Market Outlook December 7th - December 11th

Company preview

Autozone (USD 152.08 ; 1.35% ; AZO ; AZO.N)
Tuesday, Autozone, the US specialty retailer of automotive replacement parts and accessories, is expected to announce 1Q EPS of $2.66 vs $2.23 a year ago on sales of $1.58bln vs around $1.48bln. From a technical view, the Co remains well on the upside following a breakout of a MT bearish channel, we expect further rise to $160 and $168 in extension.

Stagecoach Group (GBp 154.4 ; 6.93% ; SGC ; SGC.L)
On Wednesday, Stagecoach Group may unveil 1H pre-tax profit of appx. £65m vs £100.7m a year earlier on revenue of £1.07bln, almost unchanged YoY. Last month, the Co said profit since April 30 was in line with its forecasts. In addition, the Co's price target was raised to 150p from 130p at Goldman Sachs. Technically, the stock has just escaped on the upside from a MT declining trend line. Above 150p, we expect a further bounce to 160p and then to 165p in the forthcoming days.

Elekta AB (SEK 162 ; 1.89% ; EKTAB ; 0)
On Thursday, Elekta is expected to deliver 2Q net income of appx. SK130m compared to SK59m a year earlier on sales of SK1.7bln vs SK1.47bln. Last week, the Co was downgraded to "hold" from "buy" at Standard & Poor's. From a technical point of view, the stock remains well positively oriented, backed by a rising 20D MA with a steep slope. In addition, the technical indicator are still on the upside, without displaying any reversal signals, calling for a further up move to 170.5 at first.

Costco Wholesale (USD 59.19 ; -1.4% ; COST ; COST.O)
The same day in the US, Costco Wholesale, the US warehouse club, may report 1Q EPS of $0.59 compared to $0.66 a year ago on sales of $17.1bln vs $16.4bln. Early this month, the Co announced November comparable-store sales up 6%, but missing a 7.4% increase expected by analysts. November net sales increased 9% YoY to $6bln. Technically, the stock is still under pressure below a key resistance level at $61. We are cautiously negative to see further downside to test the $57 support in the coming days.

National Semiconductor (USD 15.45 ; 6.77% ; NSM ; NSM.N)
Thursday, National Semiconductor could unveil 2Q EPS of $0.15 vs $0.26 a year ago on sales of $335m vs $422m. Recently, the Co's price target was cut to $12 ("underperform") from $17 ("neutral") at BofA-ML and was also lowered to $20 from $23 at Citigroup. From a chartist point of view, the stock might be well forming an Inverse H&S pattern and started to accelerate on the upside after a breakout of the neckline at $14.6. Hence, further upside seems more likely to challenge $16 and $16.75.

Selection of those events which may affect the stock prices of international Large Caps

Corporate Calendar December 7th - December 11th

Economic Calendar (CET) December 7th - December 11th