Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:   

• Covid Has Wiped Out the Economic Dreams of a Generation in Asia.  
• ECB Study Finds Signs of Eroding Central Bank Independence.
• Stocks Drop as U.S. Stimulus Talks End; Dollar Up: Markets Wrap. Asian equities declined after President Donald Trump said he is ending stimulus talks until after next month’s election. The dollar extended gains. Japanese and South Korean shares declined, with more modest losses than the S&P 500’s fall of over 1%. Trump’s comment came just hours after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell renewed his warning that the economy will stumble without additional support. Treasury yields maintained declines. Nasdaq futures slipped after a House panel proposed a series of far-reaching antitrust reforms to curb the power of U.S. technology giants including Amazon.com and Alphabet Inc. Australian shares were flat after Tuesday’s budget announcement while the country’s 3-year bond yield dropped to an all-time low on plans to issue less debt than estimated. Crude oil sank. S&P 500 futures lost 0.2% as of 9:04 a.m. in Tokyo. The index fell 1.4% on Tuesday. Japan’s Topix index lost 0.6%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was little changed. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.5%.
• Trump Halts Stimulus Talks, Spurning Powell and Roiling Markets.  
• GE Warns of Likely SEC Action in Probe of Insurance Reserves.  
• Businesses in NYC Hot Spots Must Close by Friday, Cuomo Says.  
• America’s Municipal Governments Fret As Stimulus Talks Collapse.  
• Bitcoin’s Rising Correlation With Stocks Debunks Haven Narrative.
• Big Tech Under Attack: Key Allegations in House Antitrust Report.

Wall Street Journal:

• President Plans to Attend Debate, Plays Down Virus.
• Pelosi’s Taxpayer Ransom Demand.
• Trump Halts Covid-19 Relief Aid Talks Until After Election.
• Bill Gates Says Antibody Drugs Could Sharply Reduce Covid-19 Death Rate.
• JPMorgan Pledges to Push Clients to Align With Paris Climate Agreement.
• Hurricane Delta Bears Down on Mexico.

Fox News:

• President Trump pauses stimulus talks so McConnell can focus on Amy Coney Barrett confirmation.
• Biden's remarks about 'beautiful young ladies' stun onlookers, go viral -- again.
• McCloskeys indicted on charges from BLM protesters standoff.
  

CNBC.com:

• Jim Cramer reveals a list of stocks worth buying after Trump shut down stimulus talks.
• Apple announces Oct. 13 event, where it’s expected to reveal new iPhones.
• An inflation scare will hit the markets, investor Peter Boockvar predicts.
  

MarketWatch.com:       

• Joe Biden defines income of $400,000 as ‘wealthy,’ but here’s why it’s barely scraping by for some.  
• Facebook will remove all QAnon content across its platforms: report.

Zero Hedge:

• DNI Declassifies Brennan Notes; Briefed Obama On Intelligence That Hillary Clinton Concocted Trump-Russia Allegations.
• "Political Hit Job!" - Trump Slams FDA's Guidance Precluding COVID-19 Vaccine Before Nov. 3.
• The Pandemic That Killed Debate.
• Biden Says "We Shouldn't Have Debate" Next Week If Trump Still Has Coronavirus.
• Corruption Is Now Our Way Of Life.
• 21 Scholars Demand '1619 Project' Writer Lose Pulitzer For Fabricating History.
• Asking The Question That Nobody Dares To Ask Publicly.
• 32 Sickened In White House COVID-19 Outbreak As 4th Press Shop Aide Tests Positive.
• Snyder: Our Society Is In The Process Of Breaking Down All Around Us.
• COVID-19 Outbreaks Worsen In NY, NJ & CT As Cuomo Outlines New Plan For Containing 'Hot Spots': Live Updates.
• "Defund Walter Reed" & Other Insanity - Trump Critics Meltdown Over Release From Hospital.
• Netflix Indicted Over 'Lewd Visual Material Depicting Child' In Cuties.
• WTI Slides Back Below $40 After Surprise Crude Build.
• House Dems Anti-Trust Report Accuses "Big Four" Tech Firms Of Enjoying "Monopoly Power".
• Shart Of The Deal - Stocks & Bond Yields Puke On Trump 'No Stimulus' Tweet.

The Epoch Times:

• Beijing Seeks to Aggressively Export Its COVID-19 Vaccines at Cheap Prices.
  

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 -.5% to +.25% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 71.75 -1.0 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 45.25 -1.25 basis points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 59.34 -.04%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 23.0 +7.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 32.32 +.29%
• FTSE 100 futures -.35%.

• S&P 500 futures -.17%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.10%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (LW)/.30
• (RPM)/1.18
  

After the Close:

• (RGP)/.05
  

Economic Releases

10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory decline of -880,550 barrels versus a -1,980,000 barrel decline the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to fall by -555,000 barrels versus a +683,000 barrel gain the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to fall by -1,274,270 barrels versus a -3,184,000 barrel decline the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to rise by +.2% versus a +1.0% gain prior. 

2:00 pm EST

• Sept. 16th FOMC Meeting Minutes.

3:00 pm EST

• Consumer Credit for Aug. is estimated to rise to $14.0B versus $12.25B in July.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone Industrial Production report, weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report, $35B 10Y T-Note auction and the (ALB) fireside chat with Robert Baird could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by industrial and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to weaken into the afternoon, finished modestly lower. The Portfolio is 25% net long heading into the day.