Friday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:        

• It's a Long Way Down for China Stocks Channeling Past Traumas.

• Trump Says Khashoggi Likely Dead, Warns of ‘Severe’ Consequences.   

• Exodus From Saudi Event Rolls On as Goldman, Mnuchin Cancel.  

• Japan's Inflation Creeps Up Again, Fueled by Energy Prices. 

• U.K. Lawmakers Call for Ban on Traditional Cars in 14 Years.

• Asia Stocks to Track U.S. Slide, Treasuries Rise. Asian stocks are on course for a further losses following a weak U.S. equity session as investors fretted over lofty expectations for earnings and the trade war’s impact on growth amid rising interest rates. Treasuries and the yen gained. Shares in Australia and New Zealand fell and futures pointed to losses for equities in Japan and Hong Kong after the S&P 500 Index fell more than 1 percent and the Nasdaq 100’s drop topped 2 percent. Chinese stocks are also seen falling as losses this week brought the slide in its major benchmark to 30 percent since a January high amid concern about the weakening yuan and policy responses to slowing growth. Next up comes third-quarter GDP for China on Friday in addition to retail sales and factory output data. The dollar touched the highest in more than a week, while the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 3.18 percent. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2 percent in Singapore trading. FTSE China A50 Index futures slid 1.3 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.8 percent. Hang Seng futures declined 1.3 percent. S&P 500 futures were little changed after the underlying gauge fell 1.4 percent Thursday.  

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

• China GDP Preview, Fed's Quarles on Hikes, Doctor Love: Eco Day.   

• Trump Attacks the Weak Link Powell Can’t Ignore in Fed Rate Plan.

• Square(SQ) Unveils ‘Terminal’ to Rival Keypad Credit-Card Machines.

Wall St. Journal:

• Powerful Afghan Police Chief Killed in Attack; Top U.S. Commander Escapes.

• Inflation Is Back—and Unilever, Nestlé Are Taking Advantage.

• Companies Split on U.S. Exit From Postal Pact Benefiting China.

• Invesco to Buy OppenheimerFunds.

MarketWatch.com:

• Ban billionaires? Capitalism takes beating at the hands of Teen Vogue and others.

• Stocks are due for a lift as buyback blackouts end, says JPMorgan.

• November shock? Republicans could still control Congress after the midterms, polls suggest.

Fox News: 

• WRIGHT: Trump’s threat to use military to close our border is a smart move.

• FBI agents raid San Juan government offices as part of investigation into fraud.

CNBC:           

• Goldman CEO Solomon says part of October's market sell-off driven by programmatic trading.  

• PayPal(PYPL) jumps after reporting a beat on the top and bottom lines, growth in Venmo.

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: PayPal, DowDuPont, AIG and more. 

• Treasury Secretary Mnuchin drops out of Saudi conference amid outcry over Khashoggi disappearance.  

• EXCLUSIVE: Our full interview with Goldman Sachs' new CEO.

• American Express(AXP) shares rise after third-quarter earnings top Street on record revenue.

• Cramer's 5 favorite tech stocks right now, including Apple, Salesforce and Adobe.

• China's currency is expected to fall below its own 'red line,' prompting more complaints from US.

• Skechers jumps after strong third-quarter profits and future guidance.

• Political ad buyers are exploiting a Facebook loophole to disguise where their money is coming from.

Zero Hedge: 

• Federal Judge "Shocked" To Find Obama State Dept Lied To Protect Hillary From Email Server Lawsuits.

• China Enforces Mandatory Study Of "Xi Jinping Thought".

• The US Would Be Under Serious Hybrid War Threat If Mexico Legalized Opium.

• In Final WaPo Column, Khashoggi Laments Arab World's Deteriorating Press Freedoms.

• Mexican Riot Cops Deployed For Caravan Showdown After Trump Snaps Fingers.

• Turkish Officials Played Audio Recording Of Khashoggi Murder To Pompeo: Report.

• Former FBI Agent Sentenced To Four Years Over Illegal Leaks.

• Is This Why Jeff Bezos Has Kept Quiet On WaPo Employee Khashoggi's Disappearance?

• Mike Pence Vows "There Will Be Consequences" If Saudis Ordered Khashoggi's Killing.

• Iran Sends Record Amount Of Oil To China.

• Tether's Mysterious Crash: Is The Money Really There?

• Real Tumbles After Brazil's Central Bank Head Said To Quit By Year End.

• Mario, Mnuchin, 'Mao 2.0' & MbS Masscare Markets.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -1.25% to -.50% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 88.25 +1.75 basis points. 

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 9.75 unch.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 66.89 -.01%.

• FTSE 100 futures -.01%.

• S&P 500 futures +.25%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.38%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (CLF)/.66

• (GNTX)/.42

• (HON)/1.99

• (IPG)/.46

• (KSU)/1.57

• (MAN)/2.41

• (PG)/1.09

• (SLB)/.45

• (STT)/1.89

• (STI)/1.39

• (VFC)/1.33

After the Close:

• None of note

Economic Releases

10:00 am EST

• Existing Home Sales for September are estimated to fall to 5.29M versus 5.34M in August.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Bostic speaking, China GDP/Retail Sales/Industrial Production reports and the (SCHW) fall business update 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 higher and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing mixed.  The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.