Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Hunter Biden Steps Down From Chinese Board as Trump Attacks.  

• Syria’s Assad Sends Troops North As Turkish Offensive Escalates.

• Goldman Sees Pound Rallying Further as Hopes of Brexit Deal Rise. 

• Trump’s Sanction Threat May Give Lira Bears License to Go All In.

• Trump Says U.S. Treasury ‘Ready to Go’ With Sanctions on Turkey.   

• Global Hunt for Yield Prompts Fresh Surveillance by Regulators.

• Ukraine Aid Delay Didn’t Harm U.S. National Security, Defense Secretary Says.

• Stocks in Asia to Advance After Trade Progress. Asian stocks looked set to start the week higher after signs of progress in U.S.-China trade negotiations lifted U.S. equities Friday and sent Treasury yields higher, though sentiment may be capped as investors voiced skepticism on the accord. Equity futures pointed higher across Asia -- Japan will be shut for a holiday. On Friday, the S&P 500 Index climbed to within 1.8% of a record after President Donald Trump said the two sides agreed to the outlines of a deal that could be signed as early as next month. The yuan edged down after Friday’s advance. Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.1% as of 6:10 a.m. in Hong Kong. The underlying gauge added 1.1% on Friday. Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.7%. Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.5%.

• As One Massive Blackout Ends, California Is Bracing for Next.

Wall Street Journal:

• Trump Orders U.S. Forces to Withdraw From Northern Syria.

• Stocks’ Path Toward Records Led by Defensive Plays.

• Beto O’Rourke’s Progressive Tolerance.

• Democrats Push Warren for Plan to Pay for Medicare for All.

• SoftBank Seeking to Take Control of WeWork Through Financing Package. 

• Trump Wins Every Democratic Debate.

• The China Trade Truce.

• U.S. Military to Withdraw From Northern Syria.

• Hong Kong Protesters Maintain Pressure Ahead of Speech by City’s Leader.

MarketWatch.com:

• Semiconductor stocks are poised to benefit as industry sales growth resumes in 2020.

• Democratic debate on Tuesday features a surging Elizabeth Warren and a recuperating Bernie Sanders.

Fox News:

• GOP accuses Cummings of violating bipartisan agreement with latest inquiry.

• Actress pulls support for Hillary Clinton, rips her connection to disgraced mogul Weinstein.

• KIMBERLEY STRASSEL: Media waging relentless crusade to destroy Trump.

CNBC:

• Investors are flocking to money markets at the highest rate since the financial crisis.

Zero Hedge:    

• The CIA Versus Donald J. Trump.

• Turkey Warns Of War As Syrian Army Heads To Turkish Border.

• Schiff's CIA 'Whistleblower' May Not Testify In Impeachment Probe After All.

• Any Attempt To Divide China Will End In "Shattered Bones", China's Xi Warns.

• Matt Taibbi: "We're In A Permanent Coup".

• Bill Gates Was Much Closer To Jeffrey Epstein Than He Initially Let On.

• Kansas Girl, 13, Charged With Felony For Making "Gun-Like Hand Gesture" Toward Classmates.

• Central Bank Issues Stunning Warning: "If The Entire System Collapses, Gold Will Be Needed To Start Over".

• "Anarchy" As 750 ISIS Prisoners Escape Syria Camp After Turkish Shelling.

• China's Modern Blueprint For Global Power

• Hunter Biden Emerges; Quits Board Of Chinese Private-Equity Firm

• US Troops Can Fire Back If Turkey Attacks Positions Again, Pentagon Says

• Trump Orders 1,000 Troops To Evacuate Syria, Warns Sanctions On Turkey "Ready To Go".

• American STD Cases Rise To Record High.

• Retail Investors Are Acting As If A Financial Crisis Is Just Around The Corner.

• The World's Least-Free Countries Reveal Just How Much "Socialism Sucks".

• The "Safe Drivers Act" Is A Real-Time National Driver Surveillance Program.

Night Trading

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 75.25 -2.75 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 44.25 -2.25 basis points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 65.64 -.01%.

• FTSE 100 futures +.63%.

• S&P 500 futures +.32%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.38%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• None of note

After the Close:

• None of note

Economic Releases

• None of note

Upcoming Splits

• (ELS) 2-for-1
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone Industrial Production report, WTO meeting regarding EU tariffs and the (THO) investor day 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 modestly higher and to maintain gains into the afternoon.  The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the week.