Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:     

• China's Top Steelmaker Says Demand Has Probably Peaked for Now.

• Manufacturing Exit From China to Dodge Trump's Duties Gains Pace.

• U.S. Futures, Yen Mixed as Investors Await Outcome. U.S. stock futures were little changed and the yen held steady versus the dollar as markets remained cautious with investors bracing for American midterm election results. Contracts on the S&P 500 edged lower, while the main exchange-traded fund tracking the equity benchmark was flat ahead of the outcome in congressional races seen as a referendum on the policies of President Donald Trump. Stocks in Tokyo rose and the yen edged higher versus the dollar. E-minis on the S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent as of 7:18 p.m. in New York. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust was flat. Tokyo’s Topix Index opened up 0.5 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index rose 0.2 percent. The 10-year Treasury yield held near 3.21 percent. The offshore yuan extended this week’s losses.   

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

• Race for Senate, U.S.-China Deal Forecast, Powell-Speak: Eco Day.

Wall St. Journal:

• Midterms 12018:  Live Analysis.
• Health Care, Trump Animate Voters.
• State AGs for Rent.
• Erdogan to Defy U.S. Sanctions on Iran.
• Not Just Midterms: Investors Bracing for Packed November.
• Oil Teeters on Brink of a Bear Market.
• U.S. Troops’ First Order at the Border: Laying Razor Wire.
• Supply Crunch Looms in Commodities Markets.

MarketWatch.com:

• Foxconn mulls importing Chinese skilled workers for Wisconsin plant.

• This market feature has coincided with every stock-market bottom since 2016 — and it’s flashing now.

Fox News:   

• LIVE BLOG: First midterm races of election night called in Vermont, Virginia, South Carolina.

CNBC:       

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Wendy's, Zillow(ZG) and more.

• Polls have started closing: This map shows which early results to watch in today's midterms.

• Amazon(AMZN) is reportedly moving into Long Island City, Queens: Here's what the neighborhood is like.

• Investors haven't been this pessimistic since the 2016 election, and it could lead to a big bounce.

• Telecom gear provider CommScope is near a deal to acquire Arris for about $5.6 billion.

• Twilio shares surge on better-than-expected earnings, revenue and guidance.

• These charts suggest stocks will rip higher into next year.

Zero Hedge:

• Live Updates: As More Polls Close, The Night's Most Interesting Races Emerge.

• Long Island City To Offer Amazon Huge Tax Incentives.

• China's Middle Class Is Again Desperate To Move Its Money Out Of The Country.

• Non-Citizens Voting In Texas? "We Got Tons Of Them" Admits Polling Official On Undercover Veritas Video.

• Not 'Too Big To Fail': Why Facebook's(FB) Long Reign May Be Coming To An End.

• WTI Extends Losses After Big Surprise Crude Build.

• Florida's Richest Man Blasts America's Wanna-Be Socialists, Says "Soros Is An Anarchist".

• Breakevens & Black Gold Battered As Stocks Rally On Ultra-Low Volumes.

Telegraph:

• Italy flirts with recession as eurozone slumps.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -.25% to +.5% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 86.25 -1.5 basis points. 

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 9.75 -.25 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 67.19 -.03%.

• FTSE 100 futures +.38%.

• S&P 500 futures +.14%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.22%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (FOXA)/.52

• (CARS)/.56

• (DF)/-.06

• (DLPH)/.76

• (DISH)/.67

• (HUM)/4.24

• (KORS)/1.10

• (ODP)/.12

• (ROK)/2.02

• (SMG)/-.66

• (TSG)/.50

• (WWW)/.56

After the Close:

• (ADT)/.26

• (ALB)/1.25

• (CVNA)/-.36

• (FLO)/.25

• (FOSL)/-.10

• (IAC)/1.85

• (MRO)/.20

• (MCHP)/1.73

• (MNST)/.46

• (MUR)/.35

• (NWSA)/.05

• (PRU)/3.16

• (QCOM)/.84

• (SQ)/.11

• (TTWO)/.93

• (WYNN)/1.67

Economic Releases

10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory gain of +2,050,100 barrels versus a +3,217,000 barrel gain the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to fall by -1,898,780 barrels versus a -3,161,000 barrel decline the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to fall by -1,518,110 barrels versus a -4,054,000 barrel decline the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to rise by +.83% versus a +.2% gain prior.
  

3:00 pm EST

• Consumer Credit for September is estimated at $15.0B versus $20.08B in August.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Japan Machine Orders report, China Foreign Exchange Reserves report, German Industrial Production report, weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report, $19B 30Y T-Bond auction and the (COST)/(ZUMZ)/(PSMT) October sales reports could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE:  Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by technology 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.