Friday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:   

• China's Debt Crackdown Helps Revive Flagging Dim Sum Bond Market.

• Trump Approves $50 Billion China Tariffs, Focuses More Closely on High Tech. 

• Asian Stocks Set for Gains; Dollar Strengthens. Asian stocks are set to rise Friday after their U.S. and European counterparts closed higher. The dollar hit an 11-month high and 10-year Treasury yields retreated. Futures in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong all pointed to gains. The S&P 500 closed with a modest rise Thursday, while the Nasdaq Composite Index hit a record high. Earlier, European stocks jumped and the euro suffered its biggest drop in about two years after the region’s central bank delivered a somewhat dovish message to investors. Europe’s bonds rallied. The greenback strengthened against all major peers. Nikkei 225 futures rose 0.6 percent in Singapore. S&P/ASX 200 futures rose 0.5 percent. Hang Seng futures rose 0.2 percent.

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

Wall Street Journal:

• Report Blasts FBI Agents, Comey Over Clinton Email Probe.

• The FBI’s Document Blackouts.

• U.S. Economy Seen Chugging Ahead of Europe and Asia.

• Big Investors Don’t Want Wall Street Analysts Snooping on Them.

• Disney, Comcast Bids for Fox Assets Could Face Regulatory Sticking Point: Sports.

• China’s Investors Pour Into Western Biotech Startups.

• Attacks on Libya Ports Shut Nearly Quarter of Libyan Crude Output.

MarketWatch.com:

• Qualcomm(QCOM), NXP stocks spike after report that China has cleared acquisition.

• ‘Dr. Doom’ calls out crypto bull.

Fox News:

• Lawmakers from both parties slam FBI after IG report: 'destructive level of animus'.

• Alan Dershowitz: DOJ watchdog should have been much tougher on Comey.

CNBC:    

• Amazon(AMZN) is stacking Whole Foods with execs to weave it into Jeff Bezos' broader vision. 

• Trump's forecast of 4% GDP growth close to coming true as Americans spend tax-bill proceeds.  

• Adobe(ADBE) stock drops even though it handily beat earnings estimates.

• Billionaire hedge fund titan: 'The gates are wide open' for more mergers after AT&T ruling.

• Julian Robertson says FANG stock valuations are 'cheap' versus the market.

• Hedge fund billionaire Julian Robertson: Trump is doing an ‘excellent job,’ deserves more credit.

Zero Hedge: 

• Here Is The Full OIG Report: Faults "Insubordinate" Comey, Notes FBI "Hostility" Against Trump.

• Emerging Markets Massacred As Dovish Draghi Sends Dollar Soaring.

• Pelosi: "I Just Don't Even Know Why There Isn't An Uprising In This Country".

• "Don't Panic": Bank of America's 20 Must-Know Stats For Investors. 

• "Unbiased" FBI Agent Strzok Texted "We'll Stop" Trump From Becoming President: OIG Report.

• Free Money? The Fed Is About To Give $36.93 Billion Of Taxpayer Money To Banks.

• Great News: The Fewest Americans In 8 Years Are Dependent On Government For Food.

Business Insider:

• Brutal 568-page watchdog report blasts Comey, finds FBI officials may have wanted to hurt Trump's chances of winning the election.

• Zelle, a payments service created by the 7 biggest US banks, is on track to be more popular than Venmo in 2018.

• FBI employees on Clinton email probe called Trump voters 'lazy pieces of s--t,' blamed themselves for Clinton loss in messages.

Telegraph:

• Comment: AT&T-Time Warner opens floodgates for merger frenzy.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -.25% to +.75% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 77.0 -.5 basis point 

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 12.75 unch.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 69.90 -.09%.

• FTSE 100 futures -.15%.

• S&P 500 futures -.06%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.03%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (GOOS)/-.08

After the Close:

• None of note

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• Empire Manufacturing for June is estimated to fall to 18.8 versus 20.1 in May.

9:15 am EST

• Industrial Production MoM for May is estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.7% gain in April.

• Manufacturing Production for May is estimated unch. versus a +.5% gain in April.

• Capacity Utilization for May is estimated to rise to 78.1% versus 78.0% in April.
  

10:00 am EST

• Preliminary Univ. of Mich. Consumer Sentiment for  June is estimated to rise to 98.5 versus 98.0 in May.
  

4:00 pm EST

• Net Long-Term TIC Flows for April.
  

Upcoming Splits

• (TREX) 2-for-1

• (HBNC) 3-for-2

Other Potential Market Movers

• The BoJ rate decision, Eurozone CPI report, US China tariff list announcement, (CNC) investor day and the (BLUE) business update conference call could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE:  Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by technology and industrial 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.