Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:  

• U.S. Says Europeans Coming Around on Threat Posed by Huawei.

• May’s Desperate Gamble on a New Brexit Referendum Falls Flat.  

• Short Aussie, Long Yen Is the Hot New Currency Bet for Trade War.

• Asian Stocks Point Higher After U.S. Shares Gain. Asian stocks looked set to track an advance in U.S. equities and Treasury yields climbed as investors showed some willingness to buy riskier assets despite the ongoing trade turmoil. The dollar edged up. Futures on Japanese shares rose along with those in Australia and Hong Kong. The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.9% after the U.S. decided to grant limited relief for consumers and carriers that do business with Huawei Technologies Co. -- a day after the White House’s moves against the Chinese telecom giant battered stocks. Semiconductor shares bounced back from Monday’s slide. The pound swung amid the latest Brexit developments. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% in Singapore. Contracts on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.2%. Hang Seng Index futures earlier added 0.1%. Futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed.  

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

• House Democrats Subpoena Hope Hicks, Former McGahn Aide Annie Donaldson.

Wall Street Journal:

• Big Retailers’ Sales Lag as They Gird for Increase in Tariffs.

• Many More Students, Especially the Affluent, Get Extra Time on the SAT.

• Sanders Chooses Teachers Unions Over Black Voters.

• U.S. Slows Hiring of Chinese Nationals by Chip Makers.

• Non-Military Spending Is Sticking Point in Budget Talks.

• California Democrats Clash Over Health Care for Illegal Immigrants.

Fox News:

• Pelosi pressured to launch Trump impeachment proceedings as one angry Dem lets loose.

• BRIT HUME: Biden a ‘walking time-bomb’ despite Dem front-runner status.

MarketWatch.com:

• How robots and your smart fridge can keep you out of a nursing home.

• ‘Medicare for All’ plans proposed by some Democrats are more lavish than similar programs in other countries.

CNBC:

• At all-hands meeting Jeff Bezos tells employees he’s ‘very excited’ about the auto industry.

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Pure Storage and more.

• Jim Cramer: Any US-China trade deal will send the market into an ‘epic rebound’.

Zero Hedge:

• Mueller Refuses To Testify Publicly Before Congress, Infuriating Democrats.

• To Beat The Market In China, Smart Investors Force Themselves To Think Stupid.

• China's Economic "Super-Weapon" Would Devastate Its Rare-Earth Exporters.

• WTI Slides Below $63 After Surprise Crude & Gasoline Builds.

• Nordstrom Crashes To 8 Year Lows After Slashing Guidance.  

• Stocks Bounce As Huawei Hope Trumps Home Sales Horror.

Night Trading 

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 71.25 -.25 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 48.25 -1.0 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 65.75 -.04%.

• S&P 500 futures -.11%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.14%.

Morning Preview Links 

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (AAP)/2.37

• (ADI)/1.31

• (LOW)/1.33

• (TGT)/1.43

• (VFC)/.59

After the Close:

• (CPRT)/.62

• (CTRP)/.25

• (LB)/.00

• (NTAP)/1.26

• (SCVL)/.84

• (SNPS)/1.09

• (VIPS)/1.08

• (WSM)/.69

Economic Releases
10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory decline of -1,182,580 barrels versus a +5,431,000 barrel gain the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to fall by -677,000 barrels versus a -1,123,000 barrel decline the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to fall by -127,550 barrels versus an +84,000 barrel gain the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to rise +.48% versus a +1.6% gain prior.
  

2:00 pm EST

• FOMC Meeting Minutes.
  

Upcoming Splits

• (FAST) 2-for-1

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Bostic speaking, UK PPI report, (TMO) analyst meeting, Wells Fargo Financial Services Forum and the (ZEN) analyst day 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 modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.