Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:       

• China’s Coronavirus Diplomacy Has Finally Pushed Europe Too Far.  

• Missouri Sues China for ‘Deceit’ Over Extent of Outbreak.  

• China Called Out in U.S. Warning Over Emerging Market Investing.

• U.S. Cases Accelerate; Singapore Extends Lockdown: Virus Update.   

• A Trickle of Bad U.K. Property Loans Is About to Become a Flood.  

• Top Private Bank Asks Clients to Stop Binging on India Stocks.

• Asian Stocks Retreat; Oil Futures Jump After Rout. Asian stocks retreated Wednesday after a risk-off session on Wall Street, amid continued volatility in energy markets and further signs companies are finding it hard to provide outlooks. Crude edged up after a two-day tumble. Shares fell in Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney though declines were shallower than those in the U.S. on Tuesday. S&P 500 futures were little changed after the gauge closed down more than 3%, with investors shrugging off a deal reached by the White House and congressional leaders on fresh spending to combat the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. June crude futures rose as much as 20%, after tumbling more than 50% over the previous two sessions. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasuries was steady after dropping below 0.6%. Futures on the S&P 500 added 0.1% as of 9:12 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge declined 3.1% on Tuesday. Japan’s Topix index fell 1.5%. South Korea’s Kospi index lost 1.4%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 1.7%.

• Oil Tankers Are Surrounding California With Nowhere to Unload.

• Trump Is Urged to Pressure China on Its Promise to Buy U.S. Oil.  

• Negative Oil Prices Are Literally Breaking Traders’ Risk Models.

• Historic Oil Rout Poised to Bust Shale, Trump’s Energy Dominance.  

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

• Oil Crash Disinflation, Grim Economics, Firehose Unwind: Eco Day.

• Wealthy Mortgage Borrowers Face Cold Shoulder From Lenders.

• U.S. Debt to Surge Past Wartime Record, Deficit to Quadruple.

Wall Street Journal: 

• Oil-Price Crash Deepens, Weighs on Global Markets.

• Bill and Melinda Gates Buy Oceanfront Home Near San Diego for $43 Million.

• Young Voters Could Be Biden’s Achilles’ Heel.

• What Won’t Cure Corona: Lawsuits.

• Drone Tests Target Drug Deliveries, Spotting Infected People.

• ‘The French Are Very Bad at Picking Asparagus.’ Virus Imperils European Farming.

• Some States Look to Reopen, but Others Want More Testing First.

CNBC.com:

• White House advisor says US needs to prepare for more deaths as coronavirus outbreak moves past peak

• Senate passes $484 billion coronavirus bill for small business and hospital relief, testing

• LendingClub slashes roughly 30% of workforce as Covid-19 dampens demand for loans

• Chipotle earnings top estimates as diners shifted orders online, driving its digital sales up 81%.

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Snap, Netflix, Texas Instruments and more.

Fox News:

• Trump defends move to suspend immigration for 60 days, says Americans need the jobs.

• Coverage of GOP governors reopening states ignores Dem's actions, critic says.

Zero Hedge:

• "Yesterday Was Scary, Today Is A Lot More Scary": Black Gold Bloodbath As 'Paper' Oil Plunges Everywhere.

• "Fed Can't Print Gold": BofA Calls Gold "Ultimate Store Of Value", Raises Price Target To $3,000.

• 'It's Not The Same': College Students Revolt Against Online Classes, Sue For Tuition Refunds.

• Pentagon Pressures Mexico To Reopen Factories Vital To Making US Weapons.

• China Slams Australia For "Taking Orders From The US" As Canberra Questions Coronavirus Origins: Live Updates.

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Rejoices At Negative Oil Prices.

• The Real Reason Why A Harvard Professor Thinks Homeschooling Should Be Banned.

• CME Will Allow Negative Oil Options Effective April 22.

• FDA Finally Approves At-Home Coronavirus Test.

• Zuck'd Again? State Governors Say Facebook Contacted Them About "Reopen America" Events.

• Senate Passes $484 Billion Coronavirus Funding Bill.

• Interactive Brokers Stuck With $88 Million Loss After Oil-Trading Clients Bust.

• United Airlines Stock Slides After Massive Secondary Offering.

• WTI Maintains Losses As Crude Inventories Rise For 13th Straight Week.

• Netflix Adds Record 15.77MM Paid Subs, Crushing Estimates But Offers Disappointing Outlook.

• It's Not Just Oil: Another Critical Index Turns Negative, Hinting Funding "Crisis" Has Returned.

• ECB To Discuss Accepting Junk Bonds As Collateral.

• TSY Yields Hit Record Lows, Stocks Slammed As Crude Carnage Spreads.

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 -1.75% to -1.0% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 117.75 +8.0 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 51.75 +5.5 basis points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 57.82 +.01%.

• Euro Stoxx 50 futures +.22%.

• S&P 500 futures +.05%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.19%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (T)/.87

• (BIIB)/7.72

• (DAL)/-.87

• (KMB)/1.96

• (KNX)/.35

• (NDAQ)/1.45

• (DGX)/.88

• (STM)/.21

• (TMO)/2.83

• (WWW)/.20

After the Close:

• (AA)/-.17

• (SAM)/1.92

• (CSX)/.95

• (KMI)/.25

• (LRCX)/3.48

• (LSTR)/1.11

• (LVS)/-.09

• (ORLY)/4.03

• (STX)/1.19

• (SAVE)/-.30

• (AMTD)/.88

• (VMI)/1.39

• (XLNX)/.78

Economic Releases
9:00 am EST

• The FHFA House Price Index MoM for Feb. is estimated to rise +.3% versus a +.3% gain in Jan.
  

10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory gain of +13,919,200 barrels versus a +19,248,000 barrel gain the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to rise by +4,551,000 barrels versus a +4,914,000 barrel gain the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to rise by +3,658,600 barrels versus a +6,280,000 barrel gain the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to fall by -1.96% versus a -6.5% decline prior.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The UK CPI report, Eurozone Consumer Confidence report and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are lower, weighed down by financial and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 25% net long heading into the day.