Tuesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:       

• Deep in the Data, China's Bank Funding Squeeze Is Easing Off.

• Asia Stocks Post Muted Gains; Treasuries Steady. Stocks in Asia eked out modest gains Tuesday after beaten-down tech shares led the strongest session for U.S. stocks in two weeks. The dollar steadied alongside Treasuries as President Donald Trump discussed plans for further China tariff increases in the absence of a trade deal. Equity benchmarks rose in Japan and Australia, and futures in Hong Kong pointed higher, while U.S. contracts slipped. Apple Inc. suppliers will be closely watched after Trump said the company’s iPhones could be hit by new tariffs. Earlier, the S&P 500 Index recovered from the worst week in a month as investors speculated a strong start to the holiday season will keep U.S. economic growth on track. West Texas crude traded above $51 a barrel, after recouping some of Friday’s 7 percent plus slide. Japan’s Topix index rose 0.5 percent as of 9:12 a.m. in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.1 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures rose 0.2 percent. S&P 500 futures fell 0.4 percent.  

• China Eases Squeeze, Global Growth Weakens, Fed Debate: Eco Day.  

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

• Alan Greenspan Says Look to Sweden to Solve U.S. Entitlement Problem.  

• Stocks Are Starting to Favor the Optimists.   

• Battered Bitcoin Miners May Start Shutting Down.

Wall St. Journal:

• Chinese Scientist Claims First Genetically Modified Babies.

• President Expects to Move Ahead With Boost on China Tariffs.

• U.S. Weighs Extending Troop Deployment at Border.

• Haley Calls Russia Reckless in Tense Standoff With Ukraine.

• Oil’s Fall Threatens U.S. Shale Drillers.

MarketWatch.com:

• These 22 stocks are in bear territory, but analysts expect them to roar back.

• Project Syndicate: Four reasons to expect a ceasefire in U.S.-China trade war.

• Bitcoin carnage resumes with another 10% skid.

Fox News:   

• GOP senator hits Ocasio-Cortez for comparing border caravan to Nazi Germany.

CNBC:         

• Trump suggests US could slap 10% tariffs on iPhones and laptops imported from China.

• United Technologies plans to separate into 3 companies.

• 'Corporate greed at its worst': Ohio officials slam GM's move out of an area Trump pledged to revive.

• After-hours buzz: AAPL, GM & more.  

• Loxo(LOXO), Bayer drug for cancers driven by rare mutation wins US approval.

• Veteran trader says market bounce may be the bottom.

Zero Hedge:     

• Don't Panic About The Plunging Put/Call Ratio, Kolanovic Says.

• Watch What Happens When A Baby That Is Addicted To A Cellphone Has It Taken Away.

• Ukraine Deploys Reservists To 10 Border Provinces As President Warns Of "Russian Invasion".

• How Guccifer 2 Planted "Fake Russian Fingerprints" On 'Leaked' DNC Docs.

• "Unhappy" Trump Blasts GM Over Plant Closures, Tells Company To Stop Making Cars In China.

• Trump Proposes Worldwide 'Truth' Network To Counter CNN's "Unfair, False" Reporting.

• Futures, Yuan, Apple Tumble After Trump Says "Highly Likely" Will Move Ahead With China Tariff Boost.

• Stocks Bounce On Biggest Short Squeeze In A Month.

Night Trading 

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 96.25 -1.5 basis points. 

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 10.25 -.5 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 66.93 +.04%.

• FTSE 100 futures +1.31%.

• S&P 500 futures -.32%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.45%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (CBRL)/1.91

• (EV)/.83

• (HIBB)/.16

After the Close:

• (CENT)/.09

• (NTNX)/-.27

• (CRM)/.50
  

Economic Releases

9:00 am EST

• The FHFA House Price Index MoM for September is estimated to rise +.4% versus a +.3% gain in August.

• The S&P CoreLogic CS 20-City MoM for September is estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.09% gain in August.

10:00 am EST

• The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for November is estimated to fall to 135.8 versus 137.0 in October.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Bostic speaking, Fed's George speaking, Fed's Evans speaking, MS Senate Run-Off Election, Eurozone Consumer Confidence report, weekly US retail sales reports, $40B 5Y T-Note auction, Jefferies Energy Conference, BofA Merrill Consumer/Retail Conference, Scotiabank Mining Conference, CSFB Industrials Conference, (UNH) investor conference, (ALK) investor day and the Piper Jaffray Healthcare Conference could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE:  Asian indices are modestly higher, boosted by technology and financial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed.  The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.