Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:   

• Wounded Johnson's Brexit Plan in Tatters as Election Fight Looms.

• What to Expect From the Brexit Showdown in Parliament.

• Japan’s Small Banks Load Up on Risk as They Fight to Survive.

• Asia Stocks to Dip Amid Trade Woes, Weak Data. Asian stocks were set for a cautious start Wednesday after declines in U.S. equities and Treasury yields following a weak American manufacturing report and amid an impasse in the trade war. Futures pointed lower in Japan and Australia, while Hong Kong contracts were flat. Technology shares underperformed after Huawei Technologies accused the U.S. government of harassing workers and attacking its internal network. The 10-year Treasury yield slid and the dollar dropped. Futures on the S&P 500 Index were flat. The underlying gauge sank 0.7% on Tuesday. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.3%. Hang Seng futures earlier closed flat. Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dipped 0.6%.  

• U.K. Snap Election, Trump’s 2020 Threat, U.S. Factories: Eco Day.

• Crisis Among India Shadow Banks Pushes Up Funding Costs Overseas.

• Fed's Rosengren Sees ‘No Immediate’ Easing Needed.

• Oil Hits One-Week Low as Trump Tweet Fuels Market ‘Bloodbath’

Wall Street Journal:

• ‘Father is Surgeon,’ ‘1 mil pledge’: The Role of Money in USC Admissions.

• U.S. Factory Activity Shrinks for First Time in 3 Years.

• Italy’s 5 Star Approves Coalition Government With Ex-Foes.

Fox News:

• Hurricane Dorian leaves horrific trail of destruction in Bahamas as storm creeps toward US.

MarketWatch.com:   

• What bond bubble? Economist says ‘uncomfortable truth’ is that rally in fixed-income market is justified.

CNBC:

• Trump was so angry after China’s trade retaliation that he wanted to double tariffs.

• Kroger joins Walmart in asking shoppers not to openly carry guns in stores.

• NRA slams Walmart for caving to ‘anti-gun elites’ after retailer ends handgun ammo sales.

Zero Hedge:

• UK Rebel MPs Successfully Seize Control Of Parliamentary Business, General Election Likely.

• Dorian-Devastated Island With 50K Residents Now 70% Under Water.

• Amazon Partners With Police On Ring Doorbell; May Be Developing Facial Recognition Surveillance Network.

• Texas Shooter Was Banned From Buying Firearms Due To Mental Issues; Prior Purchase Attempt Denied.

• Bonds, Bitcoin, & Bullion Bid As Manufacturing Slump Sparks Stocks, Commodities Dump.

Night Trading 

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 64.25 -.25 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 46.0 unch.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index  64.897 +.04%.

• FTSE 100 futures n/a.

• S&P 500 futures unch.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.08%.

Morning Preview Links 

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (AEO)/.32

• (MIK)/.14

• (NAV)/1.22

• (VRA)/.27

After the Close:

• (HOME)/.15

• (AVAV)/N/A

• (CPRT)/.57

• (PANW)/1.42

• (PVTL)/-.03

• (VRNT)/.80

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST

• The Trade Deficit for July is estimated at -$53.4B versus -$55.2B in June.
  

2:00 pm EST

• US Fed Beige Book.

Afternoon:

• Wards Total Vehicle Sales for August is estimated to fall to 16.8M versus 16.82M in July.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Bowman speaking, Eurozone PMI report, China Services PMI report, weekly US retail sales reports, weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report, Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference, DA Davidson Tech Conference, Cowen Transport Conference, Keefe/Bruyette/Woods Insurance Conference, Citi Tech Conference, Robert Baird Healthcare Conference,  Citi Biotech Conference, Goldman Retailing Conference, could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by consumer and commodity shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.