Thursday Watch

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -1.0% to -.25% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 84.75 +2.75 basis points. 
• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 10.5 -.25 basis point.
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 66.37 -.14%.
• FTSE 100 futures +.42%
• S&P 500 futures -.04%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures -.07%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (JCP)/-.03
• (JD)/.71
• (WMT)/1.22

After the Close:

• (AMAT)/1.16
• (DDS)/-.45
• (JWN)/.84
• (NVDA)/1.85
• (ZOES)/-.05

Economic Releases 
8:30 am EST

• Initial Jobless Claims for last week are estimated to rise to 215K versus 213K the prior week.
• Continuing Claims are estimated to fall to 1740K versus 1755K prior.
• Philly Fed Business Outlook Index for August is estimated to fall to 22.0 versus 25.7 in July.
• Housing Starts for July are estimated to rise to 1260K versus 1173K in June.
• Building Permits for July are estimated to rise to 1310K versus 1273K in June.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone Trade Balance report, Bloomberg Economic Expectations Index for August, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index and EIA weekly natural gas inventory report could also impact trading today.

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