Thursday, September 21, 2017

Friday Watch

Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
  • Stocks Drop, Yen Rises on Renewed N. Korea Tension. After a flat start to Friday’s Asian session, benchmarks dropped in Tokyo and Seoul, and S&P 500 Index futures declined. Bond yields retreated and the yen and gold climbed after Yonhap News cited a North Korean official saying the “highest level of hard-line” countermeasures against the U.S. could refer to a hydrogen-bomb in the Pacific Ocean. North Korea’s nuclear tests up to now have taken place on its own soil. Japan’s Topix index fell 0.3 percent as of 11:30 a.m. Tokyo time and South Korea’s Kospi index slid 0.5 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.3 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.8 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.7 percent.
  • Shale Billionaire Hamm Slams 'Exaggerated' U.S. Oil Projections. (video) Billionaire oilman Harold Hamm says the government was way too optimistic with its prediction of more than 1 million new barrels a day in U.S. production, and the snafu is “distorting" global crude prices. This year’s rise is likely to be closer to about 500,000 barrels, far off an initial forecast by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, according to Hamm, the chairman of Continental Resources Inc. and a pioneer in the shale industry.
Wall Street Journal:
Fox News:
Zero Hedge:
Night Trading 
  • Asian equity indices are -.5% to unch. on average.
  • Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 78.75 +.5 basis point
  • Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 15.0 -.25 basis point.
  • Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 74.46 +.04%.
  • S&P 500 futures -.30%.
  • NASDAQ 100 futures -.49%.
Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate

  • (KMX)/.95
  • (FINL)/.11
Economic Releases 
9:45 am EST
  • Preliminary Markit US Manufacturing PMI for September is estimated to rise to 53.0 versus 52.8 in August.
  • Preliminary Markit US Services PMI for September is estimated to fall to 557 versu 56.0 in August.
Upcoming Splits
  • None of note
Other Potential Market Movers
  • The Fed's Williams speaking, Fed's Kaplan speaking, Fed's George speaking and the Eurozone PMI report could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE:  Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by industrial and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed.  The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.

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