Friday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:   

• Trump Promises Talk on Trade After China Defers Tariff Response.  

• U.S. Chamber Calls for Halting China Tariffs and Resuming Talks   

• U.K. and EU to Step Up Brexit Talks as Parliament Showdown Looms.

• Stocks Climb on Trade Optimism; U.S. Yields Steady. Stocks in Asia tracked a U.S. rally after China indicated it wouldn’t immediately retaliate against the latest American tariff increase. Treasuries steadied. Shares in Tokyo, Sydney and Seoul advanced on the final trading day of a tumultuous month dominated by the trade war. Earlier, the S&P 500 Index rose for a second day after a spokesman for China’s commerce ministry said that escalating the conflict won’t benefit either side and that it was more important to discuss removing the extra duties. A gauge of the dollar remained near a two-year high. Futures on the S&P 500 Index dipped 0.1% as of 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo. The underlying gauge increased 1.3% on Thursday. Japan’s Topix index advanced 0.8%. South Korea’s Kospi added 1%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.4%.  

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

• RBA Deficit Dilemma, Hong Kong Pain, Korea Rate Guide: Eco Day.

• Dorian Expected to Become Category 4 Hurricane on Way to Florida.

• New Miami Hurricane Hazard: Dockless Scooters as Projectiles.

• Uber, Lyft Pledge $60 Million to Possible Labor Ballot Fight.

• Americans Pushed to the Suburbs as City Prices Soar Out of Reach.  

• Dell Rises After Strong Computer Demand Fuels Rosy Forecast.

Wall Street Journal:

• Young Chinese Spend Like Americans—and Take on Worrisome Debt.

• Aramco Plans Split IPO, Shunning London, Hong Kong.

• Sneaky, Leaky James Comey.

• U.S. Prosecutors Probe Huawei on New Allegations of Technology Theft.

• Proposed Opioid Deal With Purdue Drawing Pushback From States.

• Hong Kong Police Ban Huge Rally Aimed at China’s Liaison Office.

• The Most Powerful Women in Business Wear Dresses, Not Suits.

Fox News:

• Joe Biden told moving military story at campaign stop – but it 'never happened'.

• IG report highlights apparent inconsistencies in Comey's testimony.

MarketWatch.com:

• Here are 2019’s biggest stock market winners and losers in the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

CNBC:

• Senators ask Jeff Bezos to crack down on thousands of unsafe products on Amazon(AMZN).

• Dow surges more than 300 points after China hints it won’t retaliate for now in trade war.

• Disney(DIS) sells its stake in YES Network to investor group that includes Amazon in $3.47 billion deal.

• Hackers are going after colleges, leaving students at risk of identity theft.

• ‘Grossly irresponsible’ – Larry Summers blasts ex-Fed president’s call to thwart Trump in 2020.

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Ulta(ULTA), Ambarella(AMBA) and Dell(DELL).

Zero Hedge:

• "People Will Be Shocked" - Bannon On Huawei & The Communist China Threat.

• Burger-Backed Bonds: Companies Scramble To Securitize Everything.

• "I Feel Helpless": Bottled Water, Gas Shortages Reported As Floridians Brace For Hurricane Dorian.

• Stocks Erase Trump-Trade-Tantrum Dump As Dollar Soars To New Record High.

Telegraph:

• Brexit is vibrant democracy in the raw: it is Europe that risks sliding under authoritarian control.

• China to miss out on $2.5 trillion of GDP growth if trade war intensifies.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are +.5% to +1.0% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 64.5 -2.0 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 46.0 -2.5 basis points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index  64.87 +.01%.

• FTSE 100 futures +.06%.

• S&P 500 futures -.05%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.08%.

Morning Preview Links 

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (BIG)/.40

• (CPB)/.41

• (JKS)/.33

After the Close:

• None of note

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST

• Personal Income for July is estimated to rise +.3% versus a +.4% gain in June.

• Personal Spending for July is estimated to rise +.5% versus a +.3% gain in June.

• The PCE Core MoM for July is estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.2% gain in June.
  

9:45 am EST

• The MNI Chicago PMI for August is estimated to rise to 47.5 versus 44.4 in July.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone CPI report could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are 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.