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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Hilton Worldwide, Lululemon and Fujifilm

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – April 9, 2019 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT - Free Report) , Lululemon (LULU - Free Report) and Fujifilm Holding (FUJIY - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Q1 Earnings Season Is Here: Global Week Ahead

In the Global Week Ahead, traders can mull over the musings of a bevy of Fed speakers, contemplate the start of Q1-19 earnings, and parse the latest U.S. consumer inflation report.

In the background, U.S.-China trade negotiations continue. Those parties may complete them towards the end of the month. But don’t hold your breath.

Most of the week’s data risk should be focused upon Wednesday’s Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) update for March. Estimates for U.S. headline inflation are around +1.8% y/y (versus +1.5% in a prior reading) with core CPI inflation unchanged at +2.1% y/y.

Fed Vice Chair Clarida speaks twice in what could be major addresses.

·         On Tuesday, Clarida will offer a review of the Fed’s monetary policy strategy, tools and communications practices at a conference hosted by the Minneapolis Fed

·         On Thursday, Clarida will deliver a fresh outlook for the U.S. economy and monetary policy
 

Earnings seasons commences with eight S&P 500 firms scheduled to kick it off. The focus will be upon financials toward week’s end. This includes BlackRock (Thursday), JP Morgan (Friday), PNC Financial (Friday) and Wells Fargo (Friday).

Next, I put up the five big world market themes from Reuters. The ones most likely to dominate the thinking of investors and traders in the Global Week Ahead.

(1) The Latest Fed Minutes

As the U.S. yield curve makes up its mind whether to invert or not, investors seeking reassurance that we are in a Goldilocks era of non-inflationary growth will get to scour two monthly price gauges this week.

On Wednesday, the Labor Department is expected to report that its March Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent on the month and 1.8 percent over the year — a reading that would reinforce subdued underlying inflation and validate the Fed’s almost about-face after four hikes last year.

CPI — a proxy for overall inflation that factors into cost of living adjustments for Social Security — rose 1.5 percent in February, the smallest increase since September 2016. The latest reading of the Fed’s favorite inflation measure rose 1.8 percent in the year to January, below its 2 percent target.

Fed officials have started alluding to a new economic reality of slowish growth and little upward price pressure. Even as wages creep higher, improved productivity curbs firms’ costs.

Minutes of the March Fed policy meeting, to be released on Wednesday, will be cross-checked for references to the new “patient” approach and “muted” inflation. The March producer price index, a glimpse of pipeline price pressures, is scheduled for Thursday.

(2) An ECB Meeting

Just a month since the European Central Bank put plans to normalize policy on hold and delayed a rate hike into 2020, further signs of weakness in the economy and a whiff of panic among investors puts the spotlight back on the central bank.

A woeful set of German industrial orders data this week pushed German Bund yields back into negative territory, and though a U.S.-China trade deal could be in sight, it looks like difficult times ahead for Europe.

No policy changes are expected at Wednesday’s ECB meeting, especially since some board members are traveling to Washington for the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) spring meetings.

But talk of tiered rates to ease pressure on banks, global recession fears, Brexit and a sense of panic that has pushed 10-year German bond yields back below zero percent, all suggest ECB Chief Mario Draghi’s news conference may prove lively.

Investors will also keep an eye out for further details on cheap loans known as the targeted long-term refinancing operations (TLTROs) — one of the few policy tools left in the kit after the end of QE — and on what the ECB will do to incentivize banks to take it up.

(3) Watch China Data

An unexpected recovery in China factory activity surveys offered investors a glimmer of hope the stimulus injected in one of the world’s major growth engines may be yielding results.

Trade data due out on Friday could provide the next clue that could help investors regain confidence as they gauge whether the slowdown is bottoming out.

That said, the recovery remains feeble and analysts believe it is still highly dependent on how the trade negotiations with Washington go.

Markets took some hope from an announcement by President Trump on Thursday that Washington and Beijing could declare a trade deal within four weeks, while Chinese President Xi Jinping was reported as saying progress was being made. But Trump also warned Beijing it would be difficult to allow trade to continue without a pact.

Many believe the Chinese economy may still need more stimulus either way. On Sunday, China announced it will step up its policy of targeted cuts to banks’ required reserve ratios to encourage financing for small and medium-sized businesses that play a central role in economic growth.

Beijing has been urging banks to continue lending to struggling businesses, especially smaller private concerns that account for more than half the country’s economic growth and most of its jobs.

(4) The Long Extension of Brexit

After British Prime Minister Theresa May’s request to the European Council to delay Brexit until up to June 30, the focus now shifts to a summit on Wednesday of the EU’s 27 other leaders to discuss a proposal to offer Britain a flexible extension of up to a year.

With the British parliament have failed three times to approve May’s withdrawal agreement with the EU, she started talks with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in the hope of breaking the Brexit deadlock. With Britain’s departure now set for April 12, May’s government is running out of time.

Yet markets are not getting too excited about things just now. While one-month risk reversals for the pound — a gauge of demand for the British currency in the derivatives market — have rebounded from a 2-1/2 year low hit last month, they still remain far below levels seen earlier this year, indicating overall sentiment remains bearish.

Implied volatility measures also indicated caution with one-month gauges for the pound remaining elevated despite a dip this week compared to the euro and the Japanese yen.

(5) The IMF Meetings

It is that time of year, when central bank governors, finance ministers, policy-makers and investors from around the globe gather in Washington for the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. A Group of 20 central bankers and finance ministers meeting takes place on the sidelines.

There is no shortage of topics to talk about. Concerns over the health of the global economy amid trade wars and other political uncertainties such as Brexit have sent jitters through markets.

Major central banks’ efforts to navigate their way back to normal after years of low interest rates and easy money after the 2008 financial crisis have not been without bumps. Central bank independence has been questioned in many countries.

Speaking in the run-up to the gathering of the great and good of policy-making and finance, IMF Chief Christine Lagarde has called the outlook for growth “precarious.” She warned that years of high public debt and low interest rates over the past decade have left many countries with limited room to act when the next downturn arrives.

Top Zacks #1 Rank (STRONG BUY) Stocks-

(1) Hilton Worldwide Holdings: This $87 a share stock is now at a market cap of $26B. The Value score is F, at these levels. But the stock is on our Zacks #1 Rank list, which suggest the hotel business is doing great.

(2) Lululemon: This is an $165 a share stocks, with a market cap of $22.4B. The Value score is F again. And again, the stock is on our Zacks #1 Rank list. The yoga apparel business is doing great. But when does valuation matter again?

(3) Fujifilm Holding: This is now a semiconductor equipment-photomask industry company. The market cap is $19.7B. The Value score is A. Seeing a semiconductor stock on our Zacks #1 Rank list is welcome news for the global economy.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


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