Style Outperformer:
Sector Outperformers:
- 1) Steel +3.38% 2) Oil Service +3.11% 3) Oil Tankers +.58%
Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:
- SALE, CHUY, NLS, GLNG, BCO, ABMD, KMT, EL, IDTI, MIC, TDW, LPX, DO, SDRL, GVA, NLNK, MIC and AMAG
Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:
- 1) CAG 2) ZU 3) SE 4) CVC 5) LC
Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:
- 1) DOW 2) CHUY 3) V 4) NFLX 5) N
Charts:
Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- Forget Tanks. It’s Russia’s Ruble That’s Conquering East Ukraine. As a wobbly cease-fire keeps eastern Ukraine’s warring factions
apart, Russia’s ruble is conquering new territory across the breakaway
republics. In Donetsk, the conflict zone’s biggest city, supermarkets have
opened ruble-only checkout counters to serve the fighters in camouflage
lining up along pensioners. Bus and tram tickets come with a conversion
from Ukraine’s hryvnia to the Russian currency. Gas-station workers are
paid in rubles because that’s what their rebel customers use to fuel their armored jeeps.
- These Chinese Stocks Are Trouncing the Market on Soccer Stimulus. Xi Jinping’s plan to make China a soccer superpower is winning over
fans in an unlikely place: the nation’s $7.7 trillion stock market. Nine listed companies with ties to the country’s soccer league have
surged an average 158 percent since the Chinese president first signaled
plans in March 2014 to revive a sport plagued by match-fixing and an 82
ranking in FIFA’s international league.
- China’s Stocks Drop as Best-Performing Phone Shares Lead Decline. China’s stocks fell amid concern recent gains were excessive
relative to the outlook for economic growth. Phone companies, the best
performers over the past month, led declines. China United Network Communications Ltd. slid 4.1 percent after
jumping 60 percent since last month. Everyday Network Co. and Nanfeng
Ventilator Co. plunged more than 5 percent, dragging down the ChiNext
index of small companies. Energy companies provided some market support,
with China Oilfield Services Ltd. and Offshore Oil Engineering Co.
jumping 10 percent on industry reform speculation, according to Zheshang
Securities Co.
The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.7 percent to 4,449.43 at 10:09 a.m. local time. The CSI 300 Index fell 1 percent.
- In Land of Negative Yields, Junk Bonds Are The New Haven Assets.
The new fixed-income haven is, of all things, the market for junk
bonds. With government bonds in Germany to Japan and Slovakia yielding
less
than nothing, money is pouring into exchange- traded funds that buy
speculative-grade debt, traditionally the riskiest of fixed-income
assets. The pace is staggering. So far this year, about $9 billion has flowed
into the funds globally, a significant chunk for the $44.4 billion
market in junk-debt ETFs.
In the land of negative yields, even the most conservative firms such
as Zurich Insurance Group AG and Assicurazioni Generali SpA, the
biggest Swiss and Italian insurers, are planning to invest in
sub-investment grade debt for the first time.
- Goldman: Expansion in Stock Valuations Will End When the Fed Raises Rates. They expect interest rates to go up in September. The second-longest expansion in U.S. stock-market valuations in more
than three decades is coming to an end, according to Goldman Sachs
Group Inc. Stock valuations have surged 62 percent since September 2011, the
longest period of multiple expansion since the height of the Internet
bubble in December 1999, when the S&P 500’s forward
price-to-earnings ratio had climbed for 61 straight months, according to
Goldman. The current run is 42 months old and Goldman predicts it will
end when the Federal Reserve lifts interest rates, which the strategists
believe will happen in September.
Wall Street Journal:
Fox News:
- New offensive frees captives from Boko Haram; exposes group's bloodlust. A major offensive by Nigerian forces has freed nearly 700 captives
from Boko Haram in the last week, while also further exposing the
Islamist terror group's bottomless propensity for evil. As many as 10 girls were stoned to death last week as rescuers closed
in on the terrorist group's stronghold in the Sambisa forest in the
northern Borno state. Survivors told of their harrowing escape from the
terror group, which claims to be aligned with ISIS.
Zero Hedge:
Business Insider:
Telegraph:
Securities Times:
- China
May Raise Stamp Tax in 3Q, Brokerage Says. China may raise the stamp
tax on stock trading to boost fiscal revenue as recent market volume
keeps surging, citing a research not of Changjiang Securities.
Evening Recommendations
Night Trading
- Asian equity indices are -1.0% to +.5% on average.
- Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 105.0 unch.
- Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 60.0 -.5 basis point.
- NASDAQ 100 futures -.15%.
Morning Preview Links
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Economic Releases
8:30 AM EST
- The Trade Deficit for March is estimated at -$41.7B versus -$35.4B in February.
9:45 am EST
- Final Markit US Services PMI for April is estimated at 57.8 versus a prior estimate of 57.8.
10:00 am EST
- The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index for May is estimated to fall to 50.0 versus 51.3 in April.
- ISM Non-Manufacturing for April is estimated to fall to 56.2 versus 56.5 in March.
Upcoming Splits
Other Potential Market Movers
- The
Fed's Kocherlakota speaking, Eurozone PPI report, China HSBC Services
PMI, US weekly retail sales reports, Robert Baird Growth Stock
Conference, Wells Fargo Industrial/Construction Conference, (LXK)
analyst meeting and the (CUDA) investor meeting could also impact
trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by real estate
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.
Broad Equity Market Tone:
- Advance/Decline Line: Modestly Higher
- Sector Performance: Most Sectors Rising
- Market Leading Stocks: Performing In Line
Equity Investor Angst:
- Volatility(VIX) 12.96 +2.05%
- Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 139.84 -.54%
- Emerging Markets Currency Volatility(VXY) 10.41 +1.36%
- S&P 500 Implied Correlation 64.63 -.51%
- ISE Sentiment Index 92.0 -20.0%
- Total Put/Call .94 -2.06%
Credit Investor Angst:
- North American Investment Grade CDS Index 62.80 -.16%
- America Energy Sector High-Yield CDS Index 1,085.0 +.19%
- European Financial Sector CDS Index 70.42 unch.
- Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 22.74 -.29%
- Asia Pacific Sovereign Debt CDS Index 60.08 -.72%
- Emerging Market CDS Index 299.85 -.15%
- iBoxx Offshore RMB China Corporates High Yield Index 117.95 -.08%
- 2-Year Swap Spread 25.75 -.25 basis point
- TED Spread 28.0 +.25 basis point
- 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -19.75 unch.
Economic Gauges:
- 3-Month T-Bill Yield .00% unch.
- Yield Curve 153.0 +2.0 basis points
- China Import Iron Ore Spot $56.18/Metric Tonne n/a
- Citi US Economic Surprise Index -56.10 +6.2 points
- Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index 6.50 -4.3 points
- Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index -18.20 -2.2 points
- 10-Year TIPS Spread 1.92 -3.0 basis points
Overseas Futures:
- Nikkei Futures: Indicating +254 open in Japan
- DAX Futures: Indicating +16 open in Germany
Portfolio:
- Slightly Higher: On gains in my biotech/medical/retail/tech sector longs
- Market Exposure: 50% Net Long
Bloomberg:
- Greek Talks Drag On as New EU Forecasts Set to Underscore Crisis. (video) Greece’s talks with international creditors dragged on as the
European Commission prepares new forecasts that are likely to underscore
the scale of the crisis facing the country’s government. While officials on all sides have reported progress, six days of
talks have yet to provide the breakthrough that Greece needs to
guarantee the flow of liquidity to its banks. The prolonged cash squeeze
is threatening the country’s fragile recovery, with a person familiar
with the talks saying that the Commission is likely to slash its growth
and budget estimates when it releases new figures on Tuesday.
- Greek Jobless Legacy Adds to Danger for Tsipras as Funds Dwindle. (video) Evidence that Greece’s cash squeeze is hurting the economy may heap
more pressure on Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to seal a deal with
creditors as haggling over reforms drags on. Unemployment data on Wednesday will highlight that more than a
quarter of Greeks remain out of work, according to economists. The
figures will come a day after the European Commission gives its latest
assessment of the country, when it will probably cut its 2015 growth
forecast.
- China's Crazy Stock Market, Charted. (graph)
- Europe Stocks Climb After Weekly Drop as Syngenta Gains With DAX. European stocks rebounded after their biggest weekly loss since
December, as data showed manufacturers raised prices for the first time
in eight months.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.6 percent to 396.82 at the close of trading.
- Investors In This Homebuilder ETF Are Heading for the Exits. Investors in homebuilding shares are heading for the door. Speculators in the SPDR S&P Homebuilders exchange-traded fund
have pulled a record amount of cash in April, abandoning the ETF known
by its ticker XHB after it reached an eight-year high in February. The
fund has retreated 4.8 percent since then.
- Corporate America’s Unleash-the-Drones Plea Puts the Heat on FAA. As U.S. regulators study how to govern commercial drones, corporate
America is plunging ahead on using unmanned aircraft in a bid to speed
the process and win concessions on proposed restrictions. Large companies including American International Group Inc., Chevron
Corp. and BNSF Railway Co. are planning flight trials to inspect storm
damage, pipelines and railroad tracks. Union Pacific Corp. will employ
its 7-pound drones to monitor derailments of hazardous materials.
- ‘I Gotta Pay Our Bills,’ Bill Clinton Says of Six-Figure Talks. Former
President Bill Clinton had one reaction when asked if he
would continue to collect fees on the order of $500,000 for speeches
during his wife’s presidential bid: “Oh, yeah. I gotta pay our bills.”
Clinton defended speaking fees that often are hundreds of thousands
of dollars, saying there were no conflicts of interest, in an interview
with NBC News broadcast Monday.
MarketWatch.com:
Fox News:
- Texas officer saved lives in shooting outside Muhammad cartoon contest, police say. (video) A Texas traffic cop saved untold lives Sunday night when he took down
two heavily armed men bent on storming a building where a 'Draw the
Prophet' Muhammad contest was taking place, killing both before they
could make their way inside. The police officer, who has not been identified by Garland Police
Department officials, "probably saved lives," said police spokesman Joe
Harn, who added that "his reaction, and his shooting with a pistol, he
did a good job."
CNBC:
ZeroHedge:
Business Insider:
Telegraph:
- 'Warning lights' flash over Greece and France as manufacturing stumbles. France and Greece remain the eurozone's laggards, with the former "locked
in reverse gear" as manufacturing remains mired in contraction in April. Markit's French manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to
48 in April, from 48.8 in March. This was lower than a flash estimate of
48.4 and well below the 50 level that divides growth from contraction.
Greece's PMI contracted to 46.5, from a previous reading of 48.9.
Het Financieele Dagblad:
- Constancio Sees Risk Search for Yield Runs Out of Control. ECB
Vice President Vitor Constancio says risk that the search for yield runs
out of control needs to be monitored, citing interview.
Style Underperformer:
Sector Underperformers:
- 1) Airlines -1.03% 2) Oil Service -1.01% 3) Road & Rail -.53%
Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:
- ONCE, SYT, HYH, PDCO, LNKD, EMES, DCI, CEVA, SC, AGTC, GMCR, PXD, TUES, BLUE, BFR, BIS, GTLS, PRE, AAVL, CLMT, MFLX, SCTY, THG, WLK, CMGE, AAVL and TUES
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
- 1) MRO 2) CIEN 3) XOP 4) EOG 5) PXD
Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:
- 1) SCTY 2) TSO 3) DAL 4) PXD 5) WLL
Charts: