Thursday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:

• These Chinese Developers Are Making Their Creditors Anxious. Chinese property developers investing in new ventures outside their core business are hurting their bonds. The notes of Sunac China Holdings Ltd and Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co. may come under more pressure this year as the groups branch out into non-core businesses. Purchases by highly leveraged Chinese developers unrelated to real estate raise the “knee-jerk question” of whether they might be having problems with their existing business, said Bryan Collins, a fixed-income portfolio manager at Fidelity International in Hong Kong.
• Asian Stocks Mixed While Yen Strengthens After Fed. Australian and South Korean shares edged higher, while Japan’s Topix index erased an early advance as the yen resumed gains. Futures on the S&P 500 slipped after the gauge eked out a small increase on Wednesday. Oil slumped while gold advanced. The Aussie extended gains after trade data topped estimates. China markets remain closed for the final day of Lunar New Year holidays that started last Friday. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.4 percent. Japan’s Topix index fell 0.4 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.2 percent. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.4 percent.
• Gorsuch Pick Spurs Liberals’ Campaign for Democrats to Block. Liberal interest groups have already made up their minds on President Donald Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee, firing up an ambitious campaign to pressure Senate Democrats to block the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch. These efforts could put some Democrats in a particularly tough spot as they try to navigate the treacherous path ahead -- caught between an energized base geared up to battle Trump across the board and the political peril of denying a new president a high-court nominee with such a strong resume.
• Fed Waiting to See Economic Results From Flurry of Trump Actions. Like everyone trying to figure out where the U.S. economy is heading, the Federal Reserve is waiting to see what the whirlwind of executive orders and remarks from President Donald Trump mean for growth as they weigh the timing of the next interest-rate hike.
• Apple(AAPL) Holders Push Company to Put More Minorities in Top Ranks.

Wall Street Journal:

• Reckitt Benckiser Is in Talks to Buy Mead Johnson(MJN). Deal for baby-food maker could be worth more than $15 billion.

Fox News: 

• Trump makes unannounced trip to honor fallen Navy SEAL. (video)

MarketWatch:

• Look who is crashing the list of the world’s greatest hedge-fund managers.
• A rare trio of trends points to more upside for stocks.

CNBC:

• After-hours buzz: FB, SYM, QRVO, CAVM.
• The Federal Reserve has squandered an opportunity, former Dallas Fed advisor says.
• American steel companies 'fully prepared' to supply pipelines, US Steel(X) CEO says. (video)

Zero Hedge:

• Leaked Executive Order Reveals Trump's Plans For H-1B Visas.
• House Kills Requirement For Energy Companies To Disclose Payments To Foreign Governments.
• Global Inflation 'Surprise' Index Spikes To Highest Since 2011.
• Japan Will Invest Its Pensions In US Infrastructure To Create "Hundreds Of Thousands Of US Jobs".
• Facebook(FB) Surges To Record High After Smashing Expectations On 1.86 Billion Monthly Users.
• Gen. Flynn: "Today We Are Officially Putting Iran On Notice".
• VIX Crashes To 10-Year Lows As 'Dovish' Fed Sparks Gold Gains, Dollar Losses. (graph)

Busines Insider:

• Apple’s(AAPL) services business is exploding. (graph)
• 9 cancer risks Americans don’t recognize — and 3 we know well.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -.25% to +.25% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 113.25 -.25 basis point.
• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 32.25 +.25 basis point.
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 70.87 +.04%. 
• S&P 500 futures -.15%. 
• NASDAQ 100 futures -.23%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate

• (AZN)/1.18
• (ALV)/1.83
• (BDX)/2.12
• (BSX)/.29
• (CI)/1.74
• (CME)/1.10
• (COP)/-.43
• (DLPH)/1.60
• (ETN)/1.10
• (EL)/1.17
• (IDXX)/.51
• (IP)/.71
• (KLIC)/.12
• (MRK)/.89
• (MKSI)/1.00
• (PH)/1.39
• (PM)/1.11
• (RL)/1.64
• (R)/1.42
• (AMZN)/1.42
• (AMGN)/2.79
• (CMG)/.54
• (CSC)/.71
• (CY)/.14
• (DECK)/4.23
• (GPRO)/.24
• (V)/.78
• (POST)/.55

Economic Releases 
7:30 am EST

• Challenger Job Cuts YoY for January.

8:30 am EST

• Preliminary 4Q Non-Farm Productivity is estimated to rise +1.0% versus a +3.0% gain in 3Q.
• Preliminary 4Q Unit Labor Costs are estimated to rise +1.9% versus a +.7% gain in 3Q.
• Initial Jobless Claims are estimated to fall to 250K versus 259K the prior week.
• Continuing Claims are estimated to fall to 2063K versus 2100K prior.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The China PMI report, Eurozone PPI report, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, (MU) analyst conference and the (FTNT) earnings conference call could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE:  Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by consumer and financial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.