Morning Brief

What to watch today: Wall Street under pressure after Monday's gains

BY THE NUMBERS

Dow futures were pointing to a decline at Tuesday's open as a slew of Dow components report earnings, the Federal Reserve kicks off its latest meeting and lawmakers work to resolve differences in the Senate and House coronavirus relief bills. Wall Street started the new week on the upside, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing up 0.4% on Monday. (CNBC)

Dow stock Pfizer gained about 3% in Tuesday's premarket after reporting second-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations. The American drugmaker also raised guidance. On Monday evening, Pfizer and German biotech BioNTech began late-stage study for their potential coronavirus vaccine. (CNBC)

Three other Dow companies deliver quarterly earnings on Tuesday morning. 3M, a maker of face masks and other industrial and consumer products, missed estimates with its second-quarter earnings and revenue. Fast food chain McDonald's saw second-quarter earnings miss forecasts but revenue beat. Aerospace and defense giant Raytheon Technologies beat on the top and bottom lines. (CNBC)

Not a Dow component, but airline JetBlue reported Tuesday morning a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and lower-than-expected revenue. Dow stock Visa reports quarterly results after the closing bell Tuesday, along with Advanced Micro Devices and Starbucks. (CNBC)

The Federal Reserve starts its two-day July policy meeting on Tuesday, followed by an interest rate decision on Wednesday. No policy or rate changes are forecast. However, central bankers are expected to reassure financial markets that they will continue to use their extraordinary programs to help the economy. (CNBC)

On today's economic calendar, the Conference Board is out with its July Consumer Confidence Index at 10 a.m. ET. It's expected to fall to 94.3 from June's 98.1 reading. (CNBC)

* Home prices rose at a slower rate in May, according to S&P Case-Shiller (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

How to handle the end-of-the-month expiration of the $600 per week federal boost to state unemployment benefits may prove to be a tough sticking point between Republicans and Democrats looking to craft a coronavirus relief bill compromise. Both the Republican and Democratic bills include another round of direct payments to Americans. (CNBC)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell unveiled Monday afternoon the GOP's approximately $1 trillion proposal, including a provision to set the federal jobless insurance boost to 70% of a worker's previous wages. In their $3.4 trillion coronavirus relief measure, passed in May, House Democrats want to extend the weekly $600 bump to January. (CNBC)

Coronavirus spikes in Arizona, Florida and Texas appear to be slowing down as more people practice social distancing and states mandate face masks. On Sunday, Arizona reported a 13% drop in the seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases. Cases in Texas fell almost 19% over the past seven days. Florida is just beginning to see its case curve flatten, posting an 8% decline in its seven-day average. (CNBC)

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates told CNBC in an interview that aired Tuesday that therapeutic drugs to treat the coronavirus could reduce the death rate substantially this year but a vaccine will be crucial to bringing back a sense of normalcy to the society. (CNBC)

* Gates: Lies spread faster than facts on social media, which is hard to police (CNBC)
* Gates on back to school: Benefits in 'almost every location' outweigh costs for young children (CNBC)

President Donald Trump drew attention to the favorable data at Monday's coronavirus briefing, saying improving hot-spot states should begin reopening their businesses. Trump also announced that the U.S. government has awarded Fujifilm a $265 million contract to expand the country's coronavirus vaccine manufacturing capacity. (CNBC)

* Kodak awarded $765 million government loan to produce drug ingredients (CNBC video)

LabCorp (LH), the medical lab operator, earned $2.57 per share for its latest quarter, well above the $1.00 a share consensus estimate. Revenue was also above forecasts, amid a surge in Covid-19 test volume. LabCorp is continuing to withhold any 2020 guidance due to uncertainties surrounding the pandemic. (CNBC)

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) said Covid-19 testing volume had surged, impacting test turnaround times. The medical lab operator said average result times are now two days for top priority patients and seven days for all others, adding that suppliers are doing all they can to provide sufficient quantities of chemical reagents and testing platforms. (CNBC)

Tesla (TSLA) was downgraded to underperform from market perform at Bernstein in a valuation call. The firm's price target for the automaker's stock remains at $900 per share, compared to yesterday's close of $1,539.60. Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi, a top technology analyst, called Tesla's valuation 'mind-boggling.' (CNBC Pro)

* Here are the biggest analyst calls of the day: Shopify, Alphabet and more (CNBC Pro)

STOCKS TO WATCH

Garmin (GRMN) said its systems should be restored within the next few days, following a cyberattack that took those systems down last week. It was widely reported that the fitness and GPS device maker was the victim of a ransomware attack, but Garmin did not acknowledge a demand for or a payment of ransom.

Homebuilder DR Horton (DHI) saw quarterly profit come in 42 cents a share above estimates at $1.72 per share. Revenue also came in above Wall Street forecasts, helped by what it called "increased buyer urgency" due to low mortgage rates and limited supply.

Harley-Davidson (HOG) posted an unexpected loss of 60 cents per share, compared to expectations of a 4 cents per share profit. Revenue was well below analysts' forecasts as well as the pandemic hurt sales.

Polaris (PII), the recreational vehicle maker, reported quarterly earnings of $1.30 per share, more than double the consensus estimate of 63 cents a share. Revenue also came in above forecasts, propelled by a 57% increase in North American retail sales.

Sherwin-Williams (SHW) earned $7.10 per share for its second quarter, above the consensus estimate of $5.85 a share. Revenue was slightly above forecasts. While some of the company's markets were impacted by the pandemic, it did see an increase in do-it-yourself-related paint sales as consumers stayed at home due to Covid-19.

Intel (INTC) said Murthy Renduchintala, its chief engineering officer, was leaving the chipmaker, just a few days after Intel announced delays in its next-generation 7-nanometer chip. He'll depart the company on Aug. 3, after having joined Intel in 2015 from rival chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM).

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Glenview Capital Management disclosed a 5.9% stake in health products maker Bausch Health (BHC), and said it intended to put forth proposals regarding Bausch's operations and strategy.