Morning Brief

What to watch today: Dow set to fall, China tariffs hit, and Dorian slams Bahamas

BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. stock futures were indicating a sharply lower Tuesday open on Wall Street, following the implementation over the long holiday weekend of the first batch in a new round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. (CNBC)

Wall Street braces for September, historically the worst month of the year (CNBC)

The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq last week all broke their four-week losing streaks, closing out a wild August with the worst monthly performance since May, the only other down month in 2019. (CNBC)

* Bond yields tick lower as yields on the 10-year and 2-year remain inverted (CNBC)

The British pound hit near three-year low Tuesday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson warns members of his own party not to undermine the U.K.'s position in talks with the EU. (CNBC)
(CNBC)

On the U.S. economic calendar, at 10 a.m. ET, the ISM releases its August manufacturing index and the government issues July construction spending figures. No major companies report earnings today. (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

Hurricane Dorian, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record, showed some signs of weakening early Tuesday as it remained stalled over Grand Bahama. At least five people in the Abaco Islands were killed. (CNBC)

* Dorian's wrath causes cancellation of more than 1,400 flights (CNBC)

Dorian could swamp parts of Florida's east coast by tonight. It's expected to be felt in Georgia and South Carolina tomorrow, and North Carolina and southeast Virginia on Thursday into Friday. (Weather Channel)

* UBS estimates that Dorian could cost insurers $25 billion (Reuters)

Royal Caribbean (RCL), Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) and Carnival (CCL) could see an estimated impact of 5 cents per share from Hurricane Dorian for the current quarter, according to Nomura Instinet.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam insists she never asked China's government to let her resign to end the city's political crisis, as pro-democracy protests continued in the Chinese territory. (CNBC)

Twenty five people died after a diving boat caught fire early Monday off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, north of Los Angeles. Thirty-four of the 39 aboard the boat were sleeping below deck when the fire broke out. (NBC News)

Twitter (TWTR) said the personal account of CEO Jack Dorsey is now secure after being hacked on Friday. The hacker used Dorsey's account to send out tweets that contained racist messages. (CNBC)

Boeing (BA) faces new delays in returning the 737 Max to service, according to the Wall Street Journal. International regulators are said to be upset over what they perceive as a lack of information from Boeing on its proposed software fixes.

Apple (AAPL) is getting ready to launch a new sleep monitoring feature for the Apple Watch called "Time in Bed tracking," according to 9to5Mac. Apple bought sleep tracking company Beddit in 2017.

SmileDirectClub, in an updated IPO filing, said it's planning to offer stock at $19 to $22 per share, valuing the maker of teeth-straightening devices at about $8 billion at the midpoint of the range.

STOCKS TO WATCH

RBC Capital Markets raised its price target on Amazon (AMZN) by 15% to $2,600 per share, reiterating its outperform rating on the stock. The move reflects an expected boost from Amazon's new "Prime One-Day Shipping" initiative.

Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) and Switzerland's Roche announced another extension of Roche's $4.3 billion takeover bid for the U.S.-based gene therapy company. The extension to Oct. 1 was given to provide more time for regulatory reviews.

Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Wynn Resorts (WYNN) and other casino operators that operate in Macau may be negatively impacted by news of a bigger than expected 8.6% August decline in gaming revenue.

WATERCOOLER

Gerard Butler-led "Angel Has Fallen" ruled the box office over a quiet Labor Day weekend. The third entry in the action franchise should close out the holiday with $14.4 million in ticket sales. (Varitey)