Friday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:         

• Rescuing State-Owned Firms Adds to Emerging Market Debt Crisis.  
• India’s Credit Market Has Been Stung by Bankruptcy Suspension.
• Tokyo Lifts Alert; Mnuchin Says Economy Can’t Shut: Virus Update.    
• FX Faces Risk of a Virus Shake-Up Even as Fed Anchor Remains.
• Asia Stocks Tumble after U.S. Rout; Dollar Down: Markets Wrap. Asian stocks slumped on Friday after a rout on Wall Street triggered by concerns the epic rally since March was excessive given the emergence of a second wave of infections in some locations. Korean shares opened down over 4% and Japanese ones fell about 2%. U.S. futures suggested some stabilization, rising after the S&P 500 sank almost 6% Thursday, the most in 12 weeks, with only one company in the index finishing higher. Airlines, cruise and travel shares that soared in recent weeks bore the brunt of the selling. The KBW Bank Index of financial heavyweights slid 9%, and energy producers joined a rout in oil. Treasuries and the dollar held gains, and crude oil slid. Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 9:04 a.m. in Tokyo. The index sank 5.9% Thursday. Japan’s Topix Index dropped 2.4%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index retreated 1.8%. Kospi Index fell 4.2%. Hang Seng futures lost 2.1% earlier.
• Oil Dives the Most in Six Weeks, Exposing Fragile Recovery.    
• No Renewed Lockdown, Recovery Reprise, Negative on BOJ: Eco Day.  
• Adobe Rises on Durable Demand for Creative, Document Apps.
• Snap CEO Says Exercising Free Speech Rights by Limiting Trump.
• The Stocks-Only-Go-Up Strategy Falls Into a $2 Trillion Ditch.
• Trump Touts Economy as Racial-Justice Fix, Snubs Police Overhaul.
• Dissecting Florida’s Covid-19 Resurgence in Four Charts.  
• PE-Owned Hospitals Paid Owners Millions and Got Low Care Ratings.

Wall Street Journal:

• Coronavirus Takes Financial Toll on New York City’s ‘Safety-Net’ Hospitals.    
• China’s Trillion-Dollar Campaign Fuels a Tech Race With the U.S.
• Get Ready for the Second Coronavirus Wave.
• Jobless Claims Show a Slowly Mending Labor Market.
• Bank Stocks Fall After Fed Projects No Rate Increases. 
• Covid-19 Hospitalizations Surge in Some States.
• How New York’s Coronavirus Response Made the Pandemic Worse.
• After Years of Debate, Confederate Symbols Disappear Quickly.

Fox News:

• As anti-cop faction extends standoff, police chief says leaving precinct not her call.
• League promises eye-popping amount of cash 'to combat systemic racism'.

CNBC.com:

• Stocks suffer their worst day since March, with the Dow plunging more than 1,800 points.
• Arizona coronavirus cases nearly double since Memorial Day as state nears hospital capacity.
• What today’s stock sell-off has to do with Robinhood traders: CNBC After Hours.
• Top stocks on Robinhood brokerage get crushed as market violently reverses.
• Cramer on stock market plunge: There’s been a ‘happiness trade’ out of sync with ‘everything’.
• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: PVH, Adobe, Lululemon and more.
• Lululemon sales fall 17% as retailer takes hit from stores being closed, shares drop.
• Mortgage rates set new record low, falling below 3% as concerns rise about coronavirus second wave.

MarketWatch.com:    

• No, the pandemic isn’t over — that’s one big reason debt markets are following the downward spiral in stocks .
• These U.S. stocks paced the market’s brutal decline Thursday.
• Beware of these popular stocks when the crisis ‘gradually, then suddenly’ emerges, fund manager warns.

Zero Hedge:

• "The Most Absurd Moment In The History Of Capital Markets": Hertz Plans To Sell Up To $1 Billion In New Bankrupt Stock.
• Houston "On The Precipice Of Disaster" As Officials Weigh Reimposing Stay At Home Order Amid Spike In Cases: Live Updates.
• Zoom Disables Accounts Of Exiled Chinese Dissidents During Tiananmen Square Memorial.
• Is Unarmed National Guard Emboldening Seattle Mob?
• Mayor Apologizes As Chicago Cops Caught Lounging In Congressman's Office Instead Of Arresting Looters.
• Seattle "Autonomous Zone" Now Has A "Heavily-Armed" Warlord As Crime Spikes 300%.
• El-Erian Warns "Bad Things Happen" When Markets Front-Run The Economy.
• "All About Money, Not Human Rights": Hong Kong Activists Slam LeBron James' BLM Hypocrisy.
• BMO The Second Wave Has Arrived, And Attention Will Undoubtedly Return To The Daily Stats.
• NYC Detectives' Union To Sue Floyd Rioters Who Attack Officers.
• 'Academics' Nationwide Urge #ShutDownSTEM Because Science Is "Weaponized Against Black People".
• Biden Beats Trump, Dems Retake Senate According To Latest PredictIt Odds.
• Activist Crushed By Falling Confederate Statue After Frenzied Mob Toppled It.
• "It's A Rout" - Re-Open Rally Ruined But Bonds & Bullion Bid.

The Epoch Times:

• Countering China Supply Chains, US Bill Seeks to Boost Domestic Production of Electronic Chips.
• China Insider: Internal WHO Documents Reveal the CCP’s Delay Worsened the Pandemic by 200 Times.

John Hopkins University:

• Coronavirus Global Cases. (map)

BNO News:

• Tracking Coronavirus: Map, data and timeline.

KFF:

• State Data(Tests/Hospitalizations).

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -3.25% to -2.75% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 91.75 +5.75 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 52.75 +5.5 points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 60.93 -.13%.
• FTSE 100 futures -1.2%

• S&P 500 futures +.59%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.54%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• None of note

After the Close:

• None of note

Economic Releases 
8:30 am EST

• The Import Price Index MoM for May is estimated to rise +.7% versus a -2.6% decline in April.
• The Export Price Index MoM for May is estimated to rise +.7% versus a -3.3% gain in April.
  

10:00 am EST

• Preliminary Univ. of Mich. Consumer Sentiment for June is estimated to rise to 75.0 versus 72.3 in May.
  

12:00 pm EST

• Household Change in Net Worth for 1Q.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The China New Loan data, Bloomberg US Economic Survey for June and the (CNC) investor day could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are sharply lower, weighed down by technology and commodity shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.