Thursday, February 08, 2018

Friday Watch

Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:
  • Sizing Up China’s Debt Bubble: Bloomberg Economics. Over the past decade, China’s credit boom has been the largest factor driving global growth. That may be about to change. President Xi Jinping’s administration is encouraging banks and businesses to start deleveraging. Meanwhile, the government is committed to doubling the economy from 2010 to 2020, and getting there will almost certainly require more loans. Here, and at BI China, Bloomberg Economics looks at China’s debt problem and where it might go from here.
  • BOE's U.K. Upgrades All Come Down to a Stronger Global Economy. The U.K. can be thankful that world growth is building up steam. Raising its forecasts for the next three years, the Bank of England’s biggest upward revision was to exports. It sees them increasing 3.25 percent this year, better than the 2 percent predicted just three months ago.
  • Hong Kong Benchmark Heads for Correction as China Shares Tumble. Nearly all members of the Hang Seng Index fell, led by the best performer over the past 12 months, Country Garden Holdings Co., which has tumbled 22 percent this week. Hong Kong’s benchmark index was down 3.1 percent at 29,508.89 as of 9:58 a.m., heading for a weekly loss of 9.5 percent, its worst since 2008. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell for a fifth day, losing 3.9 percent as its weekly loss extended to 12 percent.
  • Asian Stocks Slide After U.S. Tumble; Yen Steadies. (video) Asian stocks fell Friday following a plunge in their U.S. counterparts as the dread that gripped equity markets earlier in the week re-emerged, amid concern rising interest rates will drag down economic growth. Japan, Hong Kong and China were among the markets seeing benchmark stock indexes now down 10 percent or more from the highs reached in late January -- joining the U.S. in meeting the definition of a "correction." U.S. Treasury yields, which helped trigger the violent downturn, remained near four-year highs. West Texas Intermediate oil fell toward $60 a barrel. China set the yuan lower Friday after it fell the most since 2015 yesterday. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 2.4 percent as of 11:28 a.m. Tokyo time. Topix index fell 2.9 percent. Kospi index fell 2.1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 1.3 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed after fluctuating higher and lower.
  • Far From Unprecedented: Nine Selloffs Like This, and Nine Rebounds. The selloff that’s been battering investors for nine days feels like the worst thing ever -- it’s far from that. Nine times since the bull market began in 2009 have equities experienced stretches as gruesome as this one; each time the end of the world was averted. Here’s a quick walk down bad memory lane.
Wall Street Journal: 
MarketWatch.com: 
CNBC:
Business Insider:
Night Trading 
  • Asian equity indices are -3.75% to -1.5% on average.
  • Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 75.75 +5.5 basis point
  • Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 12.75 +.75 basis point.
  • Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 74.82 unch.
  • FTSE 100 futures -.69%.
  • S&P 500 futures -.10%.
  • NASDAQ 100 futures -.14%.
Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate

  • (CAE)/.27
  • (CCJ)/.34
  • (CBOE)/.88
  • (MCO)/1.45
  • (PCG)/.68
  • (TEN)/1.64
Economic Releases
10:00 am EST
  • Wholesale Trade Sales MoM for December are estimated to rise +.4% versus a +1.5% gain in November.
Upcoming Splits
  • None of note
Other Potential Market Movers
  • The China PPI report and UK Trade Balance report could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE:  Asian indices are sharply lower, weighed down by financial and industrial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed.  The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.

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