Bear Radar

Style Underperformer:

• Small-Cap Value +.1%

Sector Underperformers:

• 1) Healthcare Providers -1.4% 2) Steel -1.2% 3) Education -1.1%

Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume: 

• ACOR, SAIC, ESND, SUM, HTHT, KANG, BLUE, ATHM, IRDM, DOCU, BZUN and BF/B

Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:

• 1) KR 2) KWEB 3) AVEO 4) MTZ 5) GIS

Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:

• 1) VMC 2) ANTM 3) JD 4) TXRH 5) UNH

Charts:

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

Bull Radar

Style Outperformer:

• Mid-Cap Growth +.6%

Sector Outperformers:

• 1) Road & Rail +1.6% 2) Retail +1.1% 3) Gaming +1.1%

Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:

• PRQR, GNRC, ECYT, KFY, KKR, NMIH, MCFT, KNOP, LECO, TLYS, SCOR, WPP, TOCA, SHLO, EXPI, PRFT, CGC, RUSHA, KNSA, ICLR, SFM, GCO, CBTX, IEP, DCPH and AFIN

Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:

• 1) VIA/B 2) SFLY 3) VFC 4) CBS 5) CMI

Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:

• 1) GNRC 2) KMT 3) AMD 4) AKAM 5) FL

Charts:

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

Morning Market Internals

NYSE Composite Index:

• Volume Running -19.1% Below 100-Day Average
• 11 Sectors Rising, 0 Sectors Declining
• 65.4% of Issues Advancing, 31.1% Declining
• 84 New 52-Week Highs, 54 New Lows
• 49.5% of Issues Above 200-day Moving Average
• Average 14-Day RSI 45.5%
• Vix 14.1 -5.1%
• Total Put/Call 1.20 +3.5%
• TRIN/Arms 1.14 +61.9%

Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:          

• Trump's Allies Come Out in Force, Rejecting Narrative of Turmoil.

• Italy Debt Load Reduction Is Key to Calming Markets, Tria Says.

• Swinging at Putin With Sanctions, U.S. May Whack Emerging World.

• Iraq Pumping Oil at Record Levels, Unaffected by Protests.

• Asia Stocks Mixed as Trade in Focus; Dollar Steady. Asian stocks were off to a muted start Monday as investors digested President Donald Trump’s threat to escalate the trade war with China. The dollar held gains and Treasuries ticked lower as a rise in U.S. wages bolstered the prospects for further interest-rate hikes. Benchmarks were little changed in Japan, Australia and South Korea while futures indicated losses for equities in China and Hong Kong. On Friday, the Nasdaq 100 Index capped its worst week since March with Apple Inc. slumping after warning on the impact of tariffs on its products. The 10-year Treasury yield held gains from the jobs report while emerging market equities ticked lower. Japan’s Topix index was little changed as of 9:14 a.m. in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.3 percent. Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.5 percent. FTSE China A50 Index futures sank 0.4 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose less than 0.1 percent.

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

• China Outlook Darkens, Japan Wage Gains, Italy Dilemma: Eco Day.

• Bitcoin Tracker One and Ether Tracker One Suspended by U.S. SEC.

• CBS’s Moonves Toppled by Harassment Allegations, Redstone Clash.  

• Florence Becomes a Hurricane, Threatening East Coast.

Wall Street Journal:

• Cheap Custom-Made Versions of Pricey Drugs Spur Backlash.

• North Korea Cuts ICBMs Out of Military Parade.

• Oil Market Turns Turbulent Heading Into Fall Season. 

• Wages Are Rising. Will Inflation Follow?

• Congress Expected to Avoid Shutdown.

• Oil Market Turns Turbulent Heading Into Fall Season.

Fox News:

• Pence slams Obama's political comeback, rips 'un-American' Op-Ed. 

• TAYA KYLE: Nike(NKE), tell me again what Kaepernick actually gave up by kneeling.

CNBC:

• A market bull gives 3 winning stock picks through next year.

• Morgan Stanley says investors should ignore the midterms and watch profits and the Fed instead. 

• Wall Street bull sees stocks hitting year-end target early, but watch out for inflation.

Zero Hedge:          

• Tesla(TSLA) "Aggressively" Trying to Offload Model 3 Inventory As Demand Fades.  

• NYT Answers 9 Questions About Anonymous Op-Ed After Trump Demands DOJ Investigation.  

• "This Is A Coup, Okay": Bannon Weighs In On Anonymous Anti-Trump Op-Ed.

• Is The US Job Market Is Finally Overheating? The Answer In 40 Charts.

• New LAPD Chief Cancels Kamala Harris' "Unprecedented" $50,000 Traveling Armed Bodyguards.

• "We Will Both Prove Everyone Wrong" - Trump Thanks Kim For "Good Faith" Message.

• China's Pig Market On Lockdown As African Swine Fever Spreads.

• Germany: Anti-Immigration Party Surges In Popularity.

• Criminalizing Childhood: School Safety Measures Aren't Making Students Any Safer.

• Global Trade Hit By Rare Decline As "Supply Chains Seize Up".

Business Insider:

• Here's how much sugar is actually in some of the biggest drinks in the US as Americans revolt against beverage giants pushing sugar-packed products.

• There are 2 key issues in the way of bringing Canada back into NAFTA.

• GOLDMAN SACHS: Chinese tech giants are dominating North America in VC funding for the first time, and it could be the start of an unprecedented boom.

Night Trading

• Asian indices are -1.0% to -.25% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 81.25 -.25 basis point.

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 12.5 -.25 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 65.32 -.05%.

• FTSE 100 futures +.19%

• S&P 500 futures +.16%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.18%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (HOV)/-.04

After the Close:

• (CASY)/1.65

Economic Releases

3:00 pm EST

• Consumer Credit for July is estimated to rise to $14.1B versus $10.211B in June.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The China PPI report, Morgan Stanley Healthcare Conference, CSFB Steel/Mining Conference and the (T) business update could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are lower, weighed down by industrial and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower.  The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.

Weekly Outlook

• Wall St. Week Ahead by Reuters. 

• Weekly Market Outlook by Yahoo. (video)

• Stocks to Watch Next Week by Seeking Alpha.

• Weekly Economic Calendar by Briefing.com.

BOTTOM LINE: I expect US stocks to finish the week mixed as technical buying, economic optimism and short-covering offset trade war fears, emerging markets currency/debt angst and profit-taking. My intermediate-term trading indicators are giving neutral signals and the Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:     

• Tech, Trade War Break S&P 500’s Momentum.

• China's Export Growth in August Beats Forecasts in Yuan Terms.

• Wage Pickup in U.S. Renews Hope Long-Awaited Liftoff Is Near.

• U.K.'s Lidington Absolutely Confident of Brexit Deal in November. 

• U.S. East Coast Faces Rising Hurricane Threat from Florence.  

• Hedge Funds Defy Emerging Market Selloff With Bullish Crude Bets Growing.

Wall Street Journal:   

• Trump Presses Apple: Shift Production to U.S.

• Apple(AAPL) Pulls Alex Jones’s Infowars From App Store.

• Emerging Markets Rattle Tennessee’s Retirement System.

• Exits, Musk Interview Sting Tesla(TSLA).

• Strong Economy Drives Wages Higher as Hiring Heats Up.

Barron's:

• Had bullish commentary on (VIAB), (BABA), (BIDU), (TCEHY) and (CWH).

MarketWatch.com:

• The new fear for stock investors is an emerging-market meltdown.

• Trump suggests that Nike’s stock is ‘getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts’. 

• Yardeni urges investors to stay the course as U.S. stocks are still in meltup mode.

Fox News:

• Kamala Harris, Planned Parenthood blasted for taking Kavanaugh out of context.

• Army vet fires back at Nike(NKE)-Kaepernick campaign with 'Just Stand' shirts.

CNBC: 

• US and China could soon prompt a 'big slowdown' in global growth, former bank regulator warns.

• Trump has set economic growth on fire. Here is how he did it.  

• California Gov. Jerry Brown moves to block Trump on offshore drilling, declares 'not here, not now'.

• Oil prices may spike on a coming mismatch between supply and demand, an expert says.

• What to expect from Apple's big iPhone event on Sept. 12.

• Alibaba's(BABA) Jack Ma, China's richest man, to retire from company he co-founded. 

• Tech in trade crosshairs after its worst week since March. 

• Goldman(GS) admits it was wrong on Apple, boosts stock outlook by 20 percent.

• Economy adds more jobs than expected in August, and wage growth hits post-recession high.

Zero Hedge: 

• The Untold Story About Obama's Former CIA Director, John Brennan.

• There Goes The Credit Impulse: Why Chinese Consumption Is On The Verge Of Collapse.

• China's Trade Surplus With US Hits Record High At Worst Possible Time.

• Twitter(TWTR) Exposes Its Politically Motivated Censorship Policy In Banning Of Alex Jones.

• Ethereum Plummets After Co-Founder Buterin Says Days Of Explosive Growth Are Over.

• NYT Flashback: "If Donald Trump Targets Journalists, Thank Obama".

• Trump Organization Executives Face Federal Campaign-Finance Probe.

• Iran, Russia, Turkey Leaders Urge "Negotiated Political Process" On Idlib As Putin And Erdogan Clash.

• R.I.P. Chinese Exceptionalism?

• Washington Is Growing Exasperated Over Iran's "Defiance" In Region.

• Obama Condemns Trump, "Nazi Sympathizers" In Fiery Speech Warning Of "Dangerous Times".

• How Cory Booker's Failed "Spartacus" Moment Made Brett Kavanaugh Look Like A Star.

• Trump Issues Executive Order “Title 50” to Save America.
• College Removes All Uniforms With Nike Logo To Protest Kaepernick Ad.

• Trump Threatens China With Another $267BN In Tariffs.

• The Pension Crisis Is Bigger Than The World’s 20 Largest Economies.

• Apple(AAPL) Drops To Session Lows After Admitting Its Products Would Be Hit By Tariffs.

• Trump Tariff Threat Trounces Tech Turnaround, Tesla Tattered.  

Business Insider:

• Tesla(TSLA) is getting crushed after 2 executives jump ship and CEO Elon Musk smokes weed. 

• Tesla's(TSLA) board is terrible at its job — it's shown it has no interest in controlling Elon Musk or sticking up for investors.