Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:   
  • Asian Stocks Look Mixed; Treasuries Advance. Asian stocks were set for a mixed start Thursday as investors mulled a weak U.S. consumer report that triggered a rally in Treasuries. U.S. equities edged lower. Shares in Sydney opened little changed, while futures were flat in Japan, and rose in Hong Kong. The S&P 500 Index closed lower as energy and technology shares retreated. The dollar and Treasury yields slipped after an unexpected drop in retail sales boosted market pricing for an October rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Oil fell after a report showed a sharp increase in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. Futures on the S&P 500 dipped 0.1% as of 8 a.m. in Tokyo. The underlying gauge slid 0.2% on Wednesday. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.1%. Hang Seng Index futures earlier advanced 0.4%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.1%.
Night Trading 
  • Asian equity indices are -.25% to +.25% on average.
  • Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 72.5 -.75 basis point.
  • China Sovereign CDS 43.0 +.25 basis point.
  • Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index  65.55 +.03%.
  • FTSE 100 futures -.10%.
  • S&P 500 futures -.08%.
  • NASDAQ 100 futures -.08%.
Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:
  • (BMI)/.43
  • (BBT)/1.03
  • (GPC)/1.47
  • (HON)/2.01
  • (KEY)/.46
  • (MS)/1.12
  • (PM)/1.36
  • (PPG)/1.61
  • (SNA)/2.94
  • (STI)/1.40
  • (TSM)/3.70
  • (UNP)/2.32
After the Close:
  • (ETFC)/1.02
  • (ISRG)/2.99
  • (MRTN)/.28
  • (WDFC)/.62
Economic Releases
8:30 am EST
  • Housing Starts for Sept. is estimated to fall to 1320K versus 1364K in Aug.
  • Building Permits for Sept. is estimated to fall to 1350K versus 1419K in Aug.
  • The Philly Fed Business Outlook Index for Oct. is estimated to fall to 7.6 versus 12.0 in Sept.
  • Initial Jobless Claims for last week are estimated to rise to 215K versus 210K the prior week.
  • Continuing Claims are estimated to fall to 1675K versus 1684K prior.
9:15 am EST
  • Industrial Production MoM for Sept. is estimated to fall -.2% versus a +.6% gain in Aug.
  • Manufacturing Production for Sept. is estimated to fall -.3% versus a +.5% gain in Aug.
  • Capacity Utilization for Sept. is estimated to fall to 77.7% versus 77.9% in Aug.
Upcoming Splits
  • None of note
Other Potential Market Movers
  • The Japan CPI report, Bloomberg Economic Expectations for Oct., weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report and the (SAFM) investor day could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are slightly higher, boosted by industrial and financial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed. The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the day.

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