Tuesday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg: 

• Italy Heads for Fresh Elections, and Europe’s the Faultline. 

• The Six Essential Questions About Italy's Political Crisis, Answered.

• ECB Rate Hike 'Far Away Still,' Danske Bank's Olsen Says. (video)

• China's $10 Trillion Shadow Bank Crackdown Has a Long Way to Go.  

• Brazil Takes Stock of a Week-Long Strike and It's Not Pretty.

• Asian Stocks Set for Lower Open; Oil Declines: Markets Wrap. Nikkei 225 futures fell 0.3 percent in Singapore. S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.3 percent. Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 2.1 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent.  

• Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day.

• Russia Loses Its Edge as Oil Drop Spurs Worst ETF Flows in Year.  

• Goldman Stays Oil Bull, Undaunted by Saudi-Russia Crude Plan.

• Traders Look for Clues About the Emerging-Market Currency Bounce.

Wall Street Journal:

• U.S., North Korea Meet to Try to Salvage Summit.

• As Global Growth Loses Steam, U.S. Investors Find There’s No Place Like Home.

• Fresh Elections in Sight for Italy After Political Crisis.

• Democrats Look to Shift Blame on Health-Care Costs to GOP.

• Trump Talks Tough on Trade but Often Settles for Less.

MarketWatch.com:

• Floodwaters tear through town near Baltimore, while Deep South braces for Alberto.

Fox News:

• MICHAEL GOODWIN: Trump rollercoaster better than Clinton chaos.

• Trump administration holds off on new North Korea sanctions amid talks for potential summit: report.

CNBC:

• The U.S. needs 50,000 truck drivers to avoid a shipping squeeze.

• Traders are worried this could be the 'big unwinding' of Italian bond markets.

• 10 entry-level jobs that new graduates can do from home.

• Italy's president refuses to certify minister, denying prime minister's ability to form a government. 

Zero Hedge:     

• Key Events This Week: Payrolls, PCE And Politics.

• Caged Migrant Children Photo Goes Viral As Left Rages At Trump; Except It Happened Under Obama.

• Scottish "Crypto Clinic" Now Treating Bitcoin Trading Addicts.

• In The UK... You're Not Allowed To Talk About It. About What? Don't Ask!

• Italian Bonds, Stocks Crash In Furious Reversal As Political Drama Explodes.

• Russia Unveils Soldier Of The Future Equipped With "Predator" Gun And Electrified Shield.

• Turkish Lira Soars After Central Bank Changes Monetary Policy, But Reserves Emerge As Biggest Concern.

• As New Privacy Rules Hit Europe, Google And Facebook Hit With $8.8 Billion In Lawsuits.

• Crude Capitulation Continues: WTI Hits 6-Week Lows After Russia, Saudi Comments.

• How Identity Politics Is Changing Universities.

• Trump All But Confirms Historic Summit With Kim Is Back On As US Officials Enter North Korea.

Business Insider:

• 'Truly just devastating stories': The bleak outlook from inside Venezuela's deepening crises.

Night Trading

• Asian indices are -.25% to unch. on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 75.5 -.5 basis point.

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 12.0 -.25 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 71.10 +.01%.

• FTSE 100 futures n/a.

• S&P 500 futures +.17%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.48%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (AMWD)/1.20

• (BAH)/.46

After the Close:

• (HPQ)/.48

• (CRM)/.46 

Economic Releases
9:00 am EST

• S&P CoreLogic CS 20-City Home Price Index MoM for March is estimated to rise +.7% versus a +.83% gain in February.
  

10:00 am EST

• The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for May is estimated to fall to 128.0 versus 128.7 in April.
  

10:30 am EST

• Dallas Fed Manufacturing Activity for May is estimated to rise to 24.5 versus 21.8 in April.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Bullard speaking, Japan Retail Sales report, Deutsche Bank Financial Services Conference, KeyBanc Industrials/Basic Materials Conference and the Craig-Hallum Institutional Investor Conference could also impact trading today.

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