Mid-Day Market Internals

NYSE Composite Index:

• Volume Running -5.9% Below 100-Day Average 
• 8 Sectors Rising, 3 Sectors Declining
• 63.9% of Issues Advancing, 31.7% Declining
• 85 New 52-Week Highs, 36 New Lows
• 67.7% of Issues Above 200-day Moving Average
• Average 14-Day RSI 46.8%
  
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk-Off Index 2,666.0 +56.0 points
• Russell 1000: Growth/Value 17,674 -.01%
  
• Vix 17.3 +.9%
• Total Put/Call .68 -17.1%
• TRIN/Arms .52 -26.8%

Tuesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:         

• Johnson Musters G-7 to Press Biden for More Time in Afghanistan.
• China Has Improved Accuracy of Its Missile Force, U.S. Army Finds.  
• China’s Biggest Fears Are Giving Dollar All the Support It Needs.  
• Asia Stocks to Gain on Vaccine Boost; Dollar Falls: Markets Wrap.  
• Oil Jumps by Most in Nine Months as Commodities, Stocks Rally.
• U.S. Holds Largest Sale of Strategic Oil Reserves in 7 Years.  
• Dry Bulk Shipping Rates Are Soaring and the Rally Looks Set.
• Covid Optimists See U.S. Nearing Delta Peak, But Risks Abound.
• Aviation Rebound Stalls; U.S. Mandates Multiply: Virus Update.
• Apple’s Tim Cook, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella Plan to Visit White House.
• Digital Identity Startup ForgeRock Files IPO as Losses Shrink.

Wall Street Journal:

• The Taliban’s Aug. 31 ‘Red Line’.
• Police Vindicate the ‘Thin Blue Line’ Patch Every Day.
• The Deeper Crisis Behind the Afghan Rout.
• A Taliban 9/11.
• The Agony of the ‘Centrist’ Democrats.
• U.S. Struggles to Count Citizens in Afghanistan as Biden Weighs Pullout Delay.
• Fed Chairman Powell Navigates the Inflation Debate.
• Cryptocurrency’s Surge Leaves Global Watchdogs Trying to Catch Up.
• Democrats Near Showdown on Infrastructure, Spending Packages.
• Iron-Ore Prices Tank as China’s Steel Output Slows.

Fox News:

• Psaki gets heated when pressed about rescuing 'stranded' Americans in Afghanistan.
• Veterans issue 'gut-wrenching' message to Biden over Afghan 'mess'.
• Listen to caller's hateful tirade slamming Pledge of Allegiance in schools.

NY Post: 

• US companies riddled with members of Chinese Communist Party: Devine. Boeing(BA), Qualcomm(QCOM) and Pfizer(PFE) are just three US companies that have employed dozens of CCP members in their Chinese facilities, the database reveals. 
  

CNBC.com:

• Wall Street is telling investors to prepare for the two big spending bills Congress is set to pass.
• Elon Musk says Tesla’s latest beta self-driving software is ‘not great’. 
  

MarketWatch.com:         

• Office building prices tumble in heart of big American cities. 
  
• These 15 stocks of retailers are expected to rise up to 97% over the next year.
  
• Doctors question the optics and the scientific rationale behind the plan for COVID-19 booster shots in the U.S.  
• Employers face a dilemma: keeping workers safe with vaccine mandates — and holding onto their employees.

Zero Hedge:

• Biden Celebrates FDA Approval With Message To Unvaxxed: "The Time For You To Get Your Vaccine Is Here".
• As Pentagon's Afghan Debacle Unfolds, Russia Announces Joint War Drills With China & Iran In Gulf.
• America's Latest COVID Wave Appears To Have Peaked As "Hot Spots" Turn The Corner.
• SEC Gives Chinese Companies New Requirements For US IPO Disclosures.
• NY Still Needs To Come Clean On COVID-19 Nursing Home Deaths Scandal.
• Peak Retail Season: Let The Chaos Commence.
• Pentagon To Mandate Covid Vaccine For All Service Members; One-Third Have Refused Jab.
• No, CBS News, Global Warming Did Not Create Taliban Victory.
• 7 Afghans Killed Outside Kabul Airport As Unrest Worsens.
• 'We Must Not Squander Our Majority': Pelosi Assembles House Dems As Infighting Threatens To Derail Trillions In Spending.
• Crypto, Gold, Oil, & Stocks Soar On Dismal Data As Dollar Dumps.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• FDA Approval of Pfizer Vaccine Sparks Wave of Mandates: Pentagon, New York City Public Schools Announce Requirements.
• BREAKING: Taliban Won’t Extend Aug. 31 Deadline for US Withdrawal – Threatens Biden Regime, “Complete the Evacuations by Aug. 31 or Face Consequences” (VIDEO).
• Thanks to Joe Biden the Taliban Now has Over 200 Military Aircraft — Ranks them as #26 in List of Nations in Combat Aircraft Strength.
• China News Taunts United States for Afghanistan Failure — Mocks Afghans Falling from Planes (VIDEO).
• Biden Admin Asks Overworked US Border Patrol Guards to Deploy to Afghanistan to Process Afghan Citizens Fleeing Taliban.

The Epoch Times:

• Beijing Says the US Cannot Abandon Afghanistan Amid Anti-American Propaganda Offensive.

Covid-19(Data, Maps, Graphs):

• Our World in Data:  New Global Covid-19 Cases(7-day rolling average graphs). New US Covid Hospital Admissions/ICU Admissions/Deaths
  
• FT.com:  Fully Vaccinated by Country(graph). Global Lockdown Stringency Index(map).
• Bloomberg.com:  International Travel Restrictions.  Case Graphs by State.
  
• NYTimes.com:  County Trends and Clusters. Local ICU Occupancy.
  
• Brown School of Public Health:  Covid Severity by State/County(map).  US Hospital Capacity(region).
  
• CovidActNow:  Covid Severity/Infection Rate by Metro Area.
  
• KFF:  US Vaccinations by Race/Ethnicity.
  
• Carnegie Mellon: Covid-Like Symptoms in Community. Covid Symptom Searches on Google. Covid-Related Dr.Visits.  Restaurant Visits. Wearing Masks. (graphs)
  
• Safegraph.com:  Commerce Patterns(graphs).

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are +.25% to +1.25% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 73.0 -.25 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 34.75 -.5 basis point.
  

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 59.42 unch.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 2,638.0 +33.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 19.75 -.49%.
• FTSE 100 futures +.15%.

• S&P 500 futures +.18%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.18%. 

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (AAP)/3.05
• (BBY)/1.89
• (MDT)/1.32
• (EDU)/.03
  

After the Close:

• (INTU)/1.59
• (JWN)/.30
• (SCSC)/.57
• (TOL)/1.53
• (URBN)/.80
  

Economic Releases

10:00 am EST

• The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index for Aug. is estimated to fall to 24.0 versus 27.0 in July.
• New Home Sales for July is estimated to rise to 700K versus 676K in June.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The 2Y T-Note auction, weekly US Retail Sales reports, Eurozone GDP report, Raymond James Industrials Conference and the BMO Tech Summit could also impact global trading today.

US Equity Market Hours

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are higher, boosted by commodity 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 100% net long heading into the day.

Stocks Higher into Final Hour on Declining Fed Taper Worries, Diminished Virus Lockdown Fears, Oil Gain, Commodity/Gaming Sector Strength

Broad Equity Market Tone:

• Advance/Decline Line: Substantially Higher
  

• Sector Performance: Almost Every Sector Rising
  

• Volume: Below Average

• Market Leading Stocks: Outperforming
  

Equity Investor Angst:

• Volatility(VIX) 17.0 -8.6%
• Bloomberg Global Risk On/Risk Off Index 2,637.0 +242.0 points

• Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 132.99 +.2%

• Emerging Markets Currency Volatility(VXY) 9.1 -.11%

• S&P 500 Implied Correlation 49.8 -1.9%

• ISE Sentiment Index 111.0  -35.0 points
  

• Total Put/Call .79 -16.8%

• NYSE Arms .65 +1.6%

Credit Investor Angst:

• North American Investment Grade CDS Index 48.6 -2.3%
  

• US Energy High-Yield OAS 454.50 -1.5%

• European Financial Sector CDS Index 53.0 -2.2%

• Italian/German 10Y Yld Spread 106.0 +2.0 basis points
  

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 73.06 -.47%
  

• Emerging Market CDS Index 163.38 -1.3%
  

• China Corp. High-Yield Bond USD ETF(KHYB) 38.3 -.10%

• 2-Year Swap Spread 8.75 -.75 basis point

• TED Spread 8.5 +.25 basis point
  

• 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -2.25 +.25 basis point
  
• MBS  5/10 Treasury Spread  76.5 -.25 basis point
  
• IHS Markit CMBX BBB- 6 72.25 +.75 basis point
  

Economic Gauges:

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 59.41 +.33%
• 3-Month T-Bill Yield .04% -1.0 basis point
  

• Yield Curve 104.0 +2.0 basis points
  

• China Iron Ore Spot 135.05 USD/Metric Tonne -2.1%

• Citi US Economic Surprise Index -36.8 -8.7 points

• Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index -7.6 -12.9 points
  

• Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 34.9 -2.7 points

• 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.28 unch.
• 100.0% chance of no change at Nov. 3rd meeting, 100.0% chance of no change at Dec. 15th meeting

US Covid-19:

• 314 new infections/100K people(last 7 days total) +10/100K people
• 59% of Jan. 7th, 2021 peak(highest daily avg. new infections) +2.0 percentage points
  

Overseas Futures:

• Nikkei 225 Futures: Indicating +126 open in Japan 
• China A50 Futures: Indicating +26 open in China

• DAX Futures: Indicating +7 open in Germany

Portfolio:

• Higher: On gains in my tech/biotech/industrial/consumer discretionary sector longs
  

• Disclosed Trades: None
  

• Market Exposure: 100% Net Long
  

Bear Radar

 Style Underperformer:

• Large-Cap Value +.8%

Sector Underperformers:

• 1) Utilities -1.2% 2) Homebuilding -.6% 3) REITs -.3%

Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume: 

• OSCR
  

Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:

• 1) IVR 2) CL 3) PANW 4) SPXS 5) FBRX
  

Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:

• 1) SJT 2) LIVE 3) ZY 4) DKNG 5) LYFT
  

Charts:

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

Bull Radar

Style Outperformer:

• Small-Cap Growth +2.1%

Sector Outperformers:

• 1) Oil Service +5.4% 2) Gold & Silver +4.5% 3) Gaming +3.5%

Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:

• CLSK, ALXO, ASTR, MSGE, DVAX, STEM, ETWO, TGTX, EDIT, AXSM, KURA, DCPH, ARNA, AGFY, BYRN, RCKT, TTCF, CFLT, OLMA, MGNI, ACVA, FATE, PRAX, XLNX, MARA, MXIM, AMR, DOCN, RADI and EVER
  

Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:

• 1) HBAN 2) ACM 3) AMRS 4) AGEN 5) PSTG

Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:

• 1) CIO 2) ALXO 3) XERS 4) DNUT 5) OXY
  

Charts:

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

Mid-Day Market Internals

NYSE Composite Index:

• Volume Running -12.9% Below 100-Day Average 
• 9 Sectors Rising, 2 Sectors Declining
• 64.6% of Issues Advancing, 31.5% Declining
• 91 New 52-Week Highs, 54 New Lows
• 65.7% of Issues Above 200-day Moving Average
• Average 14-Day RSI 44.5%
  
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk-Off Index 2,613.0 +218.0 points
• Russell 1000: Growth/Value 17,650 +.51%
  
• Vix 17.1 -7.9%
• Total Put/Call .71 -25.3%
• TRIN/Arms .61 -4.7%