Q4 Gross Margin in the range of 59-62%;
• Sees Q4 OpEx in the range of $725-775 mln'
• Sees Q4 EPS in the range of $3.23-3.37, Capital IQ consensus $3.17.
• Co noted it is not seeing weakness in its NAND ASPs

• Instacart is a company that offers customers a simple solution to save time and eat fresh food from the most trusted grocery brands by operating a same-day grocery delivery service available to customers virtually via app and website.
• The agreement allows SUPERVALU to offer the benefits of online shopping and delivery services to 3,000+ independent retail stores supplied by SUPERVALU as well as other retailers across the U.S. in the 240+ metro areas in which Instacart operates.

• Mr. Galbut succeeds Walter Revell, who steps down from Norwegian's Board after serving as Chairman for the past three years and on the Board for over two decades. Mr. Galbut currently serves as the Managing Principal of Crescent Heights, one of America's largest residential developers of quality condominiums.
• Additionally, Company shareholders also elected retired U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary E. Landry as a new independent director.

• Heyer has served as the Company's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since April 2014, after previously serving the Company as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from April 2011 to April 2014. Heyer will assume the responsibilities of William C. Ledgerwood, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, who announced his retirement effective December 31, 2018. Mr. Heyer will begin his new position effective July 1, 2018, with Mr. Ledgerwood supporting this transition through the end of 2018.
• Additionally, Keith Suchodolski has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective July 1, 2018.

• From today's perspective, the decisive factor is that, at Mercedes-Benz Cars, fewer than expected SUV sales and higher than expected costs -- not completely passed on to the customers -- must be assumed because of increased import tariffs for US vehicles into the Chinese market. This effect cannot be fully compensated by the reallocation of vehicles to other markets.
• As another decisive factor, a negative effect on earnings is to be expected in the second half of the year in connection with the new certification process WLTP (Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure).
• Earnings at Mercedes-Benz Vans are affected in connection with the recall of diesel vehicles.
• Earnings at Daimler Buses are negatively affected by the declining demand in Latin America.
• As a result, Daimler has now the following expectations for EBIT in the year 2018:
  • Mercedes-Benz Cars: slightly below the previous year
  • Mercedes-Benz Vans: significantly below the previous year's level
  • Daimler Buses: in the magnitude of the previous year and
  • Daimler Group: slightly below the previous year's level.

Stocks ended a three-session skid on Wednesday as a heap of corporate news served to distract investors from escalated U.S.-China trade tensions. The Nasdaq and the Russell 2000 rallied to new record highs, adding around 0.7% apiece, and the S&P 500 ticked up 0.2%. The Dow underperformed though, shedding 0.2%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA 68.00, +3.39) will be joining the Dow Jones Industrial Average on June 26, taking the spot of General Electric (GE 12.88, -0.07), which was one of the original Dow components and has been a continuous part of the average for more than a century. The decision follows a disastrous 18-month stretch for GE shares, which have dropped around 60% since the end of 2016.

Media names returned to the spotlight on Wednesday after Walt Disney (DIS 107.15, +1.05) increased its offer for 21st Century Fox's (FOXA 48.08, +3.37) entertainment assets. Disney is now offering $35 per share, up from $28 per share and better than last week's offer from Comcast (CMCSA 33.39, +0.58) of $35 per share. Fox shares surged 7.5%.

Elsewhere, Oracle (ORCL 42.82, -3.45) shares dropped 7.5% to a 15-month low after the company's quarterly update provided less insight than usual into its growing cloud business. Meanwhile, shares of Starbucks (SBUX 52.22, -5.21) tumbled 9.1% to a 20-month low after the coffee giant announced it will be scaling back store growth and closing underperforming urban locations.

Most S&P 500 sectors finished in the green, but gains were pretty modest; other than real estate (+1.1%), no group added more than 0.5%. The consumer discretionary (+0.5%) and energy (+0.4%) sectors were the top-performing groups, but the top-weighted technology sector (+0.3%) also had a relatively solid showing. Within the tech space, shares of Facebook (FB 202.00, +4.51) jumped 2.3% to a new all-time high, helped by reports that its photo-sharing subsidiary Instagram has reached 1 billion monthly users.

At the opposite end of the sector standings, the heavily-weighted financial space ended lower by 0.3% even though the 2s-10s spread widened, rebounding from its lowest level in a decade. The yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note advanced four basis points to 2.93% while the 2-yr yield climbed two basis points to 2.57%. The telecom services sector was the worst-performing group with a loss of 1.0%.

Outside of equities, West Texas Intermediate crude futures rallied on Wednesday, rising 1.3% to $65.71 per barrel, after the Department of Energy reported that U.S. crude stockpiles decreased for the second week in a row, declining by 5.9 million barrels. The U.S. Dollar Index ticked up 0.1% to 94.73.

Reviewing Wednesday's economic data, which included the Existing Home Sales report for May, the Current Account Balance for the first quarter, and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index:

• Existing home sales decreased 0.4% in May to an annualized rate of 5.43 million units (Briefing.com consensus 5.55 million). The April reading was revised to 5.45 million (from 5.46 million).
  • The key takeaway from the report remains the same: notable supply constraints continue to act as a drag on overall sales. The limited inventory -- and the high prices on available inventory -- is crimping affordability, particularly for first-time buyers; moreover, all prospective buyers are feeling affordability pressures from rising mortgage rates and home prices rising faster than income.
• The current account deficit for the first quarter totaled $124.1 billion (Briefing.com consensus -$129.2 billion). The fourth quarter deficit was revised to $116.1 billion from $128.2 billion.
• The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index rose 5.1% to follow last week's decline of 1.5%.

On Thursday, investors will receive the weekly Initial Claims report (Briefing.com consensus 220K), the Philadelphia Fed Index for June (Briefing.com consensus 27.0), the FHFA Housing Price Index for April, and the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for May (Briefing.com consensus +0.4%).

• Nasdaq Composite +12.7% YTD
• Russell 2000 +11.2% YTD
• S&P 500 +3.5% YTD
• Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.3% YTD

• Reports Q1 (May) earnings of $0.14 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.14; revenues rose 2.6% year/year to $754 mln vs the $754.17 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Gross margin of 31.6% in the current quarter represented a decline of 170 basis points compared to the prior year and reflected mixed results across the segments
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.25-$0.30, excluding item, vs. $0.28 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $865-$890 mln, which includes revenue from its Smith System Manufacturing acquisition, expected to close at the end of June. The Capital IQ consensus is $813.10 mln.
• Commentary: "We expect commodity cost increases to continue pressuring our gross margin for another quarter or two while these price adjustments take fuller effect. In addition, our revenue in the Americas over the same period is expected to include a growing mix of project business, including projects won at earlier price levels, which will impact our year-over-year gross margin comparisons..."

• Company received notification from ReliaMax that the South Dakota Division of Insurance has filed a Petition to have ReliaMax declared insolvent and to adopt a plan of liquidation. As previously disclosed, ReliaMax provides insurance coverage for the $189.1 million purchased, floating rate, seasoned student loan portfolios. ReliaMax indicated hearing to be scheduled for late June or early July 2018. In light of the potential impact to its insurance coverage, the Company is adjusting the allowance for loan losses for the current quarterly period ending June 30, 2018. The additional allowance is estimated to result in a $2.8 million to $3.2 million pre-tax charge to provision for loan losses and a reduction in consolidated pre-tax net income for the third fiscal quarter of 2018.
• Co also  signed an agreement to continue their relationship with Global Cash Card, Inc. and will begin to support Wisely by ADP.

Co announces the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of Reata's RTA 1701, a highly selective and orally bioavailable allosteric ROR?t inhibitor. This Phase 1 study is evaluating the safety and pharmacokinetics of RTA 1701 in healthy volunteers and assessing ex vivo suppression of IL-17A secretion. Initial results are expected in 1H19.

• Raises FY18 EPS to $11.54-11.74 from $11.26-11.50 (non-GAAP $8.87-9.07 vs. $7.83 consensus); reaffirms rev $4.4-4.5 bln vs. $4.47 bln consensus.
• "As a result of the continued strong operating performance on a number of programs throughout our operations, particularly on our fixed price contracts, we are raising our net income and diluted earnings per share guidance."
• Sees FY19 EPS $8.98-9.38 vs $8.94 Capital IQ Consensus; revs $4550-4750 mln vs $4.62 bln Capital IQ Consensus

• Company announced it will increase prices on seamless mechanical tubing (SMT) hot-rolled and single-thermal-treated products by $40 per ton, and on SMT quench-and-tempered products by $100 per ton.
• These increases are effective immediately with new orders received, and for all shipments beginning Oct. 1, 2018.

• The co announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $250 million of the co's common stock over the next (2) years on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable securities laws.

• Reports Q4 (Apr) earnings of $0.24 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.13 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.11; revenues fell 25.0% year/year to $172 mln vs the $166.83 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.10-0.14, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.02 two analyst estimate; sees Q1 revs of $130-140 mln vs. $125.54 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co issues downside guidance for FY19, sees EPS of $0.40-0.50, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.63 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY19 revs of $570-600 mln vs. $618.25 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• "New products -- which we define as products launched within the last twelve months -- accounted for 29% of our firearms revenue in fiscal 2018, and strong adoption rates across our growing M&P family helped us retain our leadership position in the consumer market for handguns... Our Outdoor Products & Accessories segment generated 26% of our total revenue in fiscal 2018 compared to just 14% in fiscal 2017... In fiscal 2019, we expect to continue employing the strength of our balance sheet to fuel additional growth opportunities, both organic and inorganic."

• Reports Q3 (May) earnings of $3.15 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $3.13; revenues rose 40.1% year/year to $7.8 bln vs the $7.76 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Overall consolidated gross margin of 60.6 percent for the third quarter of 2018 was higher compared to 58.1 percent for the second quarter of 2018 primarily due to execution across our product portfolio.
• Investments in capital expenditures, net of amounts funded by partners, were $2.10 billion, which resulted in adjusted free cash flows of $2.16 billion for the third quarter of 2018.
• Total GAAP Debt $7.3 bln; Total Cash $7.7 bln (Expect to further reduce debt position by $2 bln in Q4)
• DRAM: 71% of total FQ3 revenue; NAND: 25% of total FQ3 revenue.
• "We strengthened our competitive position and grew our revenue across virtually all of our high-value product segments. We set new records for revenue in SSDs, Mobile Managed NAND and Automotive solutions along with Cloud/Enterprise and Graphics DRAM Memory. We see ongoing momentum and healthy industry fundamentals in the fourth quarter to close out an exceptionally strong fiscal 2018."

• Mr. Vanderstelt has resigned his position at CBA to accept another career opportunity on the east coast.

The San Pablo ranch consists of 3,317 total acres on two parcels, including 247 acres producing lemons, 61 acres producing oranges, the opportunity to immediately plant 120 acres for lemon production, as well as the potential for approximately 500 acres of avocado production.

• The San Pabloacquisition is expected to close in July 2018.
• The Company expects the acquisition to add $0.02 - $0.03 in earnings per diluted share in fiscal 2018, and $0.06 - $0.08 in fiscal 2019.

• Trupanion intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund the purchase of its home office building, located in Seattle, WA.