Tuesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:  

• Trump Tariffs to Hit $200 Billion of China Goods on Sept. 24. 

• U.S. Stock Futures Drop as Trump Readies Tariffs. U.S. stock futures fell and Asian stocks are set to decline after the Trump administration’s latest barrage of tariffs against China. The dollar ticked higher. The largest exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index retreated after hours following Trump’s announcement that a fresh $200 billion in Chinese goods are subject to levies of 10 percent, rising to 25 percent in 2019. Japanese futures declined as the market readied to return from a holiday. Chinese futures suggested stocks will extended a decline after ending at a four-year low Monday. U.S. stocks ended the regular session down the most in a month, with technology companies leading decliners, as investors braced for the move. The dollar fell versus major peers ahead of the announcement. Beijing has already said it will retaliate. Futures on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.4 percent in Singapore. Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index were steady. Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.2 percent. S&P 500 futures dropped 0.2 percent as of 7:44 a.m. in Tokyo.

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

• Why Coca-Cola May Add a Cannabis Component to Drinks.   

• FedEx(FDX) Raises Annual Profit Forecast With Surging E-Commerce Demand.

Wall St. Journal:

• The #MeToo Kavanaugh Ambush.

• U.S. to Cap Refugee Admissions at 30,000 in 2019.

• Florence Pushes Some North Carolina Dams to the Brink.

• Out of Stock in Retail Stores This Holiday Season: Workers.

• Wall Street Salaries Continue to Soar.

• Election Uncertainty Spurs Investors to Hedge.

Fox News:

• Senate Judiciary calls Kavanaugh, accuser to speak out at public hearing.

CNBC:   

• After-hours buzz: ORCL, FDX & more.

• Trump will slap 10% tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods — and they will go to 25% at year end.

• Hurricane Florence damage estimated at $17 billion to $22 billion — Moody's Analytics.

• Oracle shares fall after revenue misses analyst estimates.

• DOJ clears Cigna's acquisition of Express Scripts.

Zero Hedge: 

• Trump Imposes Tariffs On $200BN In China Imports; Will Add Another $267BN If China Retaliates.

• Trump Orders Immediate Release Of All Text Messages, Carter Page FISA Application From Russia Investigation.

• Massive Sustained Attack On Syria: Russian S-400 Defenses Possibly Active In Huge Escalation.

• Crypto Tumbles As Mysterious $720 Million Bitcoin Wallet Wakes Up And Starts Dumping Coins.

• 40% Of Venezuela Stores Go Bust After 3,000% Minimum Wage Hike.

• Tariff Tantrum Sparks Tech Wreck, Dollar Dump, Bonds & Bullion Bid.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -.5% to unch. on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 78.0 -.5 basis point. 

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 12.25 unch.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 65.81 -.09%.

• FTSE 100 futures -.10%.

• S&P 500 futures -.35%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.47%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (APOG)/.82

• (AZO)/17.91

• (CBRL)/2.69

• (GIS)/.64

After the Close:

• None of note

Economic Releases

10:00 am EST

• The NAHB Housing Market Index for September is estimated to fall to 66.0 versus 67.0 in August.
  

4:00 pm EST

• Net Long-Term TIC Flows for July.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Australia Housing Price report, Japan Trade Balance report, weekly US retail sales reports and the (BWA) investor day could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE:  Asian indices are lower, weighed down by technology and industrial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to maintain losses into the afternoon.  The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.