Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:                             

• China’s Credit Jitters Deepen a Selloff in Government Bonds.
• Tokyo Bolsters Push to Lure Business From Hong Kong: NEF Update.  
• Bill Clinton Says China’s Direction Under Xi Upended U.S. Ties.
• Asian Stocks See Muted Start; Treasuries Steady: Markets Wrap. Asian stocks were mixed Wednesday after U.S. shares retreated as investors weighed escalating Covid-19 cases against optimism over a vaccine. Treasuries were steady after an overnight rise. Stocks fell in Japan, and edged up in Australia and South Korea. S&P 500 futures fluctuated after the gauge pulled back from a record high earlier. Pharmacy chains were among the worst performers after Amazon.com Inc. unveiled a new push into prescription drugs. Treasury yields and the dollar held declines as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy still has a “long way to go” before it fully recovers from the pandemic. Elsewhere, China stocks will be in focus as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is pushing ahead with a plan that threatens to kick Chinese companies off U.S. stock exchanges. Oil slipped and gold was little changed.
• Oil Retreats After Report Points to Swelling U.S. Stockpiles.
• Trump Orders Troop Drawdown in Iraq, Afghanistan by Jan. 15.
• Zuckerberg, Dorsey Face Angry Lawmakers Still Split on Concerns.  
• America’s Zombie Companies Have Racked Up $1.4 Trillion of Debt.

Wall Street Journal:

• Moderna and Pfizer Are Reinventing Vaccines, Starting With Covid.
• Behind the Elite Hatred of Clarence Thomas.
• A Vaccine Is Already Helping.
• Doctors Apply Covid-19 Lessons Learned as Cases Surge.
• Zuckerberg, Dorsey Tout Progress in Combating Political Misinformation.
• Demand for New Fences Meets a Nationwide Lumber Shortage.

Fox News: 

• Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic Designed for Vote Fraud. (video)
• Sidney Powell: A high-ranking military witness explaining how Smartmatic threw elections. (video)
  
• Pennsylvania governor issues new COVID rules, including wearing mask in your home.
  

CNBC.com:

• Shelton Fed nomination fails key Senate procedure vote, possibly ending her chances.
• Bill Gates says more than 50% of business travel will disappear in post-coronavirus world.
• The NFL will hold a virtual Pro Bowl this year, with players competing in the Madden video game.

MarketWatch.com:            

• Nio’s quarterly loss narrows, but stock falls.  
• Palantir stock rockets to record highs as hedge funds disclose stakes.  
• Opinion: Now that Tesla is joining the S&P 500, you might want to sell.

Zero Hedge:

• FEC Chair: If Sidney Powell Says There Was Rampant Voter Fraud, "I Believe Her".
• 'This Has Never Happened': Deadlocked Board In Largest Michigan County Refuses To Certify Nov 3 Vote.
• Second Memory Card With 2,755 Votes Found During Georgia Election Audit, Decreasing Biden Lead.
• Is There Really A China Economic Miracle?
• Trump Fires DHS Official Whose Agency Rebuffed Election Integrity Claims.
• SoftBank CEO Warns Of "Lehman-Like-Crisis" That Could Crash Global Economy.
• The "COVID Coup".
• Secretive Club For Ultra-Wealthy Environmentalists Revealed.
• Sen. Chuck Grassley Tests Positive, Tokyo Placed On Highest COVID-19 Alert Level: Live Update.
• Quant Carnage Hammers Iconic Hedge Funds Renaissance, Two Sigma.
• Robinhood Soliciting Advisors For Potential IPO Early Next Year.
• Weapons Of Mass Deception.
• Goldman Plans Second Round Of Layoffs Ahead Of "Significant Staff Reductions" In 2021.
• WTI Slides After Bigger Than Expected Crude Build.
• China De-Dollarization Accelerates: Treasury Holdings Near 4-Year Lows.
• Short-Squeeze Sparks Small-Cap Buying-Panic, Bitcoin Nears Record High.

Newsmax:

• Second Georgia County Finds Previously Uncounted Votes.
  

@kylenabecker:

• Epic Rant from @Jim_Jordan. (video)

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 60.25 +.25 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 33.0 +.5 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 61.14 -.03%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 1,130.0 +18.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 24.35 +1.35%
• FTSE 100 futures -.17%.

• S&P 500 futures -.15%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.19%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (AVYA)/1.22
• (LOW)/1.95
• (TGT)/1.61
• (TJX)/.39
  

After the Close:

• (CPRT)/.70
• (JACK)/1.13
• (KLIC)/.31
• (LB)/.06
• (NVDA)/1.92
• (SCVL)/.68
• (SQM)/.22
• (ZTO)/1.49
  

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• Housing Starts for Oct. is estimated to rise to 1460K versus 1415K in Sept.
• Building Permits for Oct. is estimated to rise to 1568K versus 1553K in Sept.

10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory gain of +1,179,330 barrels versus a +4,277,000 barrel gain the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to rise by +62,000 barrels versus a -2,309,000 barrel decline the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to fall by -1,960,580 barrels versus a -5,355,000 barrel decline the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to rise by +.64% versus a -.8% decline prior.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Australia Unemployment report, UK inflation data, Eurozone inflation data, weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report, Goldman Metals/Mining Conference and the (FFIV) investor meeting 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 technology and industrial 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.