Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:       

• Trump Says He Delayed China Talks, Faults Beijing Over Virus.  
• Hong Kong Protesters Adapt as Security Law Stifles Old Tactics.
• U.S. Stocks Rise to Record; Asia to See Muted Open. Asian shares looked set for a muted start Wednesday, even as U.S. stocks closed above their February highs for the first time since the pandemic upended financial markets. The dollar fell to the lowest in more than two years and Treasuries advanced. Futures were little changed in Japan, and dipped in Hong Kong and Australia. S&P 500 contracts were flat after the gauge eked out a gain, having failed to better the Feb. 19 closing level in three of the past four sessions. Amazon.com Inc. paced the advance on Tuesday, pushing its surge this year to 79%. Homebuilders also rose as a report showed housing starts increased the most since 2016. Chinese shares will be in focus after the Trump administration warned U.S. colleges to divest them, while traders in Hong Kong are monitoring storm warning signals that forced the closure of pre-market trading on Wednesday. Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed as of 8:07 a.m. in Tokyo. The index rose 0.2% on Tuesday. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 were little changed. Hang Seng Index futures earlier slipped 0.3%. Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dipped 0.1%.
• Pelosi Hints Democrats Might Pare Stimulus Plan, Seek More Later.
• U.S. Cases Rise 0.8%; More Colleges Shift Online: Virus Update.
• Postmaster General Suspends Service Changes Until After Election.  
• What the ‘Tech Exodus’ Could Mean for Silicon Valley.  
• Trump Says Amazon Should Pay Cost of Postal Service.  
• Fidelity Assets Under Management Reach Record $3.3 Trillion.

Wall Street Journal:

• China’s Xi Jinping Tightens Grip on Domestic Security Forces in First Broad Purge.
• S&P 500 Closes at New High, Erasing Virus Plunge.
• If You Like Lockdowns, You’ll Love the Carbon-Free Future.
• What Derailed America’s Testing: Three Lost Weeks.
• Nancy Pelosi Goes Politically Postal.
• Coronavirus, Contracts and the Constitution.
• Notre Dame, Michigan State Act to Slow Spread of Virus.
• Amazon Bets on Office-Based Work With Expansion in Major Cities.
• Selloff in Emerging-Market Currencies Shows No Sign of Respite.
• Texas Governor Threatens Cities That Defund Police.
  

Fox News:

• Why Biden could regret having support from these voters.
• Portland police identify suspect in brutal assault caught on camera.
  

CNBC.com:

• Why stay-at-home retail plays are likely in the ‘early innings’.
• Jim Cramer: A U.S. dollar rally might be in the cards, according to the charts.
• After-hours buzz: Cree, Agilent Technologies, Target and more.
• Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says Democrats are unwilling to strike a ‘reasonable’ relief deal.
  

MarketWatch.com:     

• Stock-market investors’ biggest election fear? A contested outcome.   
• Sorrento stock falls after company fires CFO.

NY Post: 

• Baltimore Republican Kim Klacik shows ‘reality for black people’ in viral ad. (video)
  

Zero Hedge:  

• DNC Viewership Disaster: Less Than Half Tune In To Watch Democratic Convention Compared To 2016.
• "None Of It Was True" - YouTube Stars Who "Re-Homed" Adopted Son Say China Lied About Child's Health.
• Just 12 US Billionaires Now Own More Than $1 Trillion in Combined Wealth.
• Manhunt Launched For BLM Thug Who Put Truck Driver In Hospital With Head-Kick.
• 250,000 Las Vegans Face Eviction Next Month.  
• Robinhood Valuation Tops $11 Billion As IPO Chatter Looms.
• "This War Can't Be Civil": Berkeley Columnist Calls For "Violent Resistance".
• Notre Dame Moves To Virtual Classes; Texas COVID-19 Cases Bounce Back: Live Updates.
• Election Roulette: How To Rig An Outcome.
• US Launches Soft Capital Control Attack On Beijing, "Urges" Colleges To Sell Chinese Stocks.
• 'Something's Not Right With Biden' According To Former White House Physician.
• WTI Dips After Big Gasoline Build Offsets Crude Draw.
• Gold Jumps, Dollar Dumps As S&P Ends "Shortest Bear Market In History".

The Epoch Times:

• Asian-Americans Support Ban on WeChat, Despise CCP’s Hooliganism.
  

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 +.5% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 64.75 -.5 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 39.0 -1.0 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 60.40 +.03%.
• FTSE 100 futures n/a.

• S&P 500 futures +.04%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.04%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (ADI)/1.29
• (LOW)/2.96
• (TGT)/1.64
• (TJX)/-.15
• (VIPS)/1.92
  

After the Close:

• ((LB)/-.42
• (NVDA)/1.68
• (SQM)/.21
• (SNPS)/1.34 
  

Economic Releases

10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory decline of -3,079,780 barrels versus a -4,512,000 barrel gain the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to fall by -999,440 barrels versus a -722,000 barrel decline the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to fall by -1,053,670 barrels versus a -2,322,000 barrel decline the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to rise by +.29% versus a +1.4% decline prior.

2:00 pm EST

• The July 29 FOMC Meeting Minutes.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Daly speaking, China Loan Data report, Eurozone PMI report, UK Inflation Data report 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 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.