Tuesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:              

• Cuomo Says New York Deaths Signal Possible Plateau in Outbreak.

• U.K.’s Johnson Moved to Intensive Care as Covid-19 Worsens.

• Brazilian Minister Says China Has Been Profiting From Pandemic.  

• Welcome to the $1.5 Trillion Minefield of Defaulted Chinese Debt.  

• Christine Lagarde’s $810 Billion Coronavirus U-Turn Came in Just Four Weeks.

• U.S. Deaths Top 10,000; Some Signs of Easing Toll: Virus Update.

• Asian Stocks to Build on Rally as Virus Toll Eases. Asian stocks looked set to build on a U.S. rally after the reported death tolls in some of the world’s coronavirus hot spots continued to show signs of easing. The yen maintained losses and Treasuries fell. S&P 500 futures fluctuated in early Asian trading Tuesday after the index finished up 7%, closing at its highest since March 13. Futures in Japan pointed to a strong open with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expected to announce a month-long state of emergency as soon as Tuesday and details of a record stimulus package to combat the spread of the virus. Australian stocks and Hong Kong futures also rose. S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 8:28 a.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 Index increased 7% in New York. Nikkei 225 futures were up 1.8%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index contracts climbed 2.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures rose 1%.

• Oil Posts Largest Decline in 2 Weeks Ahead of Producers Meeting.  

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

• In the Big OPEC++ Output Deal, Who’s In and Who’s Out?   

• Demand for Gasoline Is Plummeting All Over the World.

• Pelosi Says Next Stimulus Round Will Be $1 Trillion or More.  

• Boeing Halts All Jet Assembly With Closing of Last 787 Plant.  

• Barrack Gives Up on Rescue, Says ‘We’re Fighting Politics’.

Wall Street Journal:

• Scientists Rush to Find Coronavirus Cure—but It Still Isn’t Fast Enough.

• Congress’s Small-Business Ventilator.

• The Fed’s New Mission to Save the Economy

• For Doctors Who Care For Pets, It’s Also a Trying Time.

• Coronavirus Hits Meat Plants.

• Credit Markets Show Signs of Stabilizing After Fed Intervention.

• Kroger Limits Shoppers.

• Airbnb Raises $1 Billion From Silver Lake, Sixth Street Partners.

• Container Shipping Lines Cancel Sailings to Weather Virus Storm.

• Coronavirus Cases Among World’s Elite Stoke Class Tensions.

CNBC.com: 

• Dow soars 1,600 points as growth rate of new coronavirus cases appears to slow.

• The bullish case for stocks with major averages already up more than 20% from the lows.

• Coronavirus: Trump says there’s light at the end of the tunnel with vaccine and treatment research.

• After a frenzied rush to file for small business loans, entrepreneurs wait it out.

• Wisconsin primary is on again for now as state Supreme Court blocks order to delay voting.

• Coronavirus live updates: Starbucks baristas to wear face masks, US cases now number 364,000.

• Trump and 3M agree to bring 166.5 million masks to US in three months to help coronavirus response.

• Gold is back above $1,700. Charts suggest an even bigger rally.

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Gannett, Kraft Heinz, Boeing & more.

Fox News:

• British PM moved to ICU as coronavirus symptoms get worse.

• WATCH LIVE: Coronavirus task force gives updates on nationwide spread.

MarketWatch.com:        

• Individual investors have $1.5 trillion of cash on the sidelines, J.P. Morgan says. What next? 

• ‘The worst is behind us’ — with the most attractive risk-reward in years, it is time to buy stocks, Morgan Stanley says.  

• Investors should prepare for a coronavirus-induced ‘vicious spiral’ more than twice as bad as the financial crisis, says J.P. Morgan.

Zero Hedge:

• UCL Professor Warns Johnson Will "Very Likely" Be Placed On A Ventilator.

• Bailing-Out The Bailed-Out.

• Some Bad News From JPM: This Is What Happens After We Pass The Virus Peak.

• US Army Colonel (Ret.): "Yes, The COVID-19 Pandemic Could Have Originated In A Chinese Lab...".

• US Hospitals Face 'Severe' Shortages Of Tests And Protective Equipment: Inspector General.

• Morton's Parent Scrambles To Reopen Frozen Loan Market With Record-Yielding 15% Secured Paper.

• Gold Futures Extend Gains To 8 Year Highs After Pelosi's Trillion-Dollar Promise.

• Realtors Resort To Virtual Reality To Sell Homes During Lockdown.

• Food-Banks Warn They'll Soon Run Out Of Food As Economic Suffering Explodes All Over America.

• Yellen Blames "Enormous Debt And Buybacks" For Coming Default Wave; Morgan Stanley Says It's All The Fed's Fault.

• The Fraud That Is ESG Strikes Again: Six Of Top 10 ESG Funds Underperform The S&P500.

• US Total Passes 350k As Tri-State Area Cases, Deaths Surge: Live Updates.

• Netanyahu Announces Full Lockdown Of Israel Ahead Of Passover.

• Gold Soars To 8-Year Highs As Stocks Melt-Up On Massive Short-Squeeze.

John Hopkins University:

• Coronavirus Global Cases. (map)

BNO News:

• Tracking Coronavirus: Map, data and timeline.

Google Docs:

• Coronavirus Testing by State.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are +1.5% to +2.25% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 140.75 -8.75 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 54.50 -9.0 basis points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 57.98 +.06%.

• Euro Stoxx 50 futures +1.19%.

• S&P 500 futures +.38%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.13%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (ANGO)/-.03

• (FLR)/.13

• (GBX)/.26

• (LNN)/.47

• (REV)/-1.07

After the Close:

• (LEVI)/.35

Economic Releases
10:00 am EST

• JOLTS Job Openings for Feb. is estimated to fall to 6,500 versus 6,963 in Jan. 
  

3:00 pm EST

• Consumer Credit for Feb. is estimated at $14.0B versus $12.021B in Jan.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Japan Machine Orders report, weekly US retail sales reports, $25B 10Y T-Note auction, Wells Fargo Biotech Virtual Conference and the (JCP) analyst day could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are higher, boosted by consumer discretionary and transport shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.