U.S. Pending Home Sales Sink As Mortgages Climb Past 7% — Market Talk

1022 ET - U.S. pending home sales are down to their lowest level since spring 2014, Redfin says, with the exception of April 2020, when the onset of the pandemic ground the housing market to a halt. Pending home sales declined 4% from a month earlier in September, the biggest monthly drop in more than three years. Fewer homes went under contract in September largely because mortgage rates surpassed 7% by the end of the month. For the first time in three years, pending home sales declined in all 50 of the most populous U.S. metros. Closed home sales fell nationwide in September, declining 1.6% month-over-month. The weekly average mortgage rate climbed to 7.28% at the end of September, the highest level in three years. ([email protected])1010 ET - More than 50% of activity in tokenized equities---which are stocks converted into digital tokens--occurs outside regular U.S. market hours, giving investors across the globe access to continuous trading, according to the IMF's latest global financial stability report. "The volume outside standard hours suggests that 24/7 availability is not merely a technical feature but a source of demand," the researchers write. The IMF notes particular demand from investors in regions outside U.S. trading zones and those seeking to react immediately to news and price movements when conventional venues are closed. ([email protected])0949 ET - Bitcoin is lower, but is still holding onto the $80,000 to $84,000 range. That's even as crude oil rises, a driver for inflation and a factor making assets like bitcoin less ideal to investors looking for more secure places to invest. Bitcoin's ability to maintain these levels is a positive sign for demand, says Lacie Zhang of Bitget Wallet in a note. "Bitcoin's ability to hold above the $80,000-84,000 area while Brent trades above $100-105 [a barrel] amid renewed Middle East tensions points to growing resilience and some degree of decoupling from traditional geopolitical risk," says Zhang. Bitcoin falls 1.2% to $82,643, while ethereum slides 0.2% to $2,530 and XRP is down 1.7% to $1.39. ([email protected])0936 ET - Amid speculation of a Mattel sale, investors are taking a closer look at toy stocks and realizing that there is underappreciated value, Seaport analysts say in a research note. "We think investors are in the process of rediscovering the toy industry's stability, recession-resistance, and strong free cash flow generation," the analysts write. "We think all toy stocks, including Mattel, will experience multiple expansion as a result." Seaport upgrades Mattel to buy from neutral and says its upgrade isn't contingent upon an acquisition, which has been subject to takeover speculation many times in the past. "Based on our conversations with key players in the toy industry over the weekend, though, it seems more likely this time," the analysts say. "While we've been critical of Mattel's performance, we do think there is plenty of value if managed properly." ([email protected])0859 ET - T-Mobile is used to competing against larger competitors, according to Raymond James in a research note. That's why recent fears over competition from SpaceX--which faces significant time and spectrum hurdles to realize its standing as a competitor--are overblown, analysts Frank Louthan and Rob Palmisano say. "Owning spectrum and building a robust five-nines modern mobile network that performs to the ubiquitous standards consumers are accustomed to are two different things, and we believe the incumbents (which now include TMUS, in our view) have significant advantages in terms of spectrum and terrestrial network capabilities," they say. Raymond James upgrades T-Mobile to outperform from market perform. ([email protected])0834 ET - Biogen looks like it's heading down an increasingly promising path, JPMorgan analysts say in a note. The company is approaching several key data points next year including for felzartamab, a potential antibody-mediated rejection treatment that could represent a more than $2 billion opportunity, the analysts say. They also expect data from Biogen's litifilimab in cutaneous lupus erythematosus. "These assets (as well as several other longer-term opportunities) point to an increasingly attractive long-term growth profile/setup for shares," the analysts say, upgrading the stock to overweight from neutral. "Net-net, we see BIIB as one of the more attractive names to own heading into 2027 as the company evolves beyond just a Leqembi story." Biogen is up 3.6% premarket. ([email protected])0416 ET - Shares of European semiconductor companies start the week mixed following a selloff in South Korean stocks exposed to artificial intelligence. SK Hynix closed 4.5% lower, while Samsung Electronics shed 4.4%. In Europe, shares of Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holding and smaller rival ASM International are up 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively. BE Semiconductor Industries, the Dutch supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment, is down 0.1%. German chip maker Infineon Technologies stock loses 1.1%. STMicroelectronics shares are down 0.4%. Meanwhile, the E-mini Nasdaq 100 futures contract is 0.3% higher, pointing to a positive opening for tech stocks in the U.S. ([email protected])0159 ET - AstraZeneca's latest data on experimental rare-disease drug efzimfotase alfa supports the medicine's potential for use beyond children and its sales prospects, analysts at Citi say in a research note. The U.K. drugmaker has already filed for U.S. approval for the drug to treat rare condition hypophosphatasia in children aged 2 and older, and detailed results of a study in adolescents and adults reported over the weekend could pave the way for a broader approval, according to Citi. "We see the data as supportive of approval and use in the adult/adolescent setting," the analysts say. This, in turn, could bring the medicine's peak-sales potential closer to Citi's estimate of $4.4 billion than the current consensus of $2.4 billion, they add. ([email protected])