Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Central Banks Fret Trade War More Deflationary Than Inflationary. Global central bankers sounded the alert that a trade war would leave them worrying more about the economic fallout than any boost tariffs would give to inflation. As President Donald Trump threatens to impose levies on imported steel and aluminum and duties on as much as $150 billion of Chinese goods, uncertainty over global commerce is casting a pall over an otherwise strong outlook. The tensions were a key theme at the IMF meetings in Washington, with policy makers on Saturday warning of challenges in a communique. Colombia’s central bank president said a trade war would be "catastrophic," his Paraguayan peer said it would be "bad for everyone," while Japan’s chief described protectionism as "very undesirable."    

• What Global Finance Chiefs Are Saying About the Global Economy.  

• Three Alternative Gauges Advise Not to Fret on Global Trade, Yet.    

• Citigroup Warns Mexico of Deficit, Price Surges if Obrador Wins.

• China Is Bolstering Lenders Before New Assault on Shadow Banking.  

• Asia Stocks Open Mixed; Yen Slips as Bonds Decline: Markets Wrap. Japan’s Topix index rose 0.3 percent as of 9:14 a.m. in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.2 percent. Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 0.3 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 Index gained 0.2 percent.  

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

• Libya’s Oil Output Slumps After Fire at Pipeline to Key Port..

Wall Street Journal:

• Oil Prices Are Fast Approaching $70. Is The Economy Ready?

• It’s a Scary Time to Be Trading Wall Street’s Fear Index. 

• Amazon(AMZN) Trades Like a Tech Stock But Pays Like a Warehouse.

• Flattening Yield Curve Isn’t Just the Fed’s Problem.

• Boomers Embrace Luxury Van Life.

MarketWatch.com:

• Global oil supply surplus may soon become a shortage.

• Netflix(NFLX) is growing at a stunning rate — and so is its profit.

Fox News: 

• Waffle House shooting leaves 4 dead, several injured; gunman sought. (video)

CNBC:

• Employers don't understand the 'black box' behind rising drug prices, and are fed up.

• These bionic vests give factory workers super strength and help prevent injuries. (video)

• China could end up hurting itself with trade action against US farmers. Here's how.

• Average price of US gas jumps 9 cents, to $2.83 a gallon.

Zero Hedge:

• Government Accidentally Releases Documents On Remote Mind-Control.

• WikiLeaks To Countersue Democrats; "Discovery Is Going To Be Amazing Fun".

• Beijing Welcomes Mnuchin Visit As US Hints At China Trade-War Truce.

• In Surprise Twist, Europe Now Pushing Trump Administration To Ease Russian Sanctions.

• Hedge Funds Have Never Been More Bullish Oil, But The "Ghost Of 2008" Looms.

• Canadians Just Set A New Record For Borrowing Against Their Homes.

• No Official Intel Used To Launch Russia Probe According To Controversial DOJ Document: Nunes. 

Business Insider:

• Forget the iPhone X — Apple could launch a new iPhone with a bigger screen this year for as little as $550.

• 29-year-old customer who stopped the nude Waffle House shooter by wrestling away his rifle is hailed as a hero.

• China is boosting its undersea-warfare capabilities — and stealing US technology to do so, a US admiral says. 

• China is getting increasingly aggressive with Taiwan — but war would be disastrous for both sides.

Night Trading

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 75.5 +2.0 basis points.

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 12.0 unch.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 74.33 unch.

• FTSE 100 futures +.17%.

• S&P 500 futures +.25%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.33%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate

• (ALK)/.12

• (HAL)/.40

• (HAS)/.34

• (KMB)/1.69

• (GOOG)/9.29

• (ABX)/.14

• (BRO)/.30

• (OI)/.58

• (AMTD)/.74

• (WHR)/2.98 

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST

• The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for March is estimated to fall to .25 versus .88 in February.

9:45 am EST

• The Preliminary Markit US Manufacturing PMI for April is estimated to fall to 55.1 versus 55.6 in March.

• The Preliminary Markit US Services PMI for April is estimated to rise to 54.1 versu 54.0 in March.
  

10:00 am EST

• Existing Home Sales for March are estimated to rise to 5.55M versus 5.54M in February.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone Manufacturing PMI report could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by technology and healthcare 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.