Friday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:   

• Disagreement on Japan Evacuees; Cops Quarantined: Virus Update.    

• Hubei Adds 115 Deaths; Hong Kong Cops Quarantined: Virus Update

• Hubei Changes Virus Count Method With Data Mistrust Growing.  

• Fecal Transmission May Be Behind Coronavirus’s Rapid Spread.  

• Japan Inflation Picks Up Pace Again Buoyed by Energy Prices. 

• Stocks Mixed on Virus Jitters; Dollar Holds Gain. U.S. equity futures slipped and Asian stocks saw a mixed start to Friday trading amid renewed concern about the impact of the coronavirus. The dollar and Treasuries held overnight gains. Shares slid in Korea, edged lower in Australia and saw modest gains in Japan. The won declined after South Korean export data fueled concern about the economy. Earlier, U.S. stocks closed lower and the Dollar Index climbed to the highest in almost three years as the rise in virus cases outside of China hit sentiment. The yen steadied around 112 per dollar and the yuan held declines. Futures on the S&P 500 Index dipped 0.3% as of 10:07 a.m. in Tokyo. The underlying gauge fell 0.4% on Thursday. Japan’s Topix index added 0.3%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.1%. South Korea’s Kospi index dropped 1.1%.

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

• Nevada Democrats Fret Over Repeat of Iowa Chaos: ‘I Am Nervous’.  

• E*Trade Deal Highlights Tech-Driven Change Felt in Many Markets.

Wall Street Journal:

• China’s Facade of Stability

• ‘I Feel Like This Is the End’: A Million Fleeing Syrians Trapped by Assad’s Final Push.

• Japan Defends Handling of Virus-Struck Cruise Ship.

• Bloomberg Says Me Too to Leftism.

• Sprint, T-Mobile Revise Merger Terms.

• Global Terror-Finance Watchdog Set to Sanction Iran.

• Founders of Hedge Fund Senator Splitting Up.

• Two Big Workplace-Software Providers to Merge.

Fox News:

• DOJ's original Roger Stone sentence proposal was excessive, Jackson agrees.

• NBC's Dem debate leaves liberal competitor with lowly viewership.

MarketWatch.com:    

• Dropbox shares jump on better-than-expected results.

CNBC:

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: First Solar, Dropbox, Fitbit & more.

• Dow falls more than 100 points after suffering a sudden midday sell-off that confused traders.

• NRC Health cyberattack sparks privacy concerns about patient records in US. 

• Elizabeth Warren reverses her position on super PAC support as she seeks comeback.

Zero Hedge:

• South Korean Soldier Tests Positive For Coronavirus; Hubei Reports 411 New Cases, 115 Deaths.

• US Agency Which Secures President's Communications Says Its Systems Were "Breached".

• Houthi Missiles Target Aramco Facility Just After Pompeo Arrives In Saudi Arabia.

• The Rate Of Diamond Princess Infections Suggest Worldwide Infections Are Much Higher Than Official Reports.

• Meet Nikola Motors' Stunning EV Pickup Truck Competitor To Tesla's Cybertruck.

• Chinese Regime Deploys 1,600 Online Trolls To Suppress Information On Coronavirus.

• Bolton Admits Testimony Based On Leaked Book Excerpts Would Have Been Impeachment Nothingburger.

• MGM Seeks To Replace 2,000 Workers With Robots By 2020.

• On Leaving California: "I've Watched Grown Adults Dress Up As Vaginas & Parade The Streets".

• European Close Sparks Buying-Panic Bid After Morning Momo Massacre.

Business Insider:

• VOICE ASSISTANTS IN HEALTHCARE: An inside look at 3 emerging voice use cases healthcare providers can deploy to cut costs, build loyalty, and drive revenue.

John Hopkins University:

• Coronavirus Global Cases. (map)

BNO News:

• Tracking Coronavirus: Map, data and timeline.

Night Trading 

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 47.75 +.75 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 34.75 +.75 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index  64.42 -.02%.

• FTSE 100 futures -.01%.

• S&P 500 futures -.22%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.26%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (B)/.84

• (DE)/1.27

• (ITT)/.92

• (MGA)/1.32

• (SOHU)/-.40

After the Close:

• None of note

Economic Releases 
9:45 am EST

• The Markit US Manufacturing PMI for Feb. is estimated to fall to 51.5 versus 51.9 in Jan.

• The Markit US Services PMI for Feb. is estimated at 53.4 versus 53.4 in Jan.

10:00 am EST

• Existing Home Sales for Jan. are estimated to fall to 5.44M versus 5.54M in Dec.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Kaplan speaking, Fed's Brainard speaking, Eurozone Services PMI report, Eurozone CPI report and the (HAS) investor day could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are lower, weighed down by technology and industrial 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.