Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Thursday Watch

Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
  • China’s Credit Surge Shows Growth Imperative Trumping Debt Risks. China’s surging credit in August boosted property sales while barely moving the dial on private investment, underscoring the challenge for policy makers striving to support growth while reining in debt risks. Aggregate financing jumped to 1.47 trillion yuan in August ($220 billion), helping fuel a 39 percent jump in property sales by value in the first eight months. Medium and long-term new loans, mostly mortgages, climbed 528.6 billion yuan. Private investment in fixed assets, meanwhile, stalled at 2.1 percent for a second straight month in the January through August period, matching a record low. Months after an unidentified “authoritative person” told the Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper that China must face up to risks associated with soaring debt levels, policy makers are grappling with how to do that without growth slipping below a target of at least 6.5 percent. At the same time, there’s scant evidence of progress on pledges to rein in excess capacity in industries from steel to cement that are at the center of President Xi Jinping’s efforts to restructure the economy. “It’s clear that reform of the state sector is taking a back seat to increasing monetary stimulus into the economy,” said Andrew Collier, an independent analyst in Hong Kong and former president of Bank of China International USA. "Xi Jinping’s supply-side reform has encountered significant opposition from provincial governors. The answer seems to be to continue to throw money at the problem until the music stops.”
  • Japanese Shares Drop for Seventh Day as Crude Trades Below $44. The global equities selloff continued in Asian trading with Japanese shares falling for a seventh day, their longest losing streak in more than two years. The yen weakened and crude oil traded near a two-week low. The Topix index led losses in the region, while about twice as many shares fell as rose on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index. Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index were little changed while those on the S&P 500 Index gained after the U.S. benchmark closed at a two-month low.
  • Goldman’s Currie Sees Oil Staying Below $50 as Surplus Lingers. Don’t count on a big rally in crude oil, said Jeff Currie, head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Or any rally, for that matter. Two years into an oil rout that saw West Texas Intermediate oil fall to about $26 a barrel in February, the risk is “to the downside” because there aren’t any clear catalysts to push up prices, Currie said in an interview in Lake Louise, Alberta. For the next 12 months, he said, oil is likely to trade in the $45-$50 range. In May, Goldman cut its 2017 forecast for oil prices to $53 a barrel from $58 as producers became more efficient and Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran boosted output more than expected. A “modest” supply deficit in the market is forecast to turn to a surplus early next year, Currie said Wednesday. “It really looks similar to the period of the early 1990s, when we were at $20 oil,” he said.
Wall Street Journal:
Fox News:
  • Clinton campaign releases additional health details on candidate. (video) The Hillary Clinton campaign on Wednesday released what it called a “comprehensive update” on the candidate’s medical information, describing the illness that took her off the trail this week as a mild and non-contagious bacterial pneumonia. “She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest,” said Dr. Lisa Bardack, Clinton’s physician, who provided the information to the campaign.
CNBC:
  • JPMorgan sees the S&P 500 sliding 6% — here's how it happens. (video) Increased market volatility and rising long-term bond yields are raising risks for the S&P 500's leading sectors and the broader market, Dubravko Lakos-Bujas, JPMorgan head of U.S. equity strategy, said Wednesday. JPMorgan expects the S&P 500 to end the year at 2,000, representing a roughly 6 percent decline from its current level, making it the most bearish of its peers on the Street. In this scenario, the market leaders are poised for the biggest fall, while some sector laggards will do relatively better, Lakos-Bujas said.
Zero Hedge:
Business Insider:
Night Trading 
  • Asian equity indices are -.50% to -.25% on average.
  • Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 112.5 unch.
  • Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 38.75 -1.0 basis point.
  • Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 72.17 -.02%
  • S&P 500 futures +.17%
  • NASDAQ 100 futures +.15%.
Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate 

  • (ORCL)/.58 
Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
  • Empire Manufacturing for September is estimated to rise to -1.0 versus -4.21 in August.
  • The 2Q Current Account Balance is estimated at -$121.0B versus -$124.7B in 1Q.
  • Advance Retail Sales MoM for August are estimated to fall -.1% versus unch. in July.
  • Retail Sales Ex Autos MoM for August are estimated to rise +.2% versus a -.3% decline in July.
  • Retail Sales Ex Autos and Gas for August are estimated to rise +.3% versus a -.1% decline in July.
  • Initial Jobless Claims are estimated to rise to 265K versus 259K the prior week.
  • Continuing Claims are estimated to rise to 2151K versus 2144K prior.
  • PPI Final Demand MoM for August is estimated to rise +.1% versus a -.4% decline in July.
  • PPI Ex Food and Energy MoM for August is estimated to rise +.1% versus a -.3% decline in July.        
  • Philly Fed Business Outlook for September is estimated to fall to 1.0 versus 2.0 in August.
9:15 am EST
  • Industrial Production MoM for August is estimated to fall -.2% versus a +.7% gain in July.
  • Capacity Utilization for August is estimated to fall to 75.7% versus 75.9% in July.
  • Manufacturing Production for August is estimated to fall -.3% versus a +.5% gain in July.  
10:00 am EST
  • Business Inventories for July are estimated to rise +.1% versus a +.2% gain in June.
Upcoming Splits 
  • (BMI) 2-for-1
  • (TTC) 2-for-1
Other Potential Market Movers
  • The Bank of England decision, UK retail sales report, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report, BofA Gaming/Lodging conference, (JCI) analyst day, (USB) investor day and the (GT) investor day could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE:  Asian indices are lower, weighed down by technology and industrial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 25% net long heading into the day.

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