Style Underperformer:
Sector Underperformers:
- 1) Gold & Silver -3.10% 2) Homebuilders -2.24% 3) Education -2.06%
Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:
- APAM, BRKR, TOWR, GTLS, NPO, FRM, CVRR, WCG, IPGP, NQ, AIG, AXL, DRC, ABX, OPLK, WDC, CEC, SSNI, CCMP, EDMC, HOS, DATA, IRG, OCN, MSG, SYNA, ARRS, SLRC, BLT, ZLTQ, EGN, HME, STRA, JIVE, KOG, OCN, IDCC, DRQ, EGOV, ALDW and ELLI
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
- 1) MRO 2) JDSU 3) X 4) FSLR 5) WDC
Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:
- 1) TSO 2) IPI 3) C 4) IPI 5) PETM
Charts:
Style Outperformer:
Sector Outperformers:
- 1) Utilities +1.02% 2) Steel +.86% 3) Airlines +.35%
Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:
- GDOT, OEH, FSLR, EPAY, OSIR, LINE, MRC, BBG, GBX, LNCO, TRMB, NATI, HWAY, UNTD, MDVN, SPR and NEE
Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:
- 1) ADSK 2) SWN 3) AEO 4) NTRI 5) CVA
Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:
- 1) T 2) BSX 3) FSLR 4) NFLX 5) BLMN
Charts:
Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
- China Files Protest as Japanese Ships Disrupt Military Exercises. China
lodged an official protest with Japan after its ships entered an area
in the west Pacific Ocean and disrupted military exercises being
conducted there, the
Chinese Defense Ministry said. The Chinese navy announced its scheduled training there
from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1, while the Japanese entered the area on
Oct. 25 and left three days later, the ministry said in a
statement on its website yesterday. Japan’s actions also
endangered the safe navigation of ships and planes, according to
the statement.
- Most Asia Stocks Drop on Tapering Concern; SoftBank Gains.
Most Asian stocks declined, with the regional benchmark index paring
its weekly advance, as speculation the Federal Reserve will reduce
stimulus in coming months overshadowed improving China manufacturing
data. Sony (6758) Corp. slumped 12 percent in Tokyo after the television
and digital camera maker unexpectedly lowered its full-year profit
forecast by 40 percent. Sydney Airport sank 3.1 percent
after its largest shareholder Macquarie Group Ltd. announced
plans to give some of its stake to its investors. Panasonic
Corp. surged 5.6 percent, a fifth day of gains, after doubling
its full-year profit forecast. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.4 percent to 141.79 as
of 11:31 a.m. in Tokyo, as two shares declined for each that
rose.
- Rubber in Tokyo Pares Weekly Gain as Higher Yen Cuts Appeal. Rubber declined for a second day,
paring a weekly advance, as crude oil fell and a stronger
Japanese currency cut the appeal of yen-denominated futures. The contract for delivery in April on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange lost as much as 1.3 percent to 258.1 yen a kilogram
($2,626 a metric ton) and traded at 259.5 yen at 10:44 a.m. The
drop pared gains for the most-active contract to 1.1 percent
this week. Futures fell 1.5 percent last month.
- Rebar Climbs to Seven-Week High on China Manufacturing Growth. Steel reinforcement-bar futures in
Shanghai rose to the highest in seven weeks, after China’s
manufacturing rose more than estimated in October, underpinning
a recovery in the biggest steel user. Rebar for delivery in May, the
most-active contract by volume on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, rose as
much as 1.2 percent to 3,678 yuan ($604) a metric ton, the highest
intra-day level since Sept. 13. Futures traded at 3,671 yuan at 10:54
a.m.
local time, up 2.4 percent this week.
Wall Street Journal:
- Wanted: Entry Level Hedgies; $353,000 Salary.
Looking for a new start in finance? Hedge funds are hiring and even
their beginners are making bank. The hedge-fund industry ramped up
hiring for entry-level positions in
2013, according to a new report from Hedge Fund Research. The average
compensation for a mid-performing fund for those entry-level hires was a
total of $353,000, including bonuses, according to HFR and its study
partner Glocap.
MarketWatch.com:
- Container Store IPO prices at high end. The Container Store Inc., the retailer of storage and organizational
products, saw its initial public offering price at the high end of
recently raised expectations.
CNBC:
Zero Hedge:
Business Insider:
Washington Post:
- In first month, the vast majority of Obamacare sign-ups are in Medicaid. The first month of the new health law’s rollout reveals an unexpected
pattern in several states: a crush of people applying for an expansion
of Medicaid and a trickle of sign-ups for private insurance. This
early imbalance — in some places nine out of 10 enrollees are in
Medicaid — has taken some experts by surprise. The Affordable Care Act,
which expanded Medicaid to cover millions of the poorest Americans who
couldn’t otherwise afford coverage, envisions a more even split with an
expanded, robust private market. “When we first saw the numbers,
everyone’s eyes kind of bugged out,”
said Matt Salo, who runs the National Association of Medicaid Directors.
“Of the people walking through the door, 90 percent are on Medicaid.
We’re thinking, what planet is this happening on?” The yawning gap between public and private enrollment is handing
Republicans yet another line of criticism against President Obama’s
health overhaul — that the law is primarily becoming an expansion of a
costly entitlement program. If this trend continues, experts say it could prove costly for states
that will have to help pay for some of these new Medicaid enrollees. It
would further widen disparities between the states that opted to expand
the entitlement program and those that have not. Low enrollment in private insurance, meanwhile, could increase
premiums as it would likely indicate that only sick people, who really
need coverage, were signing up.
Reuters:
- Enrollment in Obamacare very small in first days: documents. Enrollment
in health insurance plans on the troubled Obamacare website was very
small in the first couple of days of operation, with just 248 Americans
signing up, according to documents released on Thursday by a U.S. House
of
Representatives committee.
The Obama administration has said it cannot provide enrollment figures from HealthCare.gov because it doesn't have the numbers.
Evening Recommendations
Night Trading
- Asian equity indices are -.75% to unch. on average.
- Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 130.0 -1.0 basis point.
- Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 99.50 +.5 basis point.
- NASDAQ 100 futures +.11%.
Morning Preview Links
Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Economic Releases
8:58 am EST
- Final Markit US PMI for October is estimated at 51.1 versus a prior estimate of 51.1.
10:00 am EST
- ISM Manufacturing for October is estimated to fall to 55.0 versus 56.2 in September.
- ISM Prices Paid for October is estimated to fall to 55.0 versus 56.5 in September.
Afternoon
- Total Vehicle Sales for October are estimated to rise to 15.45M versus 15.21M in September.
Upcoming Splits
Other Potential Market Movers
- The Fed's Bullard speaking, Fed's Lacker speaking, Fed's Kocherlakota speaking and Japanese car sales could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by technology and industrial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.
Broad Equity Market Tone:
- Advance/Decline Line: Slightly Lower
- Sector Performance: Mixed
- Market Leading Stocks: Performing In Line
Equity Investor Angst:
- Volatility(VIX) 13.34 -2.27%
- Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 139.38 -1.22%
- Emerging Markets Currency Volatility(VXY) 8.11 +3.97%
- S&P 500 Implied Correlation 39.26 -3.71%
- ISE Sentiment Index 142.0 +56.04%
- Total Put/Call .89 -8.25%
Credit Investor Angst:
- North American Investment Grade CDS Index 72.85 -.29%
- European Financial Sector CDS Index 117.94 -2.40%
- Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 70.0 +1.45%
- Emerging Market CDS Index 270.21 +.06%
- 2-Year Swap Spread 12.0 +.25 basis point
- TED Spread 20.5 -.75 basis point
- 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -4.0 -1.0 basis point
Economic Gauges:
- 3-Month T-Bill Yield .04% +1 basis point
- Yield Curve 224.0 +3 basis points
- China Import Iron Ore Spot $131.90/Metric Tonne +.53%
- Citi US Economic Surprise Index 3.80 +5.9 points
- Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index -11.10 -2.0 points
- 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.17 -1 basis point
Overseas Futures:
- Nikkei Futures: Indicating +128 open in Japan
- DAX Futures: Indicating +7 open in Germany
Portfolio:
- Slightly Higher: On gains in my tech sector longs and emerging markets shorts
- Disclosed Trades: Covered some of my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges, then added them back
- Market Exposure: 50% Net Long
Style Underperformer:
Sector Underperformers:
- 1) Education -5.30% 2) Gold & Silver -3.61% 3) Homebuilders -1.63%
Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:
- WTW, AAWW, DATA, TTS, AVP, EXLS, RATE, HGG, GTLS, STRA, RRTS, MDAS, JIVE, PRLB, SNE, SGI, CCMP, NSR, EPL, OTEX, VRX, STAA, JDSU, OSK, MW, NCMI, APOL, ITRI, MGM, SPWR, NSR, CROX, PRAA, RRTS, GTLS, MASI, CNW, JDSU, EPL, OSK, ROVI, HOS, JOSB, ESI, MOH, PDCE, EXAM, SNCR, DLR, NCMI, DV, INT, VOLC, GIMO, RKUS, Q, MUR and WMB
Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:
- 1) BYD 2) CIEN 3) WTW 4) JDSU 5) MGM
Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:
- 1) AVP 2) JDSU 3) HLF 4) V 5) C
Charts:
Style Outperformer:
Sector Outperformers:
- 1) Hospitals +2.08% 2) Networking +1.43% 3) HMOs +1.17%
Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:
- ZLTQ, CRR, CCK, SSNI, CAVM, ARRS, EXPE, THOR, MCHP, PRGO, ITT, HAR, PGTI, SHOO, FLT, CAR, DGI, DWA, SWKS, TRN, HBI, ISIL, CRUS, SHOO, CAH and CJES
Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:
- 1) APO 2) TWM 3) ACHN 4) WTW 5) BYD
Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:
- 1) EL 2) EXPE 3) YHOO 4) CLX 5) AMZN
Charts:
