Bear Radar

Style Underperformer:

• Mid-Cap Value +.8%

Sector Underperformers:

• 1) Gold & Silver -.7% 2) REITs unch. 3) Restaurants +.3%

Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume: 

• BA, PHR, VGR, IFF, CRS, REVG, ATNX, PCG, TPC and GOSS

Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:

• 1) ETRN 2) AFL 3) EOG 4) SWN 5) AXSM

Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:

• 1) GOSS 2) REVG 3) CRS 4) PCG 5) BGNE

Charts:

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

Bull Radar

Style Outperformer:

• Small-Cap Growth +1.3%

Sector Outperformers:

• 1) Disk Drives +2.8% 2) Healthcare Providers +2.8% 3) Computer Hardware +2.3%

Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:

• AXSM, SGH, REGI, AKCA, PFNX, MAXR, WPX, GVA, PLT, PLCE, LEA, MNTA, INMD, TSLA, FIXX, LOPE, EGHT, TPTX, CPLG, MOH, WDC, UBER, MU, LYFT, FATE, DTIL, ELF, APO, CNC, ANDE, AVYA, EDIT, TPIC, HUM, GEO, COWN, DT, CGBD, CRNC, MODN, SRPT, LASR, DNOW, AVGO, EPZM, EXAS and KYN

Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:

• 1) TRGP 2) ETRN 3) EOG 4) CNP 5) RF

Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:

• 1) AXSM 2) GV 3) MU 4) WDC 5) WPX

Charts:

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

Morning Market Internals

NYSE Composite Index:

• Volume Running +8.0% Above 100-Day Average
• 10 Sectors Rising, 1 Sector Declining
• 72.5% of Issues Advancing, 25.4% Declining
• 193 New 52-Week Highs, 11 New Lows
• 60.4% of Issues Above 200-day Moving Average
• Average 14-Day RSI 49.1%
• Vix 11.7 -7.0%
• Total Put/Call .90 -16.7%
• TRIN/Arms .99 -39.3%

Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Lighthizer Scores Trifecta of Wins for Trump’s Trade Agenda.

• No Date Set for U.S.-China ‘Phase Two’ Talks, Lighthizer Says.    

• Hong Kong Protesters Clash With Police as Lam Visits Beijing.   

• Australia Cuts Forecasts for Wage Increases, Economic Growth and Budget Surplus.

• Johnson Gets to Work Naming Cabinet and Taking U.K. Out of EU. 

• Asian Stocks Set to Open Mixed After Trade Deal. Asian stocks look set to start the week mixed after a partial U.S.-China trade deal yielded few details. The offshore yuan was firmer as China avoided extra tariffs. U.S. futures edged higher and Australian stocks opened with modest gains. Futures on Japanese equities were little changed. Washington and Beijing agreed to a first phase of a broader trade deal on Friday that will see China boost imports, including of American agricultural products, and the U.S. halving duties on $120 billion of Chinese goods. The U.S. has also delayed levies that were due to be imposed on Sunday, and China said it will suspend additional tariffs on certain American imports. Oil slipped back below $60 a barrel. Nikkei 225 futures were little changed in Chicago. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures fell 0.7% earlier. S&P 500 Index futures rose 0.1%. The gauge was little changed Friday.

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

• The Bull Market Almost No One Saw Coming. 

Wall Street Journal:

• Investors Exit Havens as Worries Ease, Lifting Stocks.

• U.N. Climate Talks End Without Deal on Carbon Markets.

• ‘Multiple Levels of Hearsay Upon Hearsay’.

• Warren Would Destroy Private Equity—at Everyone’s Expense.

• Hallmark Faces Boycott Calls Over Gay Wedding Ads.

• U.S. Steel, the Company That Built America, Faces Its Age.

• China Pulls U.K. Soccer Game After Star Player Slams Beijing.

• Economists Got the Decade All Wrong. They’re Trying to Figure Out Why.

Fox News:

• Ex-FBI director accuses Barr of 'irresponsible statement' on FBI conduct, admits some mistakes.

CNBC:

• Lighthizer acknowledges USMCA concessions: ‘Democrats won the House’.

• Boeing reportedly nears decision on cutting or halting 737 Max production.

• Lighthizer says phase-one trade deal is ‘totally done’ and will double exports to China in two years.

• Congress faces high-stakes week with impeachment, trade and funding votes ahead.

Zero Hedge:             

• It's D-Day For The Repo Market: On Monday $100 Billion In Liquidity Will Be Drained - What Happens Next?

• Second Damning FBI Lie About Carter Page Revealed In IG Report: Sperry.

• Schiff: 'I Had No Idea FBI Was Committing Serious Abuses When I Said All That Stuff'.

• "It Was Real Sloppy": Comey Comes Clean On FISA Abuse: "Horowitz Was Right, I Was Wrong".

• Schiff, Nadler Insist Impeachment "Not A Failure" Despite Plunge In Public Support, Interest.

• Greta Apologizes For Execution Comment As People Question Who's Actually 'Ruining Her Childhood'.

• Chinese Gangs Infect Pigs With Swine Fever In Criminal Meat Scheme.

• "It's Sickening": Elon Musk's P.I. Dug Through Vern Unsworth's Trash To Find Dirt.

• Recently Retired USAF General Makes Eyebrow-Raising Claims About Advanced Space Technology.

• All Hell Breaks Loose In India As Violent Protests Spread After Citizenship Law.

• The Fed Will Buy 40% Of US Treasury Net Issuance In 2020.

• China Threatens To Kill German Car Exports Should Huawei Be Banned.

• IG Report On FBI Spying Exposes "Scandal Of Historic Magnitude" For US Media.

Business Insider:

• China's next gambit to save its economy will export dystopia worldwide.

• 12 AI startups that will boom in 2019, according to VCs. 

• The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are both scheduled to arrive in 2020. Here's how they stack up.

• 40 Big Tech Predictions for 2019.

Night Trading

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 60.25 -1.25 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 34.75 unch.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 66.14 -.02%.

• FTSE 100 futures +.72%.

• S&P 500 futures +.19%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.25%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• None of note

After the Close:

• (HEI)/.57

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST

• Empire Manufacturing for Dec. is estimated to rise to 4.0 versus 2.9 in Nov.

9:45 am EST

• The Preliminary Markit US Manufacturing PMI for Dec. is estimated to fall to 52.5 versus 52.6 in Nov.

• The Preliminary Markit US Services PMI for Dec. is estimated to rise to 51.8 versus 51.6 in Nov.

10:00 am EST

• The NAHB Housing Market Index for Dec. is estimated at 70.0 versus 70.0 in Nov.

4:00 pm EST

• Net Long-Term TIC Flows for Oct.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone Services PMI report and the (AEIS) investor conference could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are slightly lower, weighed down by financial and consumer 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.

• 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 mixed as China trade deal optimism, fewer global growth concerns and seasonal strength offset profit-taking, technical selling and more shorting. My intermediate-term trading indicators are giving neutral signals and the Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• World Economy Haunted by Risk Just Got a Double Shot in the Arm.  

• China Plans to Target Around 6% Growth in 2020, Reuters Reports.

• The Three-Year Crisis Cycle and a Case for a Reborn Bull Market.  

• Oil’s Biggest Bullish Boost Since 2016 Scores on Trade Armistice. 

• The Week When Some Big Economic Worries Began to Fade.

• Eni CEO Sees Oil Market Stabilizing on U.S.-China Trade Deal.  

• Impeachment Backlash: 31 Democrats at Risk After Trump Vote.

Wall Street Journal:

• U.S., China Pause Trade War With Limited Deal.

• North America Trade Deal Is Likely Model for Future Pacts.

• A U.S.-China Trade Detente.

• Huge Disparity in Corporate Profits Hints at Something Amiss.

• DOJ Preparing Legal Action Against Live Nation for Ticketing Practices.

• Britain’s Red Alert for Democrats.

CNBC:

• ‘Historic’ phase one deal with China will be very good for global growth, Mnuchin says.

• Path is clear for a year-end rally with key hurdles like the trade war removed.

• Popular ‘Dogs of the Dow’ investing strategy fails in 2019.

• Here are the best analyst calls of the week on Wall Street including Dick’s and an advertising play.

• Three words that got Boris Johnson the UK election victory he craved.

• Here are the best-performing stocks of the decade.

MarketWatch.com:

• The hottest housing markets of 2020 are located far from the West and East coasts.

• ‘Back up the truck and buy, buy buy,’ because there is no risk, says MUFG economist.

• Top stock picks for 2020: The best of the biggest.  

• These are Wall Street’s top dividend stock picks for 2020.

Fox News:

• Biden confronted on Ukraine in San Antonio, but never answers protester’s question.

• Best-selling author is latest victim of Caribbean violence.

Zero Hedge:  

• IG Report On FBI Spying Exposes "Scandal Of Historic Magnitude" For US Media.

• Anti-Impeachment Democrat Jeff Van Drew Defects To GOP.

• "Bomb Cyclone" Looms Again As NorthEast Storm Intensifies Through Weekend.

• Corbyn's Massive Defeat Is Big Wakeup Call For Democrats.

• 8 Takeaways From The UK Election Result.

• Rudy Giuliani Can Barely Contain Himself Over His Ukraine Findings.

• NHS Over-Diagnosing Sex-Change Treatment For Children Over Fears Of Being Labeled "Transphobic".

• North Korea Conducts "Another Crucial Test" At Missile Site To 'Bolster Nuclear Deterrent'.  

• Pay Attention: Robots Are Killing The Millennial Worker.

• Impeachment Drama Doomed To Fail From Bad Casting.

• Baltimore Company Stuns Employees With $10 Million In Bonuses.

• Americans Are Lonely, Miserable, & Depressed: The Legacy Of A Society That Has Rejected Family, Faith, & Patriotism.

• What A Trip: Magic Mushrooms One Step Closer To Becoming Legal Depression Treatment.

• Impeachment Insanity: Democrat Asks Lawmakers To Imagine Girl Tied Up In Trump's Basement.

• The Booming US Furniture Industry Has Sparked A Desperate Scramble To Find Workers.

• San Francisco Spends Almost $30 Per Flush For Public Toilets.

• FISA Court Falls Under Congressional Scrutiny Following IG Report.

• "F**k Boris" - Antifa Protesters Clash With Police Outside Downing Street As Furious Leftists Revolt.

• Deal On, Risk Off.

Business Insider: 

• Uber's co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick sold off close to $166 million shares over the past three days.

• A secret fundraiser revealed Pete Buttigieg is being backed by some of Silicon Valley's wealthiest families.

The Telegraph: 

• City cheers Brexit certainty after crushing Conservative victory.

• Triumphant Boris means Brussels can no longer play the divide and rule game.

The Straits Times: 

• China paid a heavy price for trade deal with US: Chinese experts.