Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:        

• U.S. Beats Singapore to Top of Global Competitiveness Rankings.

• One of the World’s Top 15 Fund Managers Reveals His Next Picks.

• Asia Stocks Set to Follow U.S. Rally, Bonds Steady. Stocks in Asia looked set to follow the lead from a strong U.S. session after earnings handed investors a welcome distraction from trade tensions and rising yields. The dollar slipped and Treasuries were steady. Futures in all major markets in the region pointed to gains when trading begins Wednesday, and Australia’s shares advanced at the open. Nasdaq futures pulled back from an initial climb after profit at Netflix Inc. trounced estimates. Earlier, the U.S. equities rally was led by technology shares. The dollar held near a two-week low and the 10-year Treasury yield traded around 3.16 percent after data showed U.S. factory production expanded in September. Oil edged higher amid tensions between the Saudi Arabia and the U.S. over the disappearance of a prominent journalist. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2 percent in Singapore. Contracts on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 1.5 percent. FTSE China A50 index futures rose 1.2 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1 percent. S&P 500 futures slipped 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 contracts were down 0.2 percent.  

• San Francisco Fed's Daly Favors Gradual Hikes in First Speech.

• Five Key Takeaways From the Biggest U.S. Banks' Earnings Reports.

• Netflix(NFLX), Lam Research(LRCX) Deliver Just What FAANGs and Semis Needed.

• Netflix(NFLX) Bears Take a $687 Million Beating in Post-Earnings Surge.  

• CSX's(CSX) Higher-Than-Expected Profit Shows Turnaround Success.

Wall St. Journal:

• Big Bank Earnings Show Wall Street Charging Ahead.

• Cases of Rare Neurological Condition Rise in U.S.

MarketWatch.com:

• Another report shows worker pay is accelerating.

Fox News: 

• Liberal professors push to pack Supreme Court after Kavanaugh confirmation.

CNBC:       

• Dow jumps more than 500 points, posts best day since March as earnings fuel rally.

• Netflix(NFLX) surges after crushing earnings.

• Cramer: As long as the Fed doesn't keep pushing rate hikes, stocks can keep rallying.

• Trump slams mounting criticism of Saudi Arabia as a case of 'guilty until proven innocent'.

• United Airlines shares rise after 30 percent profit jump and rosier outlook despite higher fuel bill.

• The Supreme Court will hear a case that could decide whether Facebook, Twitter can censor users.  

• Cramer reveals 5 health-care stocks he likes right now, including UnitedHealth and HCA.  

• After-hours buzz: NFLX, IBM, UAL & more.

• Wall Street's 'dean of valuation' says pot stocks are too pricey.

• The stock market wants a Republican wave but expects to see two-party control of Congress.

Zero Hedge: 

• "I Think I Can Beat Her": Lindsey Graham Taking DNA Test To Challenge Elizabeth Warren.

• 4Chan Sparks Mass Triggering With NPC Meme; Twitter Responds With Ban Hammer.

• NYT Identifies Four Suspected Saudi Hit Squad Members As 'Close Associates' Of Crown Prince.

• The "Red Scare" Redux: Understanding Brazil's Bolsonaro.

• S&P Reveals $5.8 Trillion In "Hidden" Chinese Debt With "Titanic Credit Risks".

• IBM(IBM) Tumbles After Revenue Resumes Slide, EPS "Beats" On Ridiculous Tax Rate.

• #MeSioux Movement Mourns - When Warren Woke Up To A World Without Her.

• "My Biggest Threat Is The Fed" Says Trump, Citing Aggressive Rate Hikes.

• Boston Dynamics Tries To Calm Fears Over Robot Uprising With Twerking Robo-Dog.

• WTI Jumps Above $72 After Surprise Crude Draw.

• China & Japan Dump Treasuries As Dollar's Reserve Status Slumps To 5 Year Lows.

• Stocks Soar On Biggest Short-Squeeze Since Trump's Election.

Business Insider:

• A group of marketers is suing Facebook(FB) alleging ad fraud, after digging through 80,000 pages of internal documents. 

• New USA Gymnastics interim president resigns after being called out by Simone Biles for anti-Nike(NKE) tweet.

Telegraph:       

• Comment: Political disdain for business will make us all poorer.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are +1.0% to +1.5% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 87.25 -1.0 basis point. 

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 9.75 unch.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 67.33 +.57%.

• FTSE 100 futures +.66%.

• S&P 500 futures -.07%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.15%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (ABT)/.75

• (ASML)/1.58

• (BMI)/.41

• (MTB)/3.35

• (USB)/1.04

• (WGO)/.91

After the Close:

• (AA)/.34

• (BXS)/.56

• (CCI)/1.20

• (KMI)/.21

• (SLG)/1.69

• (STLD)/1.66

• (URI)/4.62

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• Housing Starts for September MoM are estimated to fall to 1210K versus 1282K in August.

• Building Permits MoM for September are estimated to rise to 1274K versus 1229K in August.
  

10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory gain of +580,800 barrels versus a +5,987,000 barrel gain the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to rise by +883,000 barrels versus a +951,000 barrel gain the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to fall by -969,6000 barrels versus a -2,666,000 barrel decline the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to fall by -.36% versus a -1.6% decline prior.
  

2:00 pm EST

• FOMC Meeting Minutes.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Quarles speaking, Eurozone CPI report, UK Retail Sales report, weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report and the BIO Investor Forum could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE:  Asian indices are higher, boosted by technology and pharmaceutical shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher.  The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the day.