US EQUITY OPEN: US indices open in the red amid downbeat risk tone after Labor Day holiday

OPEN:

US indices opened the first trading session of the week with downward bias, with the Nasdaq 100 outperforming, albeit still only flat but has since reversed to the downside. Sectors are largely in the red with Health Care the clear laggard and weighed on by Amgen (-8%) downgraded at BMO Capital. Energy is the notable gainer and supported by gains of c. USD 2/bbl in WTI after Yemeni Houthis confirm that they hit a Saudi Aramco oil refinery and targeted an air base in retaliation for recent Saudi strikes. The Dollar Index is lower with the Yen continuing to firm, helped by strong growth and wage data. Kiwi is the underperformer amid the downbeat risk tone. Treasuries are little changed across the curve, but ticked higher throughout the US morning as participants return from the holiday-long weekend. Precious metals are marginally lower, with spot gold seeing two-way action either side of the USD 4.4k/oz. Ahead the calendar is pretty quiet with US 3yr auction and NY Fed SCE the highlights, with eyes focused on inflation data due later in the week.

STOCK SPECIFICS:

• Qualcomm (QCOM) announces a multi-generational pact with Amazon (AMZN) to build next-gen AI data centre infrastructure
• Novartis' (NVS) Phase 3 Lp(a)HORIZON study of pelacarsen missed its primary endpoint
• Tesla (TSLA) FSD Supervised approved for use in Slovenia.
• United Natural foods (UNFI): EPS beat.
• Uber (UBER) President and COO purchased 70k shares.
• Intel (INTC) upgraded at Northland to 'Outperform' from 'Market Perform'.
• Rigetti (RGTI) secured USD 100mln in US Commerce Department funding.
• Amgen (AMGN) downgraded at BMO Capital to 'Market Perform' from 'Outperform'.
• Peloton Interactive (PTON) downgraded at Morgan Stanley to 'Underweight' from 'Equal Weight'.
• Corning (GLW) has entered into a fibre deal with Verizon (VZ) for the building of AI connectivity, CNBC reports.