Friday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:          

• France Posts Record New Virus Cases as Minister Warns of ‘Violent’ Second Wave.  
• Denmark Covid-19 Virus Mutation Leads to New Restrictions.
• Australia on Edge as China’s Trade Deadline Arrives.  
• A $3 Trillion Investor Craze Implodes After Ant’s IPO Bust.
• Jump in Insolvencies Heralds Pandemic Hit to Canadian Households.  
• Stock Rally Stalls in Asia; Dollar Holds Slide: Markets Wrap.  
• Gold Heads for Biggest Weekly Gain Since July on Stimulus Hopes.
• Crude Falls With Market Awaiting Contested U.S. Election Outcome.
• U.S. Daily Cases Top 100,000; States Hit Records: Virus Update.  
• Cleaning Up LNG Becomes a Target of EU in Blow to U.S. Shippers.  
• House Democrats Trade Blame Over Surprise Losses in Election.  
• Here Are the Local Ballot Measures That Passed and Failed.  
• Electronic Arts Tumbles After Results, Outlook Come Up Short.

Wall Street Journal:

• Republicans Hold Off Democratic Bid to Flip State Legislatures.
• How the 2020 Electorate Voted.
• What Went Wrong With the Polls?
• Control of Senate Hinges on Georgia.
• Latino Voters Drifted From Democrats in Florida and Texas.
• U.S. Seizes $1 Billion of Bitcoin Tied to Silk Road Website.
• Hospitals in South and Midwest Showing Signs of Strain.
• Peloton, Pizza and Videogames Grow in Stay-at-Home World.

Fox News:

• Trump campaign announces federal lawsuit in Nevada, alleging 'illegal votes' being counted.
• Trump's Pennsylvania lead dwindles as legal fight heats up over Philadelphia poll watchers.
• What to know about Trump's ballot counting challenges.
• Angry Dems blame far-left turn for disappointing election.
  

CNBC.com:

• Coronavirus testing stocks have ‘a lot more room to run,’ Jim Cramer says.
• All-star investor Rich Bernstein sees ‘a very bearish sign’.
• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Uber, Square, Roku, Peloton & more.
• Fed holds interest rates steady near zero, says economy is still well below pre-pandemic levels.
• Trump campaign to sue in Nevada, claiming votes by dead people and non-residents; Biden lead grows.

MarketWatch.com:           

• Peloton sales triple as pandemic surge continues, but the stock is falling amid delivery issues.  
• Zillow posts biggest earnings on record as online real estate booms during pandemic, stock shoots toward record.  
• Roku delivers surprise profit and large revenue beat, but stock falls.

Zero Hedge:

• Why Does Biden Have So Many More Votes Than Democrat Senators In Swing States?
• "We'll Get Fu*king Torn Apart Again In 2022": Democrats Livid In Leaked Caucus Call After Crushing Election Losses.
• "Racist" Trump Won More Minority Votes Than Any GOP Candidate Since 1960.
• This Is The Textbook Definition Of "Late Cycle" In The Stock Market.
• South Florida Prepares For Eta As It Could Reenergize Into Hurricane.
• An Election Where (Almost) Everybody Loses?
• Here Is The Age Distribution Of Trump And Biden Voters.
• Greenwald: America's Inability To Count Votes Is A National Disgrace... And Dangerous.
• Pentagon Chief Esper Drafts Resignation Letter - Hopes To Strip Confederate Base Names On Way Out.
• The Nation Continues To Creep Left.
• Uber Slides After Top-Line Misses On Continued Mobility Weakness.
• Put Simply...The Swamp Is Just Too Big To Be Drained.
• Facebook Censors Massive Pro-Trump Group Protesting "Widespread Ballot Fraud".
• QE Hope Sparks Big-Tech, Bitcoin, & Bullion Bid; But 'Smart' Money Is Dumping.

The Epoch Times:

• China Insider: US State Department Launches New Website on CCP’s Human Rights Abuses.

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 63.75 -1.0 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 35.25 -1.5 basis points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 59.71 -.05%
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 336.0 -25.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 29.0 +.78%
• FTSE 100 futures -.37%.

• S&P 500 futures -.36%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.59%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (CVS)/1.34
• (DISH)/.53
• (ELAN)/.13
• (HSY)/1.72
• (MGA)/1.37
• (MYL)/1.16
• (VIAC)/.80
• (ZBH)/1.08
  

After the Close:

• None of note
  

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• The Change in Non-Farm Payrolls for Oct. is estimated to fall to 600K versus 661K in Sept.
• The Unemployment Rate for Oct. is estimated to fall to 7.6% versus 7.9% in Sept.
• Avg. Hourly Earnings MoM for Oct. is estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.1% gain in Sept.
  

10:00 am EST

• Wholesale Trade Sales MoM for Sept. is estimated to rise +1.1% versus a +1.4% gain in Aug.
  

3:00 pm EST

• Consumer Credit for Sept. is estimated to rise to $7.75B versus -$7.22B in Aug.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Mexico inflation rate and the (Y) virtual investor meeting could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by commodity 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.