Bull Radar

Style Outperformer:

• Small-Cap Value +.2%

Sector Outperformers:

• 1) Shipping +1.6% 2) Oil Service +.6% 3) Airlines +.6%

Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:

• AKCA, LVGO, AVYA, RNG, GTS, PCG, HRTX, REZI, CHRS, DOCU, SFIX and ARMK

Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:

• 1) DPZ 2) AVYA 3) ADI 4) AMTD 5) CERN

Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:

• 1) AVYA 2) RNG 3) LVGO 4) SIMO 5) COP

Charts:

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

Mid-Day Market Internals

NYSE Composite Index:

• Volume Running -24.5% Below 100-Day Average
• 5 Sectors Rising, 6 Sectors Declining
• 46.7% of Issues Advancing, 50.0% Declining
• 45 New 52-Week Highs, 24 New Lows
• 51.9% of Issues Above 200-day Moving Average
• Average 14-Day RSI 45.3%
• Vix 17.2 +.9%
• Total Put/Call 1.04 unch.
• TRIN/Arms .77 -16.3%

Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:   

• China Narrows Scope for Trade Deal With U.S. Ahead of Talks.     

• Brexit Deal Prospects Fade as Talks Stall, EU Signals Pessimism.

• Violence Flares in Hong Kong as Emergency Rule Spurs Backlash.

• HSBC to Cut Up to 10,000 Jobs to Slash Costs, FT Reports.

• Emerging-Market Calm Set to Fray as Trade and Fed Angst Deepen.

• Yen Edges Up, Yuan Slips as Focus Returns to Trade. The yen edged up and yuan slipped in early trading Monday after a report that China may be increasingly reluctant to agree to a broad trade deal ahead of talks with the U.S. this week. Japanese futures pared gains stemming from a solid close on Wall Street Friday. Trading in the region may be muted with Hong Kong and Chinese markets shut and Sydney on holiday. Senior Chinese officials have indicated the range of topics they’re willing to discuss has narrowed considerably, according to people familiar with the matter. U.S. stocks closed higher Friday, along with Treasuries, after solid hiring data quelled recession fears without crushing the odds of future Federal Reserve easing. Nikkei 225 futures rose 0.9%.

• Whatever the Future Holds, Stocks Are Not Priced for a Recession.  

• Fed’s George Sees No Need to Cut Rates Unless Slowdown Deepens.

• Unilever to Halve Use of New Plastic as Uproar Over Waste Grows.

Wall Street Journal:   

• Chinese Troops Warn Hong Kong Protesters as Emergency Law Triggers Backlash.

• Doctors, Once GOP Stalwarts, Now More Likely to Be Democrats.

• Norm Violations Are Now the Norm. 

• Can Democrats Take Impeachment Seriously?

• Vaping’s Black Market Complicates Efforts to Combat Crises.

• Fear Overtakes Greed in IPO Market.

• Arrests for Low-Level Crimes Are Plummeting, and the Experts Are Flummoxed.

• Dim Earnings Outlook Imperils Stocks.

MarketWatch.com:

• Silicon Valley’s final frontier for payments: ‘The neoliberal takeover of the human body’.

Fox News:

• House Dems believe they have enough votes to pass articles of impeachment, senior member reveals.

• Graham vows to force public testimony if Dems press on with Trump impeachment.

• Chris Wallace challenges Dem on not holding official impeachment vote.

CNBC:

• China is reportedly reluctant to agree to a broad US trade deal with talks set to restart.

• US small businesses are fighting an uphill battle against counterfeiters in China: ‘It’s like whack-a-mole’.

• Tech ‘break-up value’ analysis seeks to make the stocks look cheap, even if they stay together. 

• UAW says GM labor talks ‘have taken a turn for the worse’. 

• ‘Joker’ has highest October opening weekend of all-time, hauls in $93.5 million in the US.

Zero Hedge:    

• Futures, Yuan Tumble After China Balks At Pursuing "Broad Trade Deal".

• Hong Kong Violence Sends Home Prices Tumbling Over 20%, Puts HSBC In The Crosshairs.

• As Hong Kong ATMs Run Out Of Cash, Central Bank Steps In To Prevent "Panic Among The Public".

• Second Ukraine Whistleblower Comes Forward With "Firsthand Knowledge".

• In Huge Blow, Iran Confirms China Has Exited Crucial $5 Billlion Gas Project.

• ECB "Whistleblowers" Emerge: Former Central Bankers Cry Out Against Draghi's Monetary Insanity.

• These Are The Top American Cities For Starting A Small Business.

• Mish: "Escape Illinois: Get The Hell Out Now, We Are".

• Hong Kong Protesters Build Makeshift Catapult On Third Day Of Unrest Over 'Anti-Mask' Law.

• Bannon Says Concept Of "Deep" State Is 'Conspiracy Theory For Nutcases' Because "It's Right In Your Face".

• Inside The Life Of Hunter Biden: The WaPo Reveals A 'Troubling Tale Of Privilege'.

Business Insider:

• Cars with high-tech emergency brakes still hit child-size dummies in 89% of street-crossing tests, a new study has found.

• A Chinese hog farmer is breeding giant, polar bear-sized pigs that weigh over 1,100 pounds, while the country contends with pork shortages.

• Inside the science behind Elon Musk’s crazy plan to put chips in people’s brains and create human-AI hybrids.

• German authorities say Mercedes may have manipulated emissions readings on hundreds of thousands of vans.

Telegraph:

• Europe is again facing catastrophe, and they do not even yet know it.

Night Trading

• Asian indices are -.5% to +.25% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 78.75 -.25 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 49.0 +.5 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 65.65 +.01%.

• FTSE 100 futures -.14%.

• S&P 500 futures -.48%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.51%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• None of note

After the Close:

• None of note

Economic Releases

3:00 pm EST

• Consumer Credit for Aug. is estimated at $15.0B versus $23.294B in July.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Japan Trade Data report could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by financial and industrial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to maintain losses into the afternoon.  The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the week.

Weekly Outlook

• Wall St. Week Ahead by Reuters.
• Global Economy Week by Bloomberg. 
• The Week Ahead 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 lower on impeachment talk, technical selling, China trade tensions, global growth concerns, European/Emerging Markets/US High Yield debt angst and yen strength. My intermediate-term trading indicators are giving neutral signals and the Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the week.

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:  

• City in Near Shutdown After ‘Very Dark Day’: Hong Kong Update.

• France Opens Terrorism Probe After Rogue Policeman Attack.

• Trump Orders Big Cut to National Security Staff.

• Is the U.S. Headed for a Recession? Bulls, Bears Make Their Case.

• Wall Street Titans Say Investors Too Cautious on Repeat of 2008.  

• Brexit’s New Deadline, Trump Widens Biden Plea: Weekend Reads.  

• Your Weekend Reading: Slowing or Stalling? 

• Tepper to Keep His Hedge Fund Alive for Handful of Key Investors.

Wall Street Journal:

• Cancer Is Still Beating Us—We Need a New Start.

• Pelosi’s Expensive Drug Bill.

• The Race to Zero Commissions.

• Hong Kong Shuts Down After Night of Violence.

Barron's:

• Had bullish commentary on (SPOT), (VLO) and (MPC).

• Had bearish commentary on (MJ).

MarketWatch.com:

• Few stocks pass this rigorous test, but those that do may serve you well through market turmoil.

• The downside to Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade eliminating trading fees.

• The No. 1 highest paid, most in-demand job in every U.S. state.

Fox News:

• Biden snaps at reporter over son Hunter’s Ukraine deals, tries to shift focus to Trump.

• Pompeo slams Obama admin amid US investigation into 2016 election.

• Resurfaced video contradicts Warren claim she lost teaching gig for being ‘visibly pregnant’.

• AOC pitches rent control, welfare for illegal immigrants.

CNBC:

• Tim Cook spent a lot of time charming the Trump administration, and it seems to be paying off.

• These are the taxes Elizabeth Warren has proposed in the 2020 race.

• California’s new privacy law could cost companies a total of $55 billion to get in compliance.

• These stocks have ‘overlooked’ stories, Wall Street analysts say.

Zero Hedge:

• Swamp Draining Begins: Trump Orders Cuts To Security Council Amid CIA Whistleblower "Coup".

• A Dive Into WeWork's $3.3 Billion In CMBS Exposure.

• Nuclear Talks Between North Korea And US Collapse After Months Of Negotiations.

• Anti-Trump CIA Whistleblower Concealed Huddle With Schiff Committee.

• Bank Crisis Hits India: "Bank Stops Functioning, People Crying Outside Bank Branches".

• Mall Vacancy Rate Hits 8-Year High Amid Record Number Of Store Closures.

• Spooks Turned Spox: US Media Now Filled With Former Intelligence Agents.

• "Flat-Out False": WaPo Calls Out Adam Schiff For Lying About Whistleblower

• PayPal Pulls Out Of Facebook's Libra Cryptocurrency Network

• House Democrats Target Mike Pence Over Ukraine; Peddle Fiction Over Trump-Zelensky 'Favor'.

• How Vulnerable Are America's Power Grids?

• "Darkening Outlook For Trade" - Global Air Cargo Rates Continue To Plummet, Hit 4-Year Low.

• Mish: What The Hell Is The ECB Doing?

• Porsche Increases Taycan Production Capacity After Overwhelming Demand.

• "It's Like A Segway With An iPad" - Robo Realtors Invade Tennessee Housing Market

• Elizabeth Warren Fires National Organizing Director Over "Inappropriate Behavior"

• LaRouche PAC Exposed As Ocasio-Cortez Troller Behind "We Must Eat The Babies" Viral Video.

• Trump Campaign Reportedly Targeted By Iranian-Linked Hackers.

• Rollercoaster Week Ends With Buying Panic As World Sinks Into Recession. 

Business Insider:

• The FDA just leveled a stark warning against using any vapes containing THC amid an outbreak of lung disease.

• A California cannabis lab tested counterfeit vapes and found high levels of dangerous chemicals, including vitamin E, pesticides, and hydrogen cyanide.

• Facebook’s new 'private' messaging app wants to track your location 24/7, monitor your battery, and even detect if you’re working out.

• A 14-year-old boy was shot as violence flares after Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam imposes a mask ban on protesters.