Bear Radar

Style Underperformer:

• Small-Cap Growth -2.8%

Sector Underperformers:

• 1) Internet -4.5% 2) Software -4.2% 3) Gaming -3.7%

Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume: 

• SPB, CFX, AIMT, NGVC, NVDA, PCTY, COUP, PCG, TWLO, CRM, PEGA, CARB, PS, ZEN, IRTC, MESA and SPB

Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:

• 1) PGR 2) STZ 3) MAT 4) URBN 5) TJX

Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:

• 1) NVDA 2) FITB 3) SFIX 4) PCG 5) BABA

Charts:

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

Bull Radar

Style Outperformer:

• Large-Cap Value -.8%

Sector Outperformers:

• 1) Oil Service +.5% 2) Homebuilders +.3% 3) Utilities -.1%

Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:

• REN, TSRO, ZAYO, FOXA, NEWT, FOX, ACBI, SHPG, HP, ABC, SE, MIC, DAR, KBH, RTRX, WSO, CPA, SEP, SR, ICPT, NVO, WTR and CAKE

Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:

• 1) FL 2) CPB 3) TROX 4) CIEN 5) XRT

Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:

• 1) NHLD 2) DAR 3) YETI 4) HP 5) MYGN

Charts:

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

Morning Market Internals

NYSE Composite Index:

• Volume Running +6.2% Above 100-Day Average
• 5 Sectors Rising, 6 Sectors Declining
• 40.2% of Issues Advancing, 56.8% Declining
• 39 New 52-Week Highs, 114 New Lows
• 29.0% of Issues Above 200-day Moving Average
• Average 14-Day RSI 44.6%
• Vix 19.3 +6.6%
• Total Put/Call .92 -1.1%
• TRIN/Arms .63 -30.8%

Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:          

• May Says Leadership Challenge Threshold Not Met: Brexit Update.     
• China's Market Rescue Unleashes Hot Money Seeking Risky Stocks.  
• Cheap Power Matters More to Australians Than Climate Change, Poll Shows.
• China's Daisy Chain of Debt Guarantees Looms as Systemic Danger.
• Italy’s Di Maio Stands Firm on Reforms Planned in 2019 Budget. 
• U.S. Stock Futures Slip With Aussie on Trade Woes. U.S. stock-index futures and the Australian dollar fell as investors weighed U.S.-China ructions that showed no sign of improvement over the weekend. Equities in Asia looked set to kick off the week in mixed fashion. Tension between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence quashed optimism that relations would improve at Group of 20 meetings starting next week as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation failed to agree on a joint statement for the first time in its history. Futures trading from late Friday signaled small advances for stocks in Japan after the S&P 500 Index eked out a gain, while Hong Kong shares pointed to a mixed start. Treasuries held on to the recent rally. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5 percent late Friday in Singapore. FTSE China A50 Index futures added 1 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures were little changed. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 0.4 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent.  
• Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day.
• Sino-U.S. Divide; Trade-War Whisperer; Aussie Comeback: Eco Day.
• Saudi Stocks Fall Most in Mideast on U.S. Sanctions.
• Bond Bulls Energized as Global Risks Sow Doubts Over Fed's Path.

Wall Street Journal:    

• Investors See Room for Market Gains Amid Tech Rout.  
• Why Central Bankers Missed the Crisis.
• John Bolton Energizes Trump’s Agenda—And His Own.
• U.S.-China Rift: One Phrase ‘Torpedoed’ Pacific Accord.
• Why the Corporate Earnings Boom Has Failed to Lift Investors’ Spirits.
• What a No-Deal Brexit Could Mean for Trade With the EU.
• Bloomberg to Give Johns Hopkins Record $1.8 Billion.
• Countries Push to Extract More Cash from Big Mining Companies.
• Republican Rick Scott Wins Senate Race in Florida.

Fox News:

• Trump discusses what ex-Prez Obama told him, his relationship with the press and his rare do-over 'wish'.
• Migrant caravan faces opposition from angry residents.

CNBC: 

• Why Democrats, fresh from big midterm wins, will likely pursue incremental change in the House.
• Hit hard by trade war, automakers hoping Trump will hold off on new round of tariffs.
• French protesters rail against Macron's fuel taxes with road blocks.

Zero Hedge:          

• Morgan Stanley: We Sense A Shift In Tone From The Fed. 
• Meet The "Heavy Labor" Humanoid Robot Set To Revolutionize Construction.
• US Tourism Bust: Summer Hotel Occupancy Saw Second-Largest Drop Since Recession.
• 'OptionSellers.com' Goes Dark After "Catastrophic Loss Event" In NatGas "Rogue Wave".
• Who Or What Is Really Responsible For The Huge Forest Fires In California?
• Alaska Sees Record Breaking Year For Oil And Gas Leases.
• DARPA, Army Select These Three Companies For Hypersonic Missile Propulsion. 
• San Fran Uber Drivers Selling Respirator Masks As Wildfires Destroy Air Quality.
• Racist Note Left On Kansas Student's Door... Was Written By Himself.
• McMaken: The White House Press Pass Has Nothing To Do With The First Amendment.
• Multiple Root Problems Lie Behind Italy's Economic Woes.

Business Insider:

• Apple(AAPL) CEO Tim Cook on privacy: 'we have to admit when the free market is not working'. 

Telegraph:

• Comment: I’m calling a UK recession if this Brexit bedlam isn’t sorted out soon.

Night Trading

• Asian indices are -.5% to +.5% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 93.0 +1.5 basis points.
• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 10.25 +.25 basis point.
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 67.31 -.01%.
• FTSE 100 futures +.04%.
• S&P 500 futures -.35%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures -.39%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (JD)/.69

After the Close:

• (A)/.74
• (BRKS)/.38
• (INTU)/.11
• (JACK)/.85
• (KLIC)/.32
• (LB)/.15
• (NUAN)/.32
• (URBN)/.63

Economic Releases
10:00 am EST

• The NAHB Housing Market Index for November is estimated to fall to 67.0 versus 68.0 in October.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone Current Account report could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by industrial and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher.  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 modestly higher on diminishing Fed rate-hike fears, oil gains, technical buying, bargain-hunting, seasonal strength and short-covering. My intermediate-term trading indicators are giving neutral signals and the Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:       

• Pence-Xi Showdown Shows U.S.-China Divide Continues to Widen.

• This Year's Market Losers Turning Into Winners as 2018 Winds Down.  

• Nvidia(NVDA) Hands an $824 Million Windfall to Semiconductor Shorts.  

• Zuckerberg's Fortune Tumbles $17.4 Billion As Facebook Woes Continue.   

• Aussie Rebound Has Bulls Believing That Currency Has Bottomed.

• Trump Says It's ‘Good Time’ to Shut Down Government Over Border.  

• China's U.S. Treasury Holdings Drop to More Than One-Year Low. 

• 'I Didn't Sleep Well Last Night:' Analysts Predict Bitcoin Has Further to Fall.

• Trump Says He Will Hand in Answers to Mueller Queries Next Week.  

• J. Crew CEO Steps Down After 16 Months in Role.

Wall Street Journal:  

• The Gerrymander Excuse Implodes.

• Facing Deadlier Fires, California Tries Something New: More Logging.

• Beauty and the Backlash: Disney’s Modern Princess Problem.

• CIA Concludes Saudi Prince Ordered Killing of Journalist.

• Thousands of Brokers Purge Infraction Records.

• Upside Earnings Surprises Have a Downside.

• Victoria’s Secret: Sex Isn’t Selling.

Barron's:

• Had bullish commentary on (AMGN), (THS), (HXL), (CVS), (MS), (TGT), (KSS), (CVX), (XOM), (COG) and (EQT).

• Had bearish commentary on (M), (TIF), (SHLDQ) and (JCP).

MarketWatch.com:

• How the new 2019 tax rates could affect you

• Nvidia(NVDA) stock sees worst day in a decade as more than half of analysts cut price targets on crypto chip hangover.

CNBC:  

• Pfizer(PFE) to raise prices on 41 prescription drugs next year despite pressure from Trump  

• In bigger crackdown of crypto abuses, SEC goes after unregistered coin offerings

• S&P chart pattern points to breakout ahead, technician says.

• Cramer says 'the housing sector's a disaster,' knocks the Fed as ignoring the data.

• Cancer drug company Tesaro(TSRO) shares rise 39% following report that it will explore sale.

• Brexit: What could happen now and what it could mean for markets.

Zero Hedge:    

• Gillum's Dramatic Decision To Un-Concede Didn't Work Out As He Expected.

• Clemson Invites Students To "Create Your Own Gender".

• 60% Of Italians Think EU Is Bad For Italy.

• Why Politicians Love Deals Like The Amazon(AMZN) Deals.

• Sentiment Scale Reveals Which Words Pack The Most Punch.

• For The First Time Ever, Psychologists Warn Facebook(FB) Can Cause Depression.

• Foreigners Dump US Treasuries As They Liquidate A Record Amount Of US Stocks.

• Bridgewater's Dalio: 'Fed Rate Hikes Are Hurting Asset Prices'.

• "The Pain Trade Is Higher" - Kolanovic Quadruples Down On Bullish.

• Weekend Reading: Why This Isn't "THE" Bear Market...Yet.

• Crude & Credit Crash, Stocks Slide As Bonds See Best Week In 19 Months.

Business Insider:

• Facebook(FB) employees react to the latest scandals: 'Why does our company suck at having a moral compass'.

• Trump continues Twitter campaign for Pelosi: 'I can get her as many votes as she wants'.