Tuesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:    

• Australia Banks Surge as Misconduct Report Delivers `Soft' Blow.  

• U.K. Consumer Spending Recovers Slightly as Brexit Dims Outlook.

• Guaido U.S. Envoy Vows to Open Oil Deals, Restructure Debt.

• Stocks Rise in Holiday-Hit Trading; Dollar Steady. Stocks gained in Japan and Australia Tuesday, with many markets in Asia closed for the Lunar New Year. The dollar and Treasury yields stabilized after gains. Australian shares outperformed as financials rallied after the results of a yearlong inquiry into misconduct in the financial services sector published Monday were not as harsh as had been anticipated. The S&P 500 Index closed at a two-month high on lower than average volume and the Nasdaq climbed as technology shares advanced. U.S. futures were becalmed in Asian trading Tuesday. Markets in Hong Kong and China are among those shut for the Year of the Pig celebrations, keeping volumes subdued after a busy week that included relatively dovish Federal Reserve comments and U.S.-China trade talks in Washington. Investors will continue to look for direction from a corporate earnings season that’s been mixed so far. Japan’s Topix index rose 0.4 percent as of 9:16 a.m. in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 1.7 percent. S&P 500 futures were flat.  

• Yen Surge in Offing, Uncertainty Soars, Fed Rate Regret: Eco Day.  

• Bitcoin Technical Indicators Suggest a Retest of December Low.  

• Mega-Rich at Palm Beach Soiree Dismiss Democrats' Tax Proposals.

Wall St. Journal: 

• Trump to Call for Bipartisanship as He Threatens to Declare Emergency.

• Remember When Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders Loved Business?

• The Left’s Idea of Generosity.

• Mohammed bin Salman Meets Resistance—From His Own Bureaucrats.

• Venezuela Struggles to Pump, Ship Oil.

• Stock-Market Rally Revives Appetite for Risky Margin Loans.

• Investors Pull Record $25 Billion From U.S. Stock ETFs.

• Fed Survey Shows Tighter Lending Standards, Weakening Credit Demand. 

• Trump to Begin Releasing Fiscal 2020 Budget Plan on March 11.

Fox News:

• Virginia’s lieutenant governor suggests embattled gov could be behind unearthed sex-assault claim. 

• Crypto boss dies with passwords needed to unlock customer accounts.

CNBC:

• Alphabet(GOOG) drops after revealing declining advertising prices and rising costs

• Democratic super PAC unleashes wave of opposition research against Starbucks and Howard Schultz

• The Sanders-Schumer proposal to limit buybacks could be a very big negative for the stock market

• Boeing shares hit another record, bucking China slowdown concerns: ‘Things are just heating up’.

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Alphabet, Gilead and more.

Zero Hedge:

• Trump Inaugural Committee Subpoenaed By New York Prosecutors.

• Amazon Hauling Cargo On I-10 In Self-Driving Trucks Developed By Embark.

• WaPo Defends Decision To Mothball Graphic Sex-Assault Claim Against Virginia Lt. Gov Fairfax.

• The Next Recession Will Sweep The Socialists Into Power.

• More Millennials Own A Cannabis Stock Than Apple.

• "Frothing With Bigots": SPLC Sued By Gavin McInnes For Defamation.

• Mega-Rich Scoff At Democrat Tax Grab Even As Most Americans Support.

• With China Away, Algos Will Play - Stocks Melt-Up As Earnings Throw-Up.

Night Trading 

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 78.25 -.5 basis point. 

• China Sovereign CDS 54.0 -.5 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 68.74 +.01%.

• FTSE 100 futures +.56%.

• S&P 500 futures -.12%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.07%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (AGCO)/1.22

• (ADM)/.93

• (BMI)/.37

• (BDX)/2.63

• (BP)/.13

• (EMR)/.66

• (EL)/1.54

• (LITE)/1.16

• (RL)/2.15

• (VIAB)/1.03

• (WCG)/1.56

After the Close:

• (ALL)/1.24

• (APC)/.62

• (CERN)/.63

• (CB)/2.00

• (EA)/1.94

• (MCHP)/1.57

• (OI)/.62

• (SWKS)/1.84

• (DIS)/1.57

• (ZEN)/.03

Economic Releases

10:00 am EST

• The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index for January is estimated to fall to 57.1 versus 57.6 in Dec.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The State of the Union, Eurozone PMI report, $38B 3Y T-Note auction and the (SCHW) business update could also impact trading today.

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