Thursday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:        

• U.S. Pushes China to Keep Promises as Trade-Deal Hopes Rise.

• China Says Beijing Talks Lay Foundation For Trade Resolution.

• Corbyn Calls for General Election If May's Brexit Deal Founders   

• Stock Rally Eases With Asia Mixed; Yuan Holds Gain: Markets Wrap. The rally in global equities showed signs of stalling on Thursday, with Asian stocks opening mixed. U.S. stocks earlier climbed as investors cheered the dovish tone in minutes of the most recent Federal Reserve meeting. Oil held gains. Equities slipped in Japan, while they were little changed in South Korea and Australia. The S&P 500 Index posted a fourth day of gains as the Fed minutes revealed policy makers took a more cautious approach to further interest-rate increases, chiming with Chairman Jerome Powell’s tone from last week. Still, gains were limited amid concern the partial government shutdown will continue for some time. The offshore yuan stayed at the strongest since August as the U.S. and China laid the ground for resolvingtrade issues after three days of negotiations. The dollar and Treasuries were steady. Crude dipped after climbing above $52 a barrel and entering a bull market. Japan’s Topix index fell 0.9 percent as of 9:19 a.m. in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index and South Korea’s Kospi were little changed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures gained 0.2 percent. S&P 500 futures ticked 0.2 percent lower.

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

• What's Next for U.S.-China, Fed Minutes Reveal Caution: Eco Day.

• Treasury Yield Forms Death Cross Giving Ammunition to Bond Bulls.  

• Hedge Fund Performance in 2018: The Good, Bad and the Ugly.

Wall St. Journal:   

• The Craziest, Coolest New Tech That Might Even Matter.

• Iraq Urges Pompeo to Maintain U.S. Troop Presence in Country.

• If You Have to Ask How Much Socialized Medicine Costs...

• Beware the 5G Hype: Wireless Rivals Fuel Confusion.

MarketWatch.com:

• Oil on the verge of busting above a bullish line in the sand, and exiting a bear market.

• U.S., China said to make progress as trade talks conclude.

Fox News:

• President leaves White House meeting with Dems after Pelosi rejects border wall.

CNBC:

• Health-care stocks are a way to ride this market comeback, Charles Schwab chief strategist says.

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Bed Bath & Beyond, KB Home.

• Cramer on chip stocks’ reversal: ‘You can’t wait for an all-clear sign’ to buy.

• Bed Bath and Beyond(BBBY) soars more than 20% on improved 2019 earnings guidance.

Zero Hedge:

• Oil Enters Bull Market As Short CTAs Are "Wiped Out".

• "Petulant" Trump Storms Out Of "Waste Of Time" Meeting With Schumer And Pelosi.

• Meet The Mistress Who Will Cost Bezos $70 Billion.

• The Top 5 Democrats Who Supported Border Security Before Trump Wanted It.

• Chinese Money Flees Silicon Valley As Trump Clamps Down On Access To US Tech.

• LinkedIn Co-Founder Who Bankrolled Russian Bot "False Flag" Also Funded Left-Wing Midterm Meddling.

• The "Green New Deal" Debunked.

• The Rise Of Socialism: Standing On The Shoulders Of Morons.

• Dovish-er Fed Sparks Biggest Short-Squeeze Since Mar09 Lows.

Night Trading 

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 90.75 -1.75 basis points. 

• China Sovereign CDS 63.5 +1.0 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 67.96 -.03%.

• FTSE 100 futures -.59%.

• S&P 500 futures -.45%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.51%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• None of note

After the Close:

• (SNX)/3.25

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• Initial Jobless Claims for last week are estimated to fall to 226K versus 231K the prior week.

• Continuing Claims are estimated at 1740K versus 1740K prior.
  

10:00 am EST

• Wholesale Trade Sales MoM for Nov.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Powell speaking, Fed's Quarles speaking, Fed's Bullard speaking, Fed's Barkin speaking, Fed's Evans speaking, China Industrial Production report, $16B 30Y Bond auction, Bloomberg US Economic Survey for Jan., weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report and the BofA Merrill Defense/Aerospace Forum could also impact trading today.

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