Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:             

• Brazil Swings Right With Jair Bolsonaro's Commanding Victory.
• Asian Stocks Edge Up After Rout; Treasuries Steady. Asian stocks edged higher with U.S. stock futures, indicating some respite from the recent global sell-off at the start of the week. The dollar steadied and Treasury yields were little changed. Shares in Japan, Australia and South Korea rose, while Hong Kong and China futures pointed to a higher start. U.S. futures advanced after the S&P 500 finished on Friday just short of a 10 percent decline from its record September high and on pace for the worst month since 2009. The offshore yuan held near the lowest level in a decade amid expectations China will ease policy to stem a growth slowdown. Japan’s Topix index added 0.9 percent as of 9:03 a.m. in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.7 percent. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.6 percent. FTSE China A50 Index futures added 0.9 percent. Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 0.8 percent. S&P 500 futures rose 0.2 percent.
• Most Mideast Stocks Retreat as Traders Eye Earnings.   
• Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day.  
• China Slowdown, Global Growth's Future, Brazil Ballot: Eco Day.
• Earnings Season Flop Leaves a Short List of Stock Market Saviors.
• Bond Traders, Spooked by Tumult in Stocks, Doubt Fed's Rate Path.
• Why Do Investors Hate Everything? Maybe It's Paranoia, JPMorgan Says.

Wall Street Journal:

• Unions Get an Economics Lesson. 
• The Robot Revolution Is Coming, and Dang Is It Cute.
• China’s Tech Investment Mania Ebbs—For Now.
• Drilling Down Into the Volatility in Financial Markets.
• Tariffs May Crown Corn King Again.
• Suspect in Synagogue Shooting Driven by Hatred.
• Midterm-Election Campaigning Reaches Fever Pitch.
• Strong Earnings Haven’t Cured the Stock Market’s Blues.

MarketWatch.com:

• The big stores with the biggest bargains on Black Friday.
• Apple(AAPL) earnings: Can pricey new phones carry the holidays?

Fox News:

• New grandfather, husband and wife, two brothers among 11 victims of synagogue massacre.
• Synagogue massacre suspect shouted anti-Semitic rhetoric while trading gunfire with cops, docs show.

CNBC:  

• IBM(IBM) to acquire Red Hat(RHT) in deal valued at $34 billion.
• Military tensions around Taiwan could make it harder to resolve the trade war.
• Trump administration courts investors in broad effort to combat rising health care costs.
• Here's why a Wall Street vet thinks the Fed should 'take a breather' to stabilize a battered market.
• Sears' 'tragic' bankruptcy turns to opportunity as US mall owners court new tenants.
• Euro zone not prepared enough to face new crisis, says French finance minister.
• Brazil shares outshine the rest of the world ahead of its presidential election. 
• Hammond warns Brexit rebels not to risk easing of austerity.

Zero Hedge:   

• Morgan Stanley: There's A Good Chance Everyone Is Wrong About The Midterms.    
• Kanye West Designs "Blexit" Apparel Urging Black People To Leave Democratic Party.
• "Free Lunch Is Over" - Russell Napier Sees "More Deflationary Than Inflationary Outlook" For The World.
• Merkel's CDU Suffers Crushing Losses In Hesse Election; Worst Result For SPD In 130 Years.
• Complacency Continues To Collapse As Bond, Bullion, & VIX Shorts Scramble To Cover.
• Is The Pain Over: Buybacks Set To Soar As 48% Of S&P Exits "Blackout Window".
• 'Tropical Trump' Wins Landslide Victory In Brazil's 'Run-Off' Presidential Election.
• Hedge Fund CIO: "Today, The Chinese Are Trapped... And The Box Keeps Shrinking".
• RBS Shares Plunge As Bank Announces $130 Million 'Hard Brexit' Contingency Buffer.
• Retired Green Beret Warns Mainstream Media Is A Tool For Destroying America.
• China Is Challenging The US In Central America, And Washington Can't Do Anything.
• What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Crypto Miner Offers Junk Loan With 12% Coupon.
• Facebook(FB) Censorship Of Alternative Media "Just The Beginning," Warns Top Neocon Insider.
• 25% Of Millennials Claim They Have PTSD From 2016 Election, Study Says.

Night Trading

• Asian indices are +.25% to +1.0% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 92.75 +1.5 basis points.
• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 10.25 +.25 basis point.
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 66.71 -.02%.
• FTSE 100 futures n/a.
• S&P 500 futures +.28%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures +.55%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (AMG)/3.42
• (BLMN)/.09
• (BAH)/.60
• (FDC)/.37

After the Close:

• (AKAM)/.83
• (AVB)/2.26
• (CGNX)/.37
• (KLAC)/2.21
• (MDLZ)/.60
• (SANM)/.66
• (TXRH)/.54
• (RIG)/-.10
• (VNO)/.98
• (WING)/.19

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST

• Personal Income for September is estimated to rise +.4% versus a +.3% gain in August.
• Personal Spending for September is estimated to rise +.4% versus a +.3% gain in August.
• The Core PCE MoM for September is estimated to rise +.1% versus unch. in August.
  

10:30 am EST

• Dallas Fed Manufacturing Activity for October is estimated to rise to 29.0 versus 28.1 in September.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Japan Jobless Rate and the (KR) investor conference could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are higher, boosted by industrial and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to maintain gains into the afternoon.  The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the week.