Thursday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:    

• Second U.S. Virus Wave Emerges With Texas Hitting Record.

• Asia Stocks to Slip; Dollar Declines on Powell. Stocks in Asia looked set to drop as investors assessed the Federal Reserve’s forecast of a long road to recovery for the economy and loose monetary policy. Treasuries rose and the dollar extended this month’s slide. Futures were lower in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. Contracts on the S&P 500 opened flat following a volatile session earlier, which saw the index close lower as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell suggested the pandemic could inflict longer-lasting damage on the economy even as the Fed signaled it would keep rates near zero possibly for years to come. The central bank also said it will at least maintain the current rate of bond purchases. Treasury 10-year yields sank to as low as 0.72%, while the dollar extended its June slide to 2.5%. The Nasdaq 100 climbed to a record high as Tesla Inc. topped $1,000. Gold rose. Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed as of 7:08 a.m. in Tokyo. The index dipped 0.5% Wednesday. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2%. Hang Seng Index futures retreated 0.3%. Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 1.1%.

• Dovish Powell Sees Fed Keeping Foot on Gas Until Jobs Come Back.

• Treasuries Bulls Energized After Fed Sees Years of Easy Policy.

• Trump Says He’ll Resume Rallies in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 19.

• U.S. Jobs Focus Shifts Back to Losses After May’s Surprise Gain.

• Caterpillar Extending Plant Closures With Virus Sapping Demand.

• Risky Munis Shrug Off Recession in Biggest Rally Since 2009.

Wall Street Journal:

• Simon Property Ends Taubman Deal as Coronavirus Hits Retail.

• Fed Officials Project No Rate Increases Through 2022.

• Trump Considers Ways to Address Police Abuse.

• Tested Positive for Coronavirus Antibodies? Stay Vigilant.

• Lawmakers Propose Spending Billions to Strengthen U.S. Chip Industry.

• States Sue Drug Companies, Executives Over Alleged Price Fixing.

Fox News:

• Powerful law-enforcement union vows to sue rioters, looters who attack police.

• NYC's first lady says city without police would be ideal, but…

CNBC.com:

• Grubhub to merge with European food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway.com following failed Uber talks.

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: GrubHub, Tailored Brands, Delta and more.

• Market gone wild: Penny stocks are up nearly 80% on average in the last week.

• Texas reports a third straight day of record coronavirus hospitalization.

MarketWatch.com:        

• Here are the biggest stock-market bets among institutional and retail investors, ranked.

• Opinion: ‘You should be nervous!’—legendary money manager slashes stock market exposure from 55% to 25%.

• Barstool Sports founder believes he’s a better investor than Warren Buffett and has determined day trading is ‘the easiest game’ there is.

Zero Hedge:

• Minneapolis Manufacturing Company Torched In Riots To Leave City.

• Texas Reports Record 2,500 New COVID-19 Infections In Latest Sign Of Nascent 'Second Wave': Live Updates.

• Total US Debt Increases By $1 Trillion In One Month.

• UCLA Prof Suspended, Under Police Protection After Refusing To Exempt Black Students From Final Exam.

• "Defund The Police" Doesn't Mean "Defund The Police", We're Supposed To Believe.

• Trump 'Will Not Even Consider' Renaming Military Bases Amid Racial Tensions.

• Christopher Columbus Statue Beheaded In Boston; Another Toppled & Torched In Richmond.

• "I Will Not Endorse Any Unlawful Acts" - Oregon Mayor Faces Down Radical Leftist Rage Mob.

• Saks Fifth Avenue Shields NYC Store With Barbed Wire, Attack Dogs To Deter Looters.

• Harvard Prof Indicted For Lying About China Ties.

• Seattle Protesters Storm City Hall After Running Cops Out Of Precinct, Establishing "Autonomous Zone".

• Amazon Halts Use Of 'Racist' Facial Recognition Software By Police.

• NASCAR Bans Confederate Flag After Black Driver Demands Action.

• Google Searches For "Day Trading" And "Call Options" Explode To Record Highs.

• "Chaos Is Coming" - Bullion, Bonds, & Big-Tech Bid As Dollar & Dow Dumped.

The Epoch Times:

• US Ramps Up Tough Actions Against Beijing.

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 -1.25% to -.75% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 86.0 +1.75 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 47.25 -1.5 points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 61.83 -.03%.

• FTSE 100 futures -.89%

• S&P 500 futures -.57%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.36%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (JW/A)/.43

• (PLCE)/-2.26

After the Close:

• (WUBA)/.00

• (ADBE)/2.32

• (PLAY)/-.85

• (LULU)/.27

• (PVH)/-1.60

Economic Releases 
8:30 am EST

• PPI Final Demand MoM for May is estimated to rise +.1% versus a -1.3% decline in April.

• PPI Ex Food and Energy MoM for May is estimated to fall -.1% versus a -.3% decline in April.

• Initial Jobless Claims are estimated to fall to 1550K versus 1877K the prior week. 

• Continuing Claims are estimated to fall to 20000K versus 21487K prior.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Italy Industrial Production report, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report and the RBC Fin Tech Virtual Conference 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 commodity 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.