Friday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:   

• U.S.-China Talks Resume, With Chinese Officials Set to Visit U.S. Farm Belt.  

• Japan Inflation Hits 2-Year Low as BOJ Stokes Easing Speculation.  

• Stocks in Asia Edge Higher; Bond Yields Drift. Asia stocks opened with modest gains on reduced volumes after a lackluster session for U.S. shares. Treasuries remained on course for a first week of gains since August. Japanese shares edged higher, along with those in South Korea and Australia. The S&P 500 Index closed little changed, within 1% of a record, as gains in software companies offset losses for carmakers. After getting a boost from positive comments on trade by White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow early in the day, equities took a leg down after a report about a U.S. official threatening steeper tariffs against China. In China, all eyes will be on the Loan Prime Rate - a new gauge of borrowing costs. Futures on the S&P 500 were flat as of 9:05 a.m. in Tokyo. The index was little changed on Thursday. Japan’s Topix index advanced 0.3%. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.1%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.1%.

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

• Global Growth Slip, China Trade Dip, Fed Funding Stress: Eco Day.

• Prolonged Funding Stress Boosts Calls for Permanent Fed Fix.  

• Zuckerberg Meets Trump at White House With Facebook on the Defensive.

Wall Street Journal:

• Behind the GM-UAW Strike: Two Combatants With Something to Prove.

• Democrats and Republicans Aren’t Just Divided. They Live in Different Worlds.

• Trudeau Apologizes Again as Another Blackface Image Emerges.

• Vaping-Related Lung Ailments Rise to 530, Officials Say.

• Fintech Firm Stripe Climbs Ranks of U.S. Startup Valuations.

• Purdue Led Its Opioid Rivals in Pills More Prone to Abuse.

Fox News:

• Voters frustrated with feds as Trump approval rating ticks up, Fox News Poll finds.

CNBC:

• ‘We were wrong’: Koch network to change strategy in campaign against Trump’s trade war.

• GM workers who picketed in 2007 say that strike was political. This time it’s ‘serious’.

• Warren presidency frightens investors at conference: ‘She’s not my candidate of choice’.

• Missouri man dies from vaping-related illness, bringing US death toll to eight.

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Steelcase, Etsy, Xilinx and more.

Zero Hedge:

• Smart Faucets And Toilets Use Alexa To Listen To Your Conversations.

• Will Chicago Be The Largest US City To Declare Bankruptcy?

• "They've Created A Snowflake Market" - Mark Spitznagel Warns Of "Dangerous Over-Reliance" On Central Banks.

• NBC News Ridiculed After 'Climate Confessions' Goes Horribly Awry.

• The Fed Will Restart QE In November: This Is How It Will Do It.

• Colt Announces End Of AR-15 Production For Civilian Market.

• Stocks Pump-n-Dump As Quad-Witch Looms, Liquidity Crisis Continues.

Night Trading 

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 70.50 (new series).

• China Sovereign CDS 38.25 unch.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index  65.72 +.03%.

• FTSE 100 futures -.44%.

• S&P 500 futures +.06%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.12%.

Morning Preview Links 

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• None of note

After the Close:

• None of note

Economic Releases
12:00 pm EST

• 2Q Household Change in Net Worth.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone PPI report could also impact trading today.

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