Thursday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:   

• Here’s What Could Happen If China Invaded Taiwan.
• Stocks Advance Amid Stimulus Optimism; Dollar Dips: Markets Wrap. Asian stocks followed their U.S. peers higher as investors mulled encouraging signs for Joe Biden in the presidential election race and what it could mean for stimulus. Treasuries steadied after yields pushed higher, while the dollar slipped. Shares climbed in Australia and South Korea, though were little changed in Japan. U.S. equity futures edged up following the S&P 500’s 1.7% overnight advance. Nancy Pelosi signaled openness to an airline-relief bill in talks with Steven Mnuchin after President Donald Trump scuttled broader negotiations, while a fresh round of state polls showed Biden is widening his lead in a slew of crucial battleground states. The 10-year Treasury yield held around 0.78%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.2% as of 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge rose 1.7% on Wednesday. Japan’s Topix index advanced 0.1%. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.8%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.7%.
• Pelosi Open to Aid for Airlines But Resists Stimulus-Checks Bill.
  
• Fed to Debate Bond-Buying Program in Possible Step Toward Action.  
• Delta Targets Louisiana After Hitting Mexico: Hurricane Update.  
• California Keeps Theme Parks Closed, Extending Rift With Disney.

Wall Street Journal:

• Trump Symptom-Free for 24 Hours, Says White House Doctor.
• Bigoted Attacks on Amy Coney Barrett Will Backfire.
• Joe Biden Is the Shutdown Candidate.

Fox News:

• Harris will target POTUS as Pence defends the administration's record at tonight's debate.
• BLM, social justice messages to be left 'off the floor' next season: NBA commish.
  

CNBC.com:

• Samsung says profits likely rose 58% in the third quarter, beating estimates.
• The stock market may be too optimistic about stimulus chances.
• Eli Lilly shares jump after company says it’s seeking FDA clearance for antibody drug.
  

MarketWatch.com:      

• Costco sales continue surge, increasing from record levels.

Zero Hedge:

• CA Officials Topple Giant 'TRUMP' Sign Overlooking 405 Freeway, Citing 'Life And Safety Hazard'.
• Cultural Revolution: Woke Totalitarians Have Taken Over Campus.
• Despite "Craving For Normalcy", Here Are Nine Reasons Why Trump May Still Win.
• Hurricane Delta To Strike Gulf Coast Friday.
• "It’s A Civil War": Decade Of Covenant-Lite Deals Leads To Leveraged Loan "Panic".
• Regeneron Shares Jump After Trump Calls COVID Treatment "A Cure".
• While Most Companies Went "Work From Home", Houston's Phillips 66 Implemented A "Work From Work" Policy.
• COVID-19 Debate Infected By Fallacy Of Averages.
• Brazil Becomes 3rd Country To Pass 5 Million Confirmed Cases Of COVID-19: Live Updates.
• Tesla Says "Operations Disrupted" Last Month After "Malicious Sabotage" Attempt At Fremont.
• Instagram Bans QAnon Accounts, But Refuses To Remove ISIS Accounts Celebrating 9/11.
• Massive Short-Squeeze Reverses Trump-Tweet Losses, Bond Vol Explodes.

The Epoch Times: 

• Disappointed at Trump’s Speedy COVID-19 Recovery, Chinese State Media Spreads Fake News.
  

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 70.0 -1.75 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 43.0 -2.25 basis points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 59.42 +.03%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 207.0 +4.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 31.62 -.33%
• FTSE 100 futures +.11%.

• S&P 500 futures +.18%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.24%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (AYI)/2.01
• (CCL)/-1.81
• (DPZ)/2.42
• (HELE)/2.32
  

After the Close:

• None of note
  

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• Initial Jobless Claims for last week are estimated to fall to 820K versus 837K the prior week.
• Continuing Claims are estimated to fall to 11,400K versus 11,767K prior. 

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Mexico inflation data report, Bloomberg Oct. US Economic Survey, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report, $23B 30Y T-Bond auction, (MRVL) investor day and the (CCL) business update could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are modestly higher, boosted by commodity and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to rally into the afternoon, finished modestly higher. The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.