Tuesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:       

• Trump Clinches His First Trade Deal With Revamped South Korea Pact.

• New U.S.-South Korea Pact Spurs Hopes for Nafta, China Deals.

• Asia Stocks Look Mixed as Politics, Trade Dominate: Markets Wrap. Asian futures point to a muted start to trading Tuesday after U.S. stocks slipped on growing concern
  about the outlook for global trade and domestic politics. Oil rallied toward a four-year high. Futures in Australia edged lower, while Japan’s and China’s markets will resume trading today after holidays. Hong Kong and South Korea are shut Tuesday. Industrial shares led the S&P 500 Index lower after China warned it won’t meet with American officials unless they stop threatening to expand tariffs, while reports that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will leave his post also weighed on stocks. The dollar advanced alongside Treasury yields. Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.1 percent. FTSE China A50 futures lost 0.2 percent.  

• Fed Hawkish Tilt, Trump's Trade Leverage, EU Inflation: Eco Day.

• Apple(AAPL), Salesforce(CRM) Join Forces to Boost Mobile Business Apps.

Wall St. Journal:

• Republicans Vow to Back Kavanaugh Amid New Allegation.

• Rosenstein Will Meet Trump to Consider His Future at DOJ.

• Trump Pursues Trade Deals in Asia, Europe Amid Frostiness With China.

• Brent Crude Tops $80, Closes at Highest Level Since 2014.

• Michael Kors Nears Deal to Buy Versace for Around $2.4 Billion.

MarketWatch.com:

• A new S&P 500 sector is set to debut: Here’s what investors need to know.

• Fast-growing chip makers are selling for a discount after Trump tariff announcement.

Fox News:

• Brett Kavanaugh denies sexual misconduct in Fox News exclusive: 'I know I'm telling the truth'.

CNBC:     

• Navarro: China's 'egregious practices' make it tougher to get a trade deal.

• After-hours buzz: CTL, ARNA & more.

• First-weekend demand for the new Apple Watch was 'much higher than expected,' says analyst Kuo.

• Navarro says Trump's trade strategy may create market volatility, but will be bullish long term.

• Netflix(NFLX) shares rise as it appears Apple's original content won't be a serious threat to streamer.

Zero Hedge:

• Dems Ignore Keith Ellison Abuse Claims Despite Actual Evidence From Female Accuser.

• The Real Wave Is Red : Republican Sentiment Soars To Record High.

• Kavanaugh: "I Will Not Be Intimidated Into Withdrawing" By "Smears" And "Vile Threats".

• Iran Vows "Crushing And Devastating" Revenge On US, Israel For Deadly Attack.

• US Bonds, Stocks Slump On China Trade Tensions & Trump Turmoil.

Business Insider:

• 'It's a nightmare scenario': A radioactive object was found in San Francisco's new $8 billion neighborhood.

Night Trading 

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 82.5 +1.75 basis points. 

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 9.5 +.25 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 66.60 -.02%.

• FTSE 100 futures -.18%.

• S&P 500 futures -.03%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.06%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (FDS)/2.21

• (JBL)/.68

After the Close:

• (CTAS)/1.80

• (KBH)/.77

• (NKE)/.63

• (AIR)/.52

Economic Releases

9:00 am EST

• The FHFA House Price Index MoM for July is estimated to rise +.3% versus a +.2% gain in June.

• The S&P CoreLogic CS 20-City MoM for July is estimated to rise +.1% versus a +.11% gain in June.
  

10:00 am EST

• The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index for September is estimated to fall to 20.0 versus 24.0 in August.

• The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for September is estimated to fall to 132.o versus 133.4 in August.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The BoJ Minutes, DoJ's meeting with state AG's on social media, $35B 5Y T-Note auction, weekly US retail sales reports, BofA Merrill Financials/Banking/Insurance Conference, Oppenheimer Specialty Pharma/Rare Disease Summit,   could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE:  Asian indices are slightly lower, weighed down by consumer and industrial 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.