Tuesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Pierre Moscovici Is Confident Trade Melodrama Can Be Prevented at G-20. The world’s financial elite is striving to find common ground with U.S. officials on stressing the importance of global trade, according to the European Union’s commissioner of economic affairs. Deputy finance ministers and central bankers are currently negotiating a communique all Group of 20 nations can agree on, Pierre Moscovici said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. This is despite Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin telling his counterparts that the U.S. stands by its policies to defend its own economic interests. “Nobody wants to enter into a trade war -- everybody is looking for a way to bridge the gap and find common tunes, especially on trade,” Moscovici said in Buenos Aires. “Protectionism is never the answer.”

• Analysts Now Expect the Bank of England to Hike Interest Rates in May.

• Australian Rates Unlikely to Move ‘Anytime Soon,’ Morrison Says.

• Stocks Drop in Asia as Tech Rout Adds to Pressures. Equities fell from Japan to Australia and technology stocks were the biggest drag on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. U.S. shares slumped as the best performing sector this year was roiled by reports of a Facebook Inc. data breach and Apple Inc. efforts to develop its own screens. After the bell, Oracle Corp. reported sales that underwhelmed investors and Nasdaq futures remained lower. Currencies were steady along with 10-year Treasury yields. Japan’s Topix index fell 0.7 percent and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 0.9 percent as of 10:37 a.m. in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.5 percent.South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.3 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index retreated 0.8 percent. Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.5 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 Index were flat and Nasdaq contracts lost 0.3 percent.

• Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day. (video)

• Four Charts That Show the Tech-Stock Tumble May Not Last Long. (graph)

• Yellen Says Gradual Fed Rate Hikes Are Needed to Prevent Overheating.

• New York, Get Ready for Another Snow-Dumping Nor'easter.

Wall Street Journal:

• Facebook(FB) Is Pummeled by User-Data Blowback. Prospects of tighter regulation sends social-network company’s shares plunging.

• Life Support for ObamaCare. Republicans are caught between Democrats and the health insurers.

• Austin’s ‘Serial Bomber’ Gets More Sophisticated. Fourth explosion triggered by tripwire; white men hurt in blast, and theory fades that crimes are racially motivated against blacks, Hispanics.

MarketWatch.com:

• Zuckerberg saved tens of millions of dollars by selling Facebook stock ahead of Monday’s decline.

• U.S. gasoline demand hits a record in March, climbs to ‘typical’ summer levels.

Fox News:

• Are some states headed for Splitsville? Movement grows to allow sections of states to break away.

CNBC:

• Tax reform 'phase 2' rollout could come as early as April 15, conservative GOP Rep. Meadows says.

• Biggest risk to the market? Democrats, says investor Marc Lasry.

• Oracle(ORCL) falls on mixed earnings results.

• Atlanta activists: We don’t want Amazon HQ2 here.

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: BlackBerry, Oracle & Opiant.

• Californians fed up with housing costs and taxes are fleeing state in big numbers.

Zero Hedge:  

• Obama's Former Campaign Director Makes Bombshell Claim: Facebook(FB) Was "On Our Side".

• Six Things We Can Learn About US Plutocracy By Looking At Jeff Bezos.

• It's Time To Protect Yourself (And Your Friends) From Facebook(FB).

• At $21 Trillion, The National Debt Is Growing 36% Faster Than The US Economy. (graph)

• "The Enemy Of My Enemy..." - Google Partners With Retailers To Challenge Amazon.

• Trump Set To Unleash $60bn China Tariffs On Friday.

• Aramco Kills Massive Offshore IPO, Will Only Offer Shares Domestically.

• What Excites Millennials? A Stock Market Crash!

• The FBI's Blood Feud: "This Is Going To Get A Lot Uglier Before It's Over".

• DeFANG'd: Dow Dumps Into Red For 2018 As Techs Tumble. (graph)

Business Insider:

• The CEO of Cambridge Analytica was secretly filmed offering to entrap politicians with bribes and sex workers.

• Self-driving cars could face a 'huge setback' after the tragic death of a woman struck by an autonomous Uber.

• 19-year-old college rugby player found dead after he went missing in Bermuda during a team trip.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -.75% to -.25% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 66.75 +1.25 basis points. 

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 12.0 +.5 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 74.92 +.02%.

• FTSE 100 futures +.35%.

• S&P 500 futures -.06%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.35%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate

• (DLTH)/.54

• (PLCE)/2.49

• (FDX)/3.12

• (SCS)/.16

Economic Releases

• None of note

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The UK PPI/CPI reports, German ZEW Index, weekly US retail sales reports, Oppenheimer Healthcare Conference, BofA Merrill Industrials Conference and the (GOOG) new product event could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE:  Asian indices are lower, weighed down by technology and commodity 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.