Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:          

• The Emerging Market Rout Is Nearing a Turning Point, Templeton Says 

• Macau Casinos to Reopen After Brief, if Costly, Typhoon Shutdown.

• Asia Stocks Slip as Trade Concerns Resurface. Stocks in Asia kicked off the week under pressure after the latest U.S. move to place a further tranche of tariffs on Chinese goods. The dollar maintained gains. Shares in South Korea and Australia edged lower, while futures on equity indexes in Hong Kong and China signaled declines. Japanese markets are closed for a holiday. President Donald Trump instructed aides to proceed with tariffs on about $200 billion more in Chinese products. The S&P 500 Index finished flat on Friday as financial and energy shares rose, while the 10-year Treasury yield hit 3 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index lost 0.2 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.2 percent. Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 1.1 percent in late Friday trading. Futures on the FTSE China A50 Index lost 1 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 were down 0.2 percent.    

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

• Trump's $200B, Chinese Fertility, Economic Nationalism: Eco Day.

• Dimon Rules Out a Run in 2020, Regrets ‘Machismo’ in Trump Snub   

• Trump Texts Are Headed to U.S. Phones in Test of Alert System.

Wall Street Journal:  

• How Big Storms Affect the Economy.

• It’s Not All Tech. Small Stocks Power the Market Higher.

• U.S., China Ramp Up Trade Threats.

• Gas Explosions Traced to Too Much Pressure in Pipes.

• Koch-Funded Gyms Help Opioid Addicts Recover.

MarketWatch.com:

• Salesforce(CRM) co-founder Marc Benioff and his wife buy Time magazine for $190 million.

• Kroger(KR) results show that Walmart(WMT) and Target(TGT) are taking bigger pieces of the grocery market.

CNBC:

• Blackstone billionaire: I don't see an economic downturn anywhere on the horizon.

• Former Obama administration official: Trump is addressing 'longstanding' trade issues.

• The bond market is beginning to believe the Fed is serious about two more rate hikes this year. 

• Emerging markets are being roiled, but PNC's top market watcher doesn't see spillover in the US. 

• Wall Street pros develop fantasy NFL game that allows users to trade athletes like stocks.

Zero Hedge:          

• China Real Estate Crackdown: New Home Prices Accelerate To Two-Year High.

• CNN Ratings Collapse, Losing To Nickelodeon And Fox News. 

• Democrats Demand Suspension Of Kavanaugh Confirmation Until "Serious And Credible Allegations" Investigated.

• For The First Time In 10 Years, Companies Have Spent More On Buybacks Than CapEx.

• Next Phase Of Florence Disaster Arrives: "Catastrophic" River Floods, Massive Mudslides.

• Amazon Employees Investigated Over Suspected Black Market For Information, Favors.

• "We're Going To Unmask You": James O'Keefe Set To Expose Deep State With New Investigation.

• China May Skip Trade Talks, Cripple US Supply Chains After New Trump Tariffs. 

Business Insider:

• Photos and videos show the flooding and devastation as Hurricane Florence hits the Carolinas.

Night Trading

• Asian indices are -.5% to unch. on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 77.5 -1.0 basis point.

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 12.25 unch.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 65.97 -.04%.

• FTSE 100 futures -.31%

• S&P 500 futures -.21%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.23%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• None of note

After the Close:

• (FDX)/3.83

• (ORCL)/.68

Economic Releases

8:30 pm EST

• Empire Manufacturing for September is estimated to fall to 23.0 versus 25.6 in August.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone CPI report, Janney Montgomery Scott Healthcare Conference and the (BABA) Investor Day could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are modestly lower, weighed down by financial and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly mixed.  The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.