Bear Radar

Style Underperformer:

• Small-Cap Value +.1%

Sector Underperformers:

• 1) Utilities -.6% 2) Retail -.4% 3) REITs -.3%

Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume: 

• FANH, AIMC, PEB, GME, IRDM and VRNS

Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:

• 1) AAL 2) VTL 3) CHS 4) GERN 5) DISCA

Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:

• 1) BE 2) FANH 3) CMG 4) AEOS 5) HIBB

Charts:

• ETFs Falling on Unusual Volume
• Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume

Bull Radar

Style Outperformer:

• Mid-Cap Growth +.9%

Sector Outperformers:

• 1) Semis +2.3% 2) Steel +2.3% 3) Social Media +2.2%

Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:

• CRON, UPLD, IEFA, CGC, AMWD, ALNY, ATTU, AMD, EFAV, AHL, PAHC, ZLAB, QTEC, KOP, PDD, SCVL, IIPR, IONS, PAH, TIVO, ESPR, OSB, ZS, HIG, FCAU, SMCI and KSU

Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:

• 1) LNG 2) TIF 3) EWJ 4) RH 5) BBY

Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:

• 1) TLRY 2) ALNY 3) AMD 4) LLNW 5) ESPR

Charts:

• ETFs Rising on Unusual Volume
• Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume

Morning Market Internals

NYSE Composite Index:

• Volume Running -13.4% Below 100-Day Average
• 9 Sectors Rising, 2 Sectors Declining
• 66.0% of Issues Advancing, 31.0% Declining
• 123 New 52-Week Highs, 10 New Lows
• 55.7% of Issues Above 200-day Moving Average
• Average 14-Day RSI 49.9%
• Vix 12.3 +2.6%
• Total Put/Call .64 -29.7%
• TRIN/Arms .63 -39.9%

Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:          

• U.S., Mexico Said Poised to Reach Nafta Deal Soon as Monday.

• Londoners Driven From Capital as Home Prices Remain Out of Reach.

• Bond House Calls Time on Australian Debt Amid Political Fracas.

• Powell, Trump and Amazon Effect: What We Heard at Jackson Hole.

• France Set for Economic Growth of 1.7% in 2019 as Cuts Deepen. Asian Stocks Push Higher; Yuan Gains on PBOC Move. Asian stocks started the week with modest gains following a fresh all-time high in their U.S. counterparts Friday, as the Federal Reserve reaffirmed a slow and gradual pace of policy tightening. The yuan extended its advance. Equities rose in Japan and South Korea, and were little changed in Australia, while futures trading from late Friday indicated gains for stocks in Hong Kong and China. The yuan’s gains were spurred by the People’s Bank of China move to restrain the influence of market forces that have been driving the currency lower versus the greenback. The dollar continued to decline and Treasury yields ticked higher. Japan’s Topix index rose 0.5 percent as of 9:12 a.m. in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 0.2 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.3 percent. Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1 percent. S&P 500 Index futures rose 0.2 percent.

• Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day.

Wall Street Journal: 

• Beyond Soda: How and Why Your Beverage Options Are Exploding.

• Signs of a Strong Economy: Hedges Are Overgrown and Lawns Need Mowing.

• The Big Hedge-Fund Strategy That Isn’t Working.

• U.S. Dollar’s Rise Puts Canada, Australia, New Zealand in Spotlight.

• Judge Curbs Trump Orders That Made It Easier to Fire Federal Workers.

• Goldman Cashes In on Passive-Investing Boom.

• At Fed Retreat, Central Bankers Eye New Economic Risks.

MarketWatch.com:

• August is usually a miserable month for stocks, but so far gains have punished the bears.

• Americans are willing to wreck their financial futures on behalf of their pets.

• Another inflation gauge is set to enter the red zone, but no worries at the Fed. Here’s why.

Fox News:

• DAN GAINOR: Mainstream impeachment push could end up helping the GOP.

• 2 in ‘extremist Muslim’ compound plotted to attack hospital, doc shows.

CNBC:

• The longest bull then and now: How financial conditions have changed.

• Trump's approval rating remains stable despite the week's political storm: NBC/WSJ poll.

• Here's why the best time to buy a new car is in the fall.

• US softens its demand for NAFTA 'sunset clause': Mexican official. 

• Goldman: Here are the 10 stocks most loved by hedge funds — including Microsoft.

Zero Hedge:       

• In Stunning Reversal, Michael Cohen's Attorney Backpedals On Trump-Russia Claims.

• 4 Dead, 11 Wounded In Mass Shooting During Madden 2019 Tournament In Jacksonville; One Suspect Dead. 

• Head Of Islamic State In Afghanistan Killed After Spate Of Terror Attacks.

• Illinois Budget Out Of Balance Again. Solution - More Junk Bonds.

• "Terrorist Attack" Manual Targeting Atlanta Hospital Found At New Mexico Jihad Compound.

• Soros' Role In Social Media Censorship Exposed In Leaked Document.

• In "Historic Bombshell", Vatican Official Accuses Pope Francis Of Covering Up Sexual Abuse, Calls For Resignation.

• John McCain Dead At 81.

• North Korea Blasts "Double-Dealing" US After Pompeo's Canceled Trip.

Business Insider:

• How various industries are taking advantage of drones to increase efficiency and cut costs.

• The top 5 startups disrupting healthcare using AI, digital therapeutics, health insurance, and genomics.

• The future of artificial intelligence in retail.

Night Trading

• Asian indices are unch. to +.5% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 80.0 -.75 basis point.

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 10.5 -.25 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 66.98 +.08%.

• FTSE 100 futures +.25%

• S&P 500 futures +.20%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.34%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (AMWD)/1.92

• (KLXI)/1.11

After the Close:

• (PAHC)/.42

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for July is .45 versus .43 in June.

10:30 am EST

• The Dallas Fed Manufacturing Activity Index for July is estimated to fall to 30.0 versus 32.3 in July.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The German IFO Business Climate Index, 2Y T-Note auction and the Steel Summit Conference could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are higher, boosted by technology and industrial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to maintain gains into the afternoon.  The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the week.

Weekly Outlook

• Wall St. Week Ahead by Reuters. 

• Weekly Market Outlook by Yahoo. (video)

• Week Ahead by TheStreet.

• Stocks to Watch Next Week by Seeking Alpha.

• Weekly Economic Calendar by Briefing.com.

BOTTOM LINE: I expect US stocks to finish the week modestly higher on less Emerging Markets currency/debt angst, oil strength, diminished trade war fears, yen weakness, short-covering and technical buying. My intermediate-term trading indicators are giving neutral signals and the Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the week.

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:   

• Stocks Rise to Record, Dollar Falls on Dovish Fed.

• Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal May Be Near as Oil Looks Solved.

• Powell Doctrine Emerges as Fed Chief Debuts at Jackson Hole. 

• Italy Says It Won't Adhere to EU Budget as Migrants Leave Ship.

• Trump's China Hawks Prepare to Swoop as Trade Talks Go Nowhere.

• Hedge Funds in Pain Watch Record S&P 500 Rally They've Missed.  

• It's Not The Economy, Stupid. For European Stocks, It's Politics.   

• PBOC Joins Forces With Powell to Hit the Brakes on Dollar Rally. 

• Democrats Cut Party Leaders' Power to Pick Presidential Nominee.

Wall Street Journal:

• America Has Fallen Out of Love With the Sedan.

• EpiPen Shortage Hits Back-to-School Season.

• Why No One Can Catch Netflix(NFLX).

• Inside the Factory of China’s Future. 

• It Was Meant to Be the Better Bitcoin. It’s Down Nearly 90%.

Barron's:

• Had bullish commentary on (EA), (ATVI), (TTWO), (MSFT), (PUM), (TNDM), (AGN), (PFE), (LLY) and (ROP).

• Had bearish commentary on (LB).

MarketWatch.com:

• The Videogame Industry Reaches for the Cloud.

• If you missed out on the FAANGs, then it’s time to buy the BAITs.

• Don’t bank on a bitcoin short squeeze, analysts say. 
  

• Retailers are hot again — here are the earnings and sales winners.

Fox News:

• Seven arrested as protesters clash over toppled century-old Confederate statue.

• APPELL: Dem darling's socialist fairytale could destroy the American Dream.

CNBC:   

• S&P 500 and Nasdaq close at record highs as Netflix jumps.

• Trump says US-Mexico trade deal could be imminent.

• Top VC deals: Toyota backs Getaround, Slack tops $7 billion, Founders backs wall-crawling robots.

• Here's how Elon Musk told employees he was abandoning the take-private idea for Tesla.

• I’m ‘financially ruined’: Cryptocurrency investors are crushed by losses of 70% or more.

• Final dog days of summer could be a good time for stocks.

Zero Hedge:   

• Trump: "I May Have To Get Involved" To Get To "Bottom Of Crooked Hillary Corruption".

• It's Over: Tesla To "Remain Public" Musk Says In Friday Midnight Announcement.

• Majority Of Young Americans Live In A Household Receiving Welfare.

• Seismic Shocker: The Number Of Global Earthquakes Over The Last 30 Days Is Over 50% Above Normal.

• Murderous Mexico: July Most Violent Ever As Country Descends Into Chaos.

• Latest Freight Data Confirms Alarming Slowdown In Global Trade.

• Massive Russian-Chinese Joint War Games Will Feature Nuclear Exercises.

• Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey To Testify On Conservative "Shadowbans" After GOP Lawmakers. Demand Action.

• How "Wealthy" Would We Be If We Stopped Borrowing Trillions Every Year?

• Weekend Reading: Impeachment Risk.

• China Saves The World As Gold Gains Most In 5 Months.

Business Insider:

• Landslides, 3ft of rain, and mass power cuts hit Hawaii as Tropical Storm Lane continues.

• Data from states shows thousands of Amazon employees are on food stamps.

• 10 crazy things Silicon Valley thinks are normal that make the rest of the country think it's out of touch.