Thursday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:    

• ‘There’s No Way I Can Lose’: Inside China’s Stock-Market Frenzy.

•  The U.S.-China Rivalry Is Broadening From Trade to Everything.

• Asian Stocks Look Set for Gains; Dollar Slides: Markets Wrap. Asian stocks saw a muted open on Thursday as investors mulled continued U.S. equity gains amid simmering tensions between Washington and Beijing. The dollar extended its decline. Shares saw modest gains in Sydney and Seoul, and dipped in Tokyo. Futures on the S&P 500 Index ticked higher after the gauge climbed to a one-month high on Wednesday, when advances in high-flying megacaps like Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. sent the Nasdaq Composite to a record. Gold held above $1,800 an ounce. The offshore yuan rose above 7 per dollar, while Treasuries were steady. Futures on the S&P 500 Index added 0.1% as of 9:13 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge rose 0.8% on Wednesday. Japan’s Topix index dipped 0.1%. South Korea’s Kospi index gained 0.6%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.7%.

• U.K. Survival Blueprint, Trade Cost, India Virus Battle: Eco Day.

• U.S. Cases Top 3 Million; Tokyo to Support Bars: Virus Update.

• Biden to Map Economic Path Delaying Progressives’ Biggest Plans.

• Fed’s Bostic Says Softening U.S. Data May Call for More Action.  

• Ghislaine Maxwell Taps Broad Range of Legal Talent for Defense.  

• NYC Rental Market Pushed to Breaking Point by Tenant Debts.

• Hedge Funds Lost a Record 7.9% in Pandemic-Plagued First Half.  

• Health Insurers Could Post Record Profit as Patients Stay Home.

Wall Street Journal:

• TikTok, Once an Oasis of Inoffensive Fun, Ventures Warily Into Politics.

• As Chinese Trade Surpluses Persist, So Will Risk of Trade Wars.

• Bonfire of the Liberals.

• Ivy League Says No Sports Until 2021.

• United Explores 45% Cut to U.S. Staff as Travel Slumps.

• Gold ETF Inflows Hit Record as Bullion Rally Continues.

Fox News:

• City of Seattle instructed White employees to forgo jobs, promotions, safety in interest of racial justice.

• Shapiro says NFLer's anti-Semitism shows hypocrisy of 'cancel culture' mob.

CNBC.com:

• Taylor Morrison CEO: Home sales are ‘strongest’ in Texas, Arizona and other coronavirus hot spots.

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Bed Bath & Beyond, NIO, Costco and more.

• Amazon pulls Washington Redskins merchandise amid calls for the team to change its name.

• Coronavirus cases surge among younger Californians.

MarketWatch.com: 

• Why gold has become a ‘weapon of choice’ for investors.

• Bed Bath & Beyond to close 200 stores, stock falls on wider-than-expected loss.

• Nvidia surpasses Intel as largest U.S. chip maker by market cap.

Zero Hedge:     

• California, Texas, Arizona Shatter COVID-19 Records As Global Case Total Nears 12 Million: Live Updates.

• Biden Embraces 'Green New Deal' In Newly Released "Biden-Sanders" Policy Platform.

• Cancel Culture Targets Broadway Hit 'Hamilton' As Racial Politics Grow More Uncompromising.

• Google Abandons Another Shady China Venture.

• In An Insane World, Madness Looks Moderate And Sanity Looks Radical.

• CENTCOM Chief Is Latest To Deny NY Times Russian Bounties "Bombshell".

• US Budget Deficit Hits A Record $863 Billion In June, A 100X Increase.

• Retail Apocalypse Accelerates - 8,700 Stores Closing, Number Set To Rise.

• Plunge In Consumer Credit Continues As Americans Repay Record Amounts Of Credit Card Debt.

• Bullion, Bitcoin, & Big-Tech Bid As Dollar Dumped.

The Epoch Times:

• Internal Documents Expose the True Intentions Behind China’s Virus Mobile App System.

• Beijing Proposes Youth Work in Countryside to Ease China’s Unemployment Crisis.

Digital Blackboard:

• Daily New Cases by Region.

Worldometer:

• New Cases/Deaths by state.

Rt Covid-19:

• How fast virus is growing by state.

KFF:

• State Data(Tests/Hospitalizations).

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are +.25%  to +.75% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 79.75 -1.0 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 45.0 -.25 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 60.70 +.04%.

• FTSE 100 futures +.57%.

• S&P 500 futures +.05%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.08%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (AZZ)/.47

• (HELE)/1.49

• (WBA)/1.23

After the Close:

• (PSMT)/.22

• (WDFC)/.95

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST

• Initial Jobless Claims for last week are estimated to fall to 1375K versus 1427K the prior week.

• Continuing Claims are estimated to fall to 18750K versus 19290K prior. 
  

10:00 am EST

• Wholesale Trade Sales MoM for May is estimated to rise +4.5% versus a -16.9% decline in April.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Japan PPI report, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, $19B 30Y T-Bond auction and the weekly EIA natural gas inventory report could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by technology and consumer 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.