15/06/23 Briefing

The S&P 500 futures are down 15 points and are trading 0.4% below fair value. The Nasdaq 100 futures are down 97 points and are trading 0.6% below fair value. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 52 points and are trading 0.2% below fair value.

Stocks futures are weak this morning. Fed Chair Powell indicating yesterday that more rate hikes may be needed has seemingly offered an excuse for investors to take some money off the table after a big run recently. The Nasdaq 100 futures underperform due to lagging mega cap stocks. 

The European Central Bank is expected to announce a 25 basis points rate hike at 8:15 a.m. ET.

China's National Bureau of Statistics cautioned that China's economic recovery is not yet solid. Some economic data corroborated that view, including weaker than expected industrial production (3.5% year-over-year; expected 3.8%), retail sales (12.7% year-over-year; expected 13.7%), fixed asset investment (4.0% year-over-year; expected 4.4%) for May. In related news, the PBOC cut the 1-yr medium term lending facility rate by 10 basis points to 2.65%.

Today is a busy day of U.S. economic data that will feature:

• 8:30 a.m. ET: May Retail Sales (Briefing.comconsensus 0.0%; prior 0.4%), Retail Sales ex-auto (Briefing.comconsensus 0.1%; prior 0.4%); Weekly Initial (Briefing.comconsensus 251,000; prior 261,000) and Continuing claims (prior 1.757 million); June Philadelphia Fed Index (Briefing.comconsensus -13.0; prior -10.4); June Empire State Manufacturing (Briefing.comconsensus -16.0; prior -31.8); May Export Price Index (prior 0.2%), Export Prices ex-ag. (prior 0.4%), Import Price Index (prior 0.4%), Import Prices ex-oil (prior 0.0%)

• 9:15 a.m. ET: May Industrial Production (Briefing.comconsensus 0.1%; prior 0.5%), Capacity Utilization (Briefing.comconsensus 79.7%; prior 79.7%)

• 10:00 a.m. ET: April Business Inventories (Briefing.comconsensus 0.2%; prior -0.1%)

• 10:30 a.m. ET: Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventories (prior +104 bcf)

• 4:00 p.m. ET: April Net Long-Term TIC Flows (prior $133.3 billion)

Treasury yields are moving higher. The 2-yr note yield is up five basis points to 4.75% and the 10-yr note yield is up three basis points to 3.83%.

In other news, the White House announced a labor agreement at West Coast ports. 

In corporate news:

• Lennar (LEN 117.29, +2.54, +2.2%): beats by $0.62, beats on revs, deliveries of 17,074 above its guidance; sharply raises FY23 deliveries guidance

• Patterson-UTI (PTEN 11.13) and NexTier Oilfield Solutions (NEX 8.92): to combine in merger of equals

• Target (TGT 134.20, +0.97, +0.7%): declared a quarterly dividend of $1.10/share, a 1.9% increase from the prior quarterly dividend of $1.08/share

• T-Mobile (TMUS 129.55, +1.50, +1.2%): Morgan Stanley reinstated the stock as a top pick

• Domino's Pizza (DPZ 312.45, +6.73, +2.2%): upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel

• Diageo plc (DEO 172.48, -0.31, -0.2%) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

• SoFi Technologies (SOFI 9.27, -0.47, -4.8%): downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer

• AutoZone (AZO 2437.99, +38.57, +1.6%): authorizes stock repurchase of an additional $2.0 billion of common stock

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mixed note. Japan's Nikkei: -0.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +2.2%, China's Shanghai Composite: +0.7%, India's Sensex: -0.5%, South Korea's Kospi: -0.4%, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: +0.2%.

• In economic data:

• China's May Industrial Production 3.5% yr/yr (expected 3.8%; last 5.6%), May Retail Sales 12.7% yr/yr (expected 13.7%; last 18.4%), May Fixed Asset Investment 4.0% yr/yr (expected 4.4%; last 4.7%), and May House Prices 0.1% yr/yr (last -0.2%). May FDI 0.1% YTD (last 2.2%)

• Japan's April Core Machinery Orders 5.5% m/m (expected 3.0%; last -3.9%); -5.9% yr/yr (expected -8.0%; last -3.5%). April Tertiary Industry Activity Index 1.2% m/m (expected 0.5%; last -1.5%). May trade deficit JPY780 bln (expected deficit of JPY1.12 trln; last deficit of JPY1.04 trln). May Imports -9.9% yr/yr (expected -10.3%; last -2.3%) and Exports 0.6% yr/yr (expected -0.8%; last 2.6%) o

• India's May trade deficit $22.12 bln (expected deficit of $17.26 bln; last deficit of $15.24 bln)

• Hong Kong's Q1 Industrial Production 3.9% yr/yr (last -0.1%) and Q1 PPI 1.0% yr/yr (last -0.3%)

• Singapore's Q1 Unemployment Rate 1.8%, as expected (last 2.0%)

• Australia's May Employment Change 75,900 (expected 15,000; last -4,000) and full employment change 61,700 (last -28,600). May Participation Rate 66.9% (expected 66.7%; last 66.7%) and May Unemployment Rate 3.6% (expected 3.7%; last 3.7%)

• New Zealand's Q1 GDP -0.1% qtr/qtr, as expected (last -0.7%); 2.2% yr/yr (expected 2.6%; last 2.3%). Q1 GDP Expenditure -0.2% qtr/qtr (expected 2.1%; last -0.9%)

• Major European indices are mostly lower ahead of what is expected to be a 25-bps rate hike announcement from the European Central Bank at 8:15 ET. STOXX Europe 600: -0.4%, Germany's DAX: -0.6%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: +0.1%, France's CAC 40: -0.7%, Italy's FTSE MIB: -0.4%, Spain's IBEX 35: +0.1%.

• In economic data:

• Eurozone's April trade deficit EUR11.7 bln (expected surplus of EUR21.5 bln; last surplus of EUR23.6 bln)

• France's May CPI -0.1% m/m, as expected (last 0.6%); 5.1% yr/yr, as expected (last 5.9%)

• Italy's April trade surplus EUR318 mln (last surplus of EUR7.623 bln)

• Spain's April trade deficit EUR4.38 bln (expected surplus of EUR2.01 bln; last deficit of EUR160 mln)

• Swiss May PPI -0.3% m/m (expected 0.1%; last 0.2%); -0.3% yr/yr (expected -0.2%; last 1.0%)

• In news:

• Switzerland's KOF Institute raised its domestic growth forecast for 2023 to 1.2% from 1.1% while the 2024 forecast remained at 1.7%. The CPI forecast for 2023 was lowered to 2.2% from 2.6% while the 2024 forecast remained at 1.5%.

• British Prime Minister Sunak has reportedly abandoned a plan to encourage supermarkets to impose a price cap on basic goods.

U.S. equity futures:

• S&P 500 Futures: -17 @ 4,355

• DJIA Futures: -68 @ 33,911

• Nasdaq 100 Futures: -106 @ 14,900

Overseas:

• Europe: DAX -0.6%, FTSE +0.1%, CAC -0.7%

• Asia: Nikkei -0.1%, Hang Seng +2.2%, Shanghai Composite +0.7%

Commodities:

• Crude Oil +0.71 @ 66.98

• Nat Gas +0.070 @ 2.412

• Gold -28.10 @ 1940.80

• Silver -0.692 @ 23.413

• Copper -0.0127 @ 3.8573

Earnings/Guidance:

• Amerant Bancorp (AMTB) provides updated Q2 outlook in slides

• Aveanna (AVAH) announces CFO David Afshar has resigned effective July 7, 2023; reaffirms FY23 revs guidance

• Build-A-Bear Workshop (BBW) raises FY24 revs outlook in investor presentation

• Cognyte Software (CGNT) misses by $0.01, beats on revs; guides FY24 EPS above consensus, revs in-line

• Eagle Pharma (EGRX) reaffirms FY23 guidance

• Lennar (LEN) beats by $0.62, beats on revs, deliveries of 17,074 above its guidance; sharply raises FY23 deliveries guidance

• Paysafe (PSFE) reaffirms FY23 guidance

• Vuzix (VUZI) provides select highlights ahead of its Annual Shareholder Meeting at 10:30 a.m. ET; expects achieving record smart glasses revenue for Q2

News:

• White House negotiating with Iran to limit nuclear program and free imprisoned Americans, according to the New York Times

• PBOC lowers rates on 1 year medium term lending facility loans by 10 basis points to 2.65%

• White House announces labor agreement at west coast ports

• Alamos (AGI) Continues to Extend High-Grade Gold Mineralization at Island Gold, Including within Hanging Wall and Footwall Zones in Proximity to Existing Infrastructure

• ALLEGIANT (ALGT) reports May 2023 traffic

• Alphabet (GOOG) introduces new AI shopping feature

• Aldeyra Therapeutics (ALDX) announces achievement of statistical significance for primary endpoint and all secondary endpoints in phase 3 invigorate-2 trial of reproxalap in allergic conjunctivitis

• Armada Hoffler Properties (AHH) authorized the repurchase of $50 million of the Company's shares of common stock and Series A preferred stock in a newly established share repurchase program

• Aspen Aerogels (ASPN) announces termination of "at-the-market" equity offering program

• Atlantic Union Bankshares (AUB) announces series of cost saving measures; to reduce employee headcount by approximately 4% by the end July

• AutoZone (AZO) authorizes stock repurchase of an additional $2.0 billion of common stock

• Avista (AVA) reaches multiparty settlement of all issues in Idaho general rate case

• BeiGene (BGNE) Highlights Significant BRUKINSA (zanubrutinib) Data at the 17th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma

• Capital One (COF) reports May card metrics

• Chimera Investment (CIM) decreases quarterly cash dividend to $0.18/share from $0.23/share; increases stock buyback plan from $177 million to $250 million

• Citigroup (C) to eliminate 5000 jobs in first half of this year, according to Financial Times

• Coherus BioSciences (CHRS) and Abbvie (ABBV) engaged in discussions to attempt to resolve YUSIMRY dispute

• Corvus Pharmaceuticals (CRVS) Presents New CPI-818 Interim Data at the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma

• CytoSorbents (CTSO) Announces Independent Data Safety and Monitoring Board Recommends Completion of the Pivotal STAR-T Trial Without Modifications Following Second Scheduled Safety Review

• DISH Network (DISH) 5G network is now available to over 70 percent of the US population

• Dragonfly Energy (DFLI) to be granted U.S. Patent in continued momentum toward domestic non-flammable lithium battery production

• Energy Vault (NRGV) entered into a memorandum of understanding with Plug Power (PLUG) to accelerate the deployment of ultra-long duration energy storage solutions utilizing Plug's fuel cells

• Enersys (ENS) enters into non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with Verkor SAS to explore the development of a lithium battery gigafactory in the United States

• ESS Inc. (GWH) and LEAG signed initial agreement to accelerate clean energy transition through the deployment of renewable generation and long-duration energy storage using ESS iron flow battery technology

• FOX News Digital (FOX) Sees Year-Over-Year Increases While Leading News Brands With Multiplatform Views and Minutes

• Host Hotels (HST) increases its quarterly dividend by 25% to $0.15/share

• Identiv's (INVE) access control solutions granted FedRAMP Marketplace Authorization

• JinkoSolar (JKS) launches second generation of the High Voltage Energy Storage Battery into the European market

• JPMorgan Chase (JPM) reports May card metrics

• Leidos (LDOS) deploys large-language-models, used for generative AI, within Leidos Health Group

• Live Nation Entertainment (LYV): Ticket Master and SeatGeek will show all in pricing, according to the Wall Street Journal

• Mersana Therapeutics (MRSN) announces partial clinical hold on UP-NEXT and UPGRADE-A clinical trials

• Merus (MRUS) appointed Gregory D. Perry to serve as the Company's Chief Financial Officer, effective as of June 14, 2023

• New Found Gold Corp. (NFGC) Intercepts 41 g/t Au Over 8.7m & 33 g/t Au Over 6.7m, Extends Iceberg Strike Length To 665m

• Philips (PHG) will repurchase up to 7.1 mln shares, representing approximately EUR 132 mln, to cover obligations from long-term incentive plans

• Pinnacle West (PNW) provides Arizona Corporation Commission updates

• Raytheon Technologies (RTX): Safran nears approximately $1.8 bln deal to acquire an RTX unit making flight controls for aircraft, according to Reuters

• Seagen (SGEN) reports Six-Year Overall Survival Results Added to U.S. Prescribing Information for ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) as First-Line Treatment for Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma

• Siemens AG (SIEGY) presents EUR 2 billion investment strategy to boost future growth, innovation and resilience

• Target (TGT) declared a quarterly dividend of $1.10/share, a 1.9% increase from the prior quarterly dividend of $1.08/share

• TrueCar (TRUE) announces strategic restructuring, including workforce reduction of 24% and appointing Jantoon Reigersman as CEO, succeeding Michael Darrow who is departing and vacating Board position

• Vertex Energy (VTNR) receives approval from EPA for the generation of D4 Renewable Identification Numbers credits for each gallon of renewable fuel produced at its refining facility located outside of Mobile, AL

• Verve Therapeutics (VERV) establishes global collaboration with Lilly (LLY) to advance Verve's in vivo gene editing program; Verve to receive $60 million in combined upfront payment and equity investment

• Volaris Aviation (VLRS) announces a $50 million investment agreement alongside Indigo Partners, GenZero, Cleanhill Partners, Frontier Airlines (ULCC), and Wizz Air

• W.R. Berkley (WRB) increases quarterly dividend to $0.11/share from $0.10/share; increases share repurchase authorization to 15 million shares of common stock

• Zentalis Pharma (ZNTL) priced offering of 11,032,656 shares of its common stock at $22.66 per share for total gross proceeds of approximately $250.0 million

M&A:

• Carlisle Cos (CSL) announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell Carlisle Fluid Technologies to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds in a transaction valued at $520 million

• Earthstone Energy (ESTE) to acquire Novo Oil & Gas Holdings, a privately-held Delaware Basin focused E&P company backed by EnCap Investments, for $1.5 bln

• Hut 8 Mining (HUT) provides update on business combination with USBTC

• LKQ (LKQ): UK CMA launches merger investigation into anticipated acquisition of Uni-Select by LKQ

• Macerich (MAC) acquires remaining 50% interest in 5 former Sears Boxes from Seritage

• Northern Oil & Gas (NOG) announces joint acquisition of Northern Delaware Basin Permian assets

• Patterson-UTI (PTEN) and NexTier Oilfield Solutions (NEX) to combine in merger of equals

• Premier (PINC) agrees with OMNIA Partners to divest its non-healthcare GPO operations for approximately $800 mln in cash

• Unilever PLC (UL) enters into an agreement to acquire Yasso Holdings; terms not disclosed

Syndicate:

• Achieve Life Sciences (ACHV) files for 1,986,611 shares of common stock by selling shareholders

• Editas Medicine (EDIT) prices offering of 12.5 mln shares of common stock at $10.00 per share

• Gambling.comGroup Ltd. (GAMB) prices secondary offering of 4.25 mln shares of common stock at $9.25 per share

• Independence Realty Trust (IRT) files mixed shelf securities offering

IPOs:

• IPOs Priced to Trade:

• CAVA Group (NYSE: CAVA): The Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant chain priced its 14.4 mln share IPO at $22, above the upwardly revised range of $19-$20.

Gapping Up/Down

• Gapping up:

• TRUE +9.7%, POWW +5.4%, ASPN +5%, CANO+3.4%, LEN +2.8%, JKS +2.5%, VTNR +2.2%, PTEN+2.1%, AZO +1.7%, ENS +1.6%, AVA +1.3%, PINC+1.2%, PHG +1.1%, ALGT +0.8%, HST +0.8%, WRB+0.8%, LDOS +0.8%

• Gapping down:

• GAMB -18.2%, EDIT -6.4%, MARA -5%, BITO -3.9%, COIN -3.8%, RIOT -3.6%, MSTR -3%, VLRS -2.6%, AHH -1%, IRT -0.9%, CIM -0.7%

Analyst Research (see Upgrades/Downgradescalendarfor full list):

• Upgrades

• Accenture (ACN) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at Piper Sandler; tgt raised to $316

• Allegiant Travel (ALGT) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank; tgt raised to $145

• Corning (GLW) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup; tgt raised to $40

• Domino's Pizza (DPZ) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel; tgt raised to $350

• Emerson (EMR) upgraded to Buy from Hold at HSBC Securities; tgt raised to $100

• Esperion Therapeutics (ESPR) upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA Securities; tgt raised to $4

• Eversource Energy (ES) upgraded to Sector Outperform from Sector Perform at Scotiabank; tgt $91

• Kohl's (KSS) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at TD Cowen; tgt raised to $30

• OGE Energy (OGE) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Ladenburg Thalmann; tgt raised to $39

• SkyWest (SKYW) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank; tgt $46

• Verastem (VSTM) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Mizuho; tgt raised to $36

• Downgrades:

• Diageo plc (DEO) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman; tgt lowered to $186.48

• GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (GOL) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank; tgt $5

• Redwood Trust (RWT) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler; tgt $7

• SoFi Technologies (SOFI) downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer

• Zions Bancorp (ZION) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Janney; tgt $35

• Others:

• American Express (AXPX) placed on 90-day Negative Catalyst Watch at Citigroup; tgt lowered to $148

• CubeSmart (CUBE) initiated with an Overweight at Wells Fargo; tgt $50

• Denbury (DEN) initiated with a Neutral at JP Morgan; tgt $96

• Kimball Electronics (KE) initiated with an Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald; tgt $3.40

• Mersana Therapeutics (MRSN) initiated with a Buy at Guggenheim; tgt $14

• MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (MLTX) initiated with an Equal Weight at Barclays; tgt $28

• National Storage Affiliates (NSA) initiated with an Underweight at Wells Fargo; tgt $36

• OneMain Holdings (OMF) initiated with a Buy at BofA Securities; tgt $49

• Organogenesis (ORGO) initiated with an Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; tgt $5

• RAPT Therapeutics (RAPT) initiated with an Overweight at Barclays; tgt $35

• Tecnoglass (TGLS) initiated with a Buy at Stifel; tgt $60

Econ Data:

• 08:30 ET: Retail Sales for May (Briefing.comConsensus 0.0%; Prior 0.4%)

• 08:30 ET: Retail Sales ex-auto for May (Briefing.comConsensus 0.1%; Prior 0.4%)

• 08:30 ET: Initial Claims for June 10 (Briefing.comConsensus 251K; Prior 261K)

• 08:30 ET: Continuing Claims for June 3 (Briefing.comConsensus NA; Prior 1757K)

• 08:30 ET: Philadelphia Fed Index for June (Briefing.comConsensus -13.0; Prior -10.4)

• 08:30 ET: Empire State Manufacturing for June (Briefing.comConsensus -16.0; Prior -31.8)

• 08:30 ET: Export Price Index for May (Briefing.comConsensus NA; Prior 0.2%)

• 08:30 ET: Export Prices ex-ag for May (Briefing.comConsensus NA; Prior 0.2%)

• 08:30 ET: Import Price Index for May (Briefing.comConsensus NA; Prior 0.4%)

• 08:30 ET: Import Prices ex-oil for May (Briefing.comConsensus NA; Prior 0.0%)

• 09:15 ET: Industrial Production for May (Briefing.comConsensus 0.1%; Prior 0.5%)

• 09:15 ET: Capacity Utilization for May (Briefing.comConsensus 79.7%; Prior 79.7%)

• 10:00 ET: Business Inventories for Apr (Briefing.comConsensus 0.2%; Prior -0.1%)

• 10:30 ET: EIA Natural Gas Inventories for June 10 (Briefing.comConsensus NA; Prior +104 bcf)

• 16:00 ET: Net Long-Term TIC Flows for Apr (Briefing.comConsensus NA; Prior $133.3B)

Earnings:

• Monday (Jun 12)

• Afternoon: ORCL

• Tuesday (Jun 13)

• None

• Wednesday (Jun 14)

• Afternoon: LEN

• Thursday (Jun 15)

• Morning: JBL KR

• Afternoon:  ADBE

• Friday (Jun 16) 

• None

Asia & Europe detail:

Asia: Nikkei -0.1%, Hang Seng +2.2%, Shanghai Composite +0.7%

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mixed note. China's National Bureau of Statistics cautioned that the economic recovery is not yet solid. Japan's Prime Minister Kishida said that he will not dissolve the lower house of parliament during the current session. Australia's yield curve has inverted for the first time since 2008 after the release of a better than expected employment report for May. New Zealand's economy contracted for the second consecutive quarter in Q1, marking the start of a technical recession. Hong Kong Monetary Authority left its base rate at 5.50%, as expected.

• In economic data:

• China's May Industrial Production 3.5% yr/yr (expected 3.8%; last 5.6%), May Retail Sales 12.7% yr/yr (expected 13.7%; last 18.4%), May Fixed Asset Investment 4.0% yr/yr (expected 4.4%; last 4.7%), and May House Prices 0.1% yr/yr (last -0.2%). May FDI 0.1% YTD (last 2.2%)

• Japan's April Core Machinery Orders 5.5% m/m (expected 3.0%; last -3.9%); -5.9% yr/yr (expected -8.0%; last -3.5%). April Tertiary Industry Activity Index 1.2% m/m (expected 0.5%; last -1.5%). May trade deficit JPY780 bln (expected deficit of JPY1.12 trln; last deficit of JPY1.04 trln). May Imports -9.9% yr/yr (expected -10.3%; last -2.3%) and Exports 0.6% yr/yr (expected -0.8%; last 2.6%) o India's May trade deficit $22.12 bln (expected deficit of $17.26 bln; last deficit of $15.24 bln)

• Hong Kong's Q1 Industrial Production 3.9% yr/yr (last -0.1%) and Q1 PPI 1.0% yr/yr (last -0.3%)

• Singapore's Q1 Unemployment Rate 1.8%, as expected (last 2.0%)

• Australia's May Employment Change 75,900 (expected 15,000; last -4,000) and full employment change 61,700 (last -28,600). May Participation Rate 66.9% (expected 66.7%; last 66.7%) and May Unemployment Rate 3.6% (expected 3.7%; last 3.7%)

• New Zealand's Q1 GDP -0.1% qtr/qtr, as expected (last -0.7%); 2.2% yr/yr (expected 2.6%; last 2.3%). Q1 GDP Expenditure -0.2% qtr/qtr (expected 2.1%; last -0.9%)

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei: -0.1%

• Hong Kong's Hang Seng: +2.2%

• China's Shanghai Composite: +0.7%

• India's Sensex: -0.5%

• South Korea's Kospi: -0.4%

• Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: +0.2%

---FX---

• USD/JPY: +0.8% to 141.11

• USD/CNH: -0.1% to 7.1648

• USD/INR: +0.2% to 82.18

Europe: DAX -0.6%, FTSE +0.1%, CAC -0.7%

Major European indices are mostly lower ahead of what is expected to be a 25-bps rate hike announcement from the European Central Bank at 8:15 ET. Switzerland's KOF Institute raised its domestic growth forecast for 2023 to 1.2% from 1.1% while the 2024 forecast remained at 1.7%. The CPI forecast for 2023 was lowered to 2.2% from 2.6% while the 2024 forecast remained at 1.5%. British Prime Minister Sunak has reportedly abandoned a plan to encourage supermarkets to impose a price cap on basic goods.

• In economic data:

• Eurozone's April trade deficit EUR11.7 bln (expected surplus of EUR21.5 bln; last surplus of EUR23.6 bln)

• France's May CPI -0.1% m/m, as expected (last 0.6%); 5.1% yr/yr, as expected (last 5.9%)

• Italy's April trade surplus EUR318 mln (last surplus of EUR7.623 bln)

• Spain's April trade deficit EUR4.38 bln (expected surplus of EUR2.01 bln; last deficit of EUR160 mln)

• Swiss May PPI -0.3% m/m (expected 0.1%; last 0.2%); -0.3% yr/yr (expected -0.2%; last 1.0%)

---Equity Markets---

• STOXX Europe 600: -0.4%

• Germany's DAX: -0.6%

• U.K.'s FTSE 100: +0.1%

• France's CAC 40: -0.7%

• Italy's FTSE MIB: -0.4%

• Spain's IBEX 35: +0.1%

---FX---

• EUR/USD: UNCH at 1.0833

• GBP/USD: UNCH at 1.2659

• USD/CHF: +0.1% to 0.9016