Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:  

• Asian Stocks Trade Flat; Dollar Holds Advance. Asian stocks opened mixed Wednesday as an extension of the post-Christmas advance in U.S. equities overnight failed to give any impetus to a regional trading session hit by Lunar New Year closures. Treasuries held steady and the dollar retained its gains. Japanese shares eked out small gains, while stocks in Sydney were little changed. The S&P 500 Index posted a fifth day of gains on Tuesday as technology shares offset a decline for financials. Earnings and economic data were mixed, giving investors little to trade on ahead of President Donald Trump’s address to the nation. Oil held losses below $54 a barrel. Japan’s Topix index was up 0.2 percent as of 9:08 a.m. in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index were flat. Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed. 

• OPEC's Oil Exports to U.S. Fell to Five-Year Low in January.

Wall St. Journal:

• Apple’s(AAPL) Retail Chief to Depart.

• Mission Impossible: World Bank.

• OPEC Pursues Formal Pact Between Cartel and Russia.

• Goldman Plans Cuts In Commodities Unit As New CEO Digs In.

• Flip the Script: Drugmakers Blame Middlemen for Price Increases.

• Fed to Include High Unemployment in 2019 Stress Test Scenario.

• Macron Pushes Antiriot Bill to Quell Protests.

Fox News:

• Trump’s State of the Union address to call for easing partisan rancor, avoiding ‘endless wars’.

CNBC:

• Trump will urge bipartisan cooperation to realize his policy goals in State of the Union address.

• Facebook(FB) will now evaluate employees on whether they help solve ‘social issues’.

• Trump reportedly plans to meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in Vietnam this month.

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Snap, Disney, Electronic Arts and more.

• Disney(DIS) beats on earnings and revenue, reports streaming subscriber growth.

• Cramer: You can make a ton of money over the long term with these ‘prestige’ stocks.

Zero Hedge:

• WTI Holds Losses After Inventory Builds Across The Board.

• The Truth About What's Happening In Venezuela Right Now Is Not What The Media Is Reporting.

• "It's Like A Kid Designed It": 1000s Of Model 3s Need Paint Fixes, Industry Expert Slams Tesla's Manufacturing Quality.

• Illinois Democrats' Astounding Reversal On Pensions.

• Watch Jimmy Dore Dismantle NYT Journo After Failed Tulsi Gabbard Hit-Job.

• LA Goes 'Medieval', Suffers Outbreak Of Flea-Borne Disease Typhus.

• Stocks Continue To Soar But Bonds, Bullion, & The Greenback Ain't Buying It.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are +.25% to +.75% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 77.5 -.5 basis point. 

• China Sovereign CDS 54.0 unch..

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

• FTSE 100 futures -.04%.

• S&P 500 futures +.06%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.13%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (BSX)/.36

• (CTSH)/1.06

• (CMI)/3.81

• (LLY)/1.33

• (GM)/1.21

• (HUM)/2.53

• (JEC)/1.04

• (REGN)/5.60

• (TTWO)/2.80

After the Close:

• (CMG)/1.41

• (FEYE)/.05

• (FLO)/.15

• (IRBT)/.58

• (MET)/1.29

• (NOV)/.09

• (ORLY)/3.75

• (PRU)/2.79

• (RGLD)/.32

• (WERN)/.69

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• The Trade Deficit for Nov. is estimated at -$54.0B versus -$55.5B in Oct.

10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory gain of +1,069,890 barrels versus a 919,000 barrel gain the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to rise by +930,220 barrels versus a -2,235,000 barrel decline the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to fall by -2,097,440 barrels versus a -1,122,000 barrel decline the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to fall by -.37% versus a -2.8% decline prior.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Powell speaking, Fed's Quarles speaking, German Factory Orders report, $27B 10Y T-Note auction, weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report, Cowen Aerospace/Defense/Industrials Conference, (ZUMZ) Q4 sales release and the (COST) sales results could also impact trading today.

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