Friday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg: 

• U.S. Raises China Criticism; Details on New Cases: Virus Update.

• 'I Knocked on Hell's Door': This Is What It Feels Like to Catch the Coronavirus.  

• China Navigates the Latest Threat to Its Debt-Fueled Boom.  

• The Death of a Doctor Poses the Greatest Threat to China’s Xi Yet .

• Japan’s Economy Set for Biggest Hit Since 2014 Ahead of Virus.

• Stocks Slip After China Reports More Virus Cases. U.S. equity futures slipped along with stocks in Tokyo and Seoul, though moves were modest, after the Chinese province at the center of the coronavirus outbreak reported more deaths. The yen was steady. On just the second day since the Hubei region changed its methods for counting infections, investors are mulling the spread of the virus in addition to news that the Federal Reserve will dial back its liquidity injections. The coronavirus death toll rose in China as Hubei reported 116 more fatalities on Thursday. Treasury yields dipped along with S&P 500 futures. Japan’s Topix index fell 0.6% as of 9:06 a.m. in Tokyo. South Korea’s Kospi index slid 0.3%. Futures on the S&P 500 dipped 0.1%. The gauge dipped 0.2% on Thursday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.1%.

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

• China Woes Go Global, Japan’s Slump, U.K. in Disarray: Eco Day. 

• Coronavirus Will Hit Oil Hard. That’s Where the Consensus Ends.

Wall Street Journal:

• U.S. Charges Chinese Tech Giant Huawei With Racketeering.

• Sharp Rise in Coronavirus Cases Raises Questions About Outbreak’s Peak.

Fox News:

• High school girls sue over competition from transgender athletes.

MarketWatch.com:  

• Berkshire Hathaway’s Charlie Munger warns of ‘wretched excess,’ says Tesla’s Elon Musk ‘may overestimate himself’.

• Nvidia’s(NVDA) server sales spike, stock jumps in late trading.

CNBC:

• Coronavirus live updates: China’s Hubei province reports 116 more deaths, 4,823 new cases.

• Judge temporarily blocks Microsoft Pentagon cloud contract after Amazon suit.

• Roku predicts half of US homes will have cut the cord and dropped cable by 2024.

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Roku, Nvidia, Expedia & more.

• ‘Dean of valuation’ says Tesla would need VW-like sales and Apple-like margins to justify stock.

Zero Hedge:

• Hubei Reports 116 New Coronavirus Deaths, 4,823 Cases As Sydney Quarantines Cruise Ship.

• China Vows To Put An End To "Lab Leakage Of Pathogenic Samples".

• China Has Ground To A Halt: "On The Ground" Indicators Confirm Worst-Case Scenario.

• Here Is What Dan Loeb's Third Point Bought And Sold In The Fourth Quarter.

• Foreign Aid Just Empowers Corrupt Regimes. End It!

• Experts Say North Korea "Clearly Lying" About Coronavirus Outbreak - "They Don't Want To Show Any Weakness".

• The Coronavirus Threat Is Greatest In Cities.

• 'The Most Expensive Home In LA' - Bezos Buys $165 Million Bachelor Pad .

• US Navy Intercepts Advanced Iranian Weapons Bound For Yemen In Arabian Sea.

• Fed Liquidity Drain Spoils Virus-Surge-Inspired Stock Buying-Panic.

Business Insider:

• The SEC is looking into Tesla's finances.

• Home Depot and Lowe's are gearing up to hire 133,000 employees for the springtime rush.

John Hopkins University:

• Coronavirus Global Cases. (map)

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -.75% to unch. on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 49.5 unch.

• China Sovereign CDS 33.25 -.5 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index  65.0 -.02%.

• FTSE 100 futures n/a.

• S&P 500 futures -.03%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.05%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (AXL)/.00

• (AZN)/.99

• (NWL)/.37

After the Close:

• None of note

Economic Releases 
8:30 am EST

• The Import Price Index MoM for Jan. is estimated to fall by -.2% versus a +.3% gain in Dec. 

• The Export Prices Index MoM for Jan. is estimated to fall by -.1% versus a -.2% decline in Dec.

• Retail Sales Advance MoM for Jan. is estimated to rise +.3% versus a +.3% gain in Dec.

9:15 am EST

• Industrial Production MoM for Jan. is estimated to fall by -.2% versus a -.3% decline in Dec.

• Capacity Utilization for Jan. is estimated to fall to 76.8% versus 77.0% in Dec.

• Manufacturing Production for Jan. is estimated to fall by -.1% versus a +.2% gain in Dec.
  

10:00 am EST

• Business Inventories for Dec. is estimated to rise +.1% versus a -.2% decline in Nov.

• Preliminary Univ. of Mich. Consumer Confidence for Feb. is estimated to fall to 99.4 versus 99.8 in Jan.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone GDP report and the Bloomberg US Economic Survey for Feb. could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by technology and industrial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing mixed. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.