Wednesday, July 08, 2020

Thursday Watch

Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:    
  • 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%.
Wall Street Journal:
Fox News:
CNBC.com:
Zero Hedge:     
The Epoch Times:
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.

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