Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:          

• Why Chinese and Indian Troops Are Clashing, Again.

• Beijing Shuts Schools; Japan Export Slump Deepens: Virus Update.  

• Five Charts That Show How Bad Things Are for Indian Consumers.

• Behind Florida’s Covid-19 Surge: What the Charts Are Showing.  

• Asian Stocks Set for Mixed Start; Treasuries Drop: Markets Wrap. Asian stocks were mixed as investors weighed the recent rally in risk assets alongside evidence of a U.S. economic recovery and lingering concern over further coronavirus outbreaks. The dollar steadied following gains. Japanese shares gave back a sliver of their surge of more than 4% on Tuesday and Korean equities slipped, while those in Australia edged higher. S&P 500 futures swung in early Wednesday trading after U.S. equities closed higher. Treasury yields kept this week’s gains. Data showed U.S. retail sales jumped by the most on record and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy may be bottoming out but still has a long way to go before it reverses the substantial damage done by the pandemic. Futures on the S&P 500 Index advanced 0.1% as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo. The index rose 1.9% on Tuesday. Japan’s Topix index fell 0.1%. South Korea’s Kospi index slid 0.2%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.2%.

• Second Wave Virus Concerns Loom Large Over Crude Oil Market.  

• Venezuelan Oil from U.S.-Sanctioned Regime Lines Up Off China.

• Powell Plays Down Significance of Move to Buy Corporate Bonds.  

• Treasury Weighs Safeguarding $17 Billion in Aid for Boeing, GE.  

• Mortgage Lenders ‘Make Hay’ With Loan Spreads Widest Since 2008.  

• AT&T Is Cutting Thousands of Jobs and It’s Just the Beginning.  

• Rush to Disinfect Offices Has Some Environmental Health Experts Worried.

Wall Street Journal:

• Apple Faces Two EU Antitrust Probes Over Apps.

• How the Lockdown Changed Our Spending Habits.

• How Exactly Do You Catch Covid-19? There Is a Growing Consensus.

• ‘Running on Fumes’: Restaurants Face Cash Crunch.

Fox News:

• Georgia sheriff defends Atlanta shooting amid calls to punish officers.

CNBC.com:

• New coronavirus cluster in China’s capital points to the growth challenges ahead.

• Amazon is testing a wearable device that lights up and beeps when warehouse workers get too close.

• Oracle slides on revenue decline.

Zero Hedge:

• No V-Shaped Recovery? Cargo Vessel Calls Plunge At Singapore Port To Three Decade Low.

• Amazon Employees Beware: World's First Warehouse Picker Robot Debuts.

• Progressive Tax States Lose People, Income To Flat And Zero Income Tax States.

• Google Demonetizes Zero Hedge.

• Millions Of Jobs Lost From COVID-19 Are Never Coming Back.

• Veteran CIA Analyst: How An Internet 'Persona' Helped Birth Russiagate.

• North Korea Threatens To Invade Border Area After Blowing Up De Facto Embassy.

• Brazil Sees Another Record Jump In COVID-19 Cases As Total Tops 900k: Live Updates.

• Trump Admin Sues Bolton To Block Book Publication.

• Iran's IRGC Gears Up For 'Routine' Fuel Shipments To Venezuela, Defying Trump.

• WTI Slides After Surprise Crude Inventory Build.

• "Circling The Drain" - The Fed's Zombification Of America Will Have Dire Consequences.

• Stocks Soar As 'Miracle Cure' & 'Recovery' Hype Trumps 2nd-Wave COVID Concerns, WW3 Fears.

The Epoch Times:

• Harvard Professor Pleads Not Guilty in US to Lying About China Ties.

• India, China Troops Clash at Himalayan Border, With 20 Indian Soldiers Dead.

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 -.5% to +.5% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 84.25 -3.5 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 47.75 -2.25 points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 60.77 -.01%.

• FTSE 100 futures +.14%

• S&P 500 futures -.02%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.01%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• None of note

After the Close:

• (ABM)/.29

Economic Releases 
8:30 am EST

• Building Permits for May is estimated to rise to 1250K versus 1074K in April.

• Housing Starts for May is estimated to rise to 1100K versus 891K in April.
  

10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory gain of +1,604,640 barrels versus a +5,720,000 barrel gain the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to fall by -971,800 barrels versus a +866,000 barrel gain the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to rise by +2,047,200 barrels versus a +1,568,000 barrel gain the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to rise by +.52% versus a +1.3% gain prior.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Powell testimony to House, UK inflation data report, 30Y T-Bond auction 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 higher, boosted by technology and transport 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.