Monday, January 01, 2018

Tuesday Watch

Posted by Gary .....at 8:57 PM
Today's Headlines
Bloomberg:
  • Trump Calls for Change in ‘Failing’ Iran as Protests Turn Fatal. "Iran is failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama administration," Trump said Monday morning in one of several New Year’s Day tweets, including one that was critical of Pakistan. "The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!" 
  • South Korea Exports Climb to Record in 2017 on Semiconductors. South Korea’s exports in 2017 expanded to the highest level in at least six decades, boosted by shipments of semiconductors, machinery and petrochemicals, according to a statement from the trade ministry. Exports in December missed estimates. Exports surged 15.8 percent to $574 billion in 2017 from a year earlier. The trade surplus widened to $96 billion from $89 billion in 2016. Exports rose 8.9 percent in December from the same month a year earlier. The median estimate of economists was for a 9.8 percent increase. Imports climbed 13 percent in December, compared with an estimate of 12 percent, leaving trade surplus of $5.8 billion. Shipments of semiconductors jumped 57.4 percent to $98 billion in 2017.
  • How China Will Shake Up the Oil Futures Market. China, the world’s biggest oil buyer, is on the verge of opening a domestic market to trade futures contracts. It’s been planning one for years, only to encounter delays. The Shanghai International Energy Exchange, a unit of Shanghai Futures Exchange, will be known by the acronym INE and will allow Chinese buyers to lock in oil prices and pay in local currency. Also, foreign traders will be allowed to invest -- a first for China’s commodities markets -- because the exchange is registered in Shanghai’s free trade zone. There are implications for the U.S. dollar’s well-established role as the global currency of the oil market.
  • Bitcoin Starts a New Year by Tumbling, First Time Since 2015. For the first time since 2015, the cryptocurrency began a new year by tumbling, extending its slide from a record $19,511 reached on Dec. 18. The virtual coin traded at $13,440 as of 3:55 p.m. in New York, down 6.1 percent from Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s also a fall from the $14,156 it hit Sunday, according to coinmarketcap.com, which tracks daily prices.
Wall Street Journal: 
  • The Limits of Amazon(AMZN). The tech giant is very good at delivering what customers need, but is it as well positioned to sell them things they want?
MarketWatch.com:
CNBC:
  • Bitcoin fever to burn out in ‘spectacular crash,’ David Stockman warned. "It's basically a class of really stupid speculators who have convinced themselves that trees grow to the sky," he told CNBC's "Futures Now" last week. "It will burn out in a spectacular crash. All of these latter-day speculators will have their hands burned to a crisp, and they will learn the proper lesson."
Zero Hedge:
Night Trading
  • Asian indices are -.25% to +.75% on average.
  • Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 67.0 +.25 basis point.
  • Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 13.0 unch.
  • Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 74.31 +.06%.
  • S&P 500 futures +.14%.
  • NASDAQ 100 futures +.21%.

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
  • None of note
Economic Releases  
  • None of note
Upcoming Splits
  • None of note
Other Potential Market Movers
  • The Eurozone PMI report could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by commodity and industrial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing mixed.  The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.

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