Thursday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:              

• U.K. Business Warms to May as Optimism on Brexit Deal Grows.    

• China Signals More Stimulus Measures Planned.

• Yuan Will Hit 7 as China Avoids Heavy Intervention, Goldman Says.  

• China Property Slowdown Seen Hurting Metals Hit by Trade War.

• Asia Stocks to Start November Mixed; Dollar Gains. Stocks in Asia were poised for a muted start Thursday after global equities rallied on the final two days of what was still their worst month in more than six years. The dollar added to a 16-month high and Treasuries slipped as U.S. stocks climbed. Futures signaled gains for equities in Hong Kong and China, while Japanese stocks were seen opening slightly lower. Australian shares advanced as trading started. Technology giants rose and the S&P 500 Index posted its biggest two-day surge since February after Facebook’s earnings topped expectations. China’s yuan remains at the weakest level in a decade as China’s leadership signaled that further stimulus measures are being planned. The dollar strengthened on better-than-expected private payrolls data, lifting the 10-year Treasury yield to 3.14 percent. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.3 percent in Singapore. FTSE China A50 Index futures added 0.2 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 0.5 percent. Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.4 percent. S&P 500 futures were little changed.   

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

• More China Stimulus, U.S. Wages Jump, Crisis-Level Debt: Eco Day.

• For Crowded Stocks at Heart of Sell-Off, Few Signs of Unwinding.

• Equity and Quant Hedge Funds Hit Hardest by Stock Market Rout.  

• Goldman Says Traders More Worried Over Single Stocks Than Market.

• Netflix(NFLX) Gives Films Exclusive Theatrical Run Ahead of Streaming.

Wall St. Journal:

• The Case Against Birthright Citizenship.

• No Experience? No Problem. Private Equity Lures Newbie Bankers With $300,000 Offers.

• That Big Mac and Coke Now Comes With a Side Order of Inflation.

• Fed Proposes Looser Rules for Large U.S. Banks. 
  

• Market Cheats Getting Caught in Record Numbers.

MarketWatch.com:

• Why the push for legalizing marijuana in the U.S. will soon run out of steam.

Fox News:   

• 2 midterm battleground states give GOP slight leads, Fox News Polls find.

• Dem bashes McCaskill in profanity-laced attack for ‘crazy Democrats’ comment.

CNBC:        

• Stocks surge to cap off wild October, but S&P 500 posts biggest monthly loss since 2011.

• Tech stocks plunged in October, suffering their worst month since the 2008 recession. 

• Democrats are spending tons of last-minute cash in their bid to seize the House from the GOP.

• Wages and salaries jump by 3.1%, highest level in a decade.

• Strategists see a buying opportunity — 'The tide is still coming in for equities'.

Zero Hedge:

• Texas Border Residents Warned Of "Armed Civilians" Confronting Caravan; Trump Says Military Mobilized.

• Kudlow Says More China Tariffs "Not Set In Stone".

• Harry Reid Furiously Backpedals After Trump Tweets 1993 Anchor Baby "Mistake".

• Kavanaugh Declines $600K GoFundMe While His Accuser Walks With Over $1 Million, Book Offers.

• Over 50% Of College Students Afraid To Disagree With Peers, Professors.

• Why Is Social Media So Toxic?

• Facebook(FB) Approves Political Ads From 100 Out Of 100 Fake Senators.

• Worst October For Junk Bonds Since 2008 As Yields Surge.

• Debt Is Back... And This Time It's Corporate. 

• Trump Bumps Border Troop Estimate To 15,000 As Migrant Caravan Advances.

• Mattis: US Needs 'Offensive Space Weapons' To Counter China, Russia.

• Goldman: This Midterm Scenario Would Present "The Biggest Shock" To The Market.

• Shocktober Is Over - Global Stocks Lose $8 Trillion, Most Since Lehman.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -.5% to +.25% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 91.25 -.25 basis point. 

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 10.25 -.25 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 66.17 +.04%.

• FTSE 100 futures +1.28%.

• S&P 500 futures +.19%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.07%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (MT)/1.45

• (AAWW)/1.40

• (AVO)/.02

• (CBRE)/.75

• (CI)/3.44

• (OSK)/1.45

• (PH)/2.53

• (PBI)/.26

• (SEE)/.60

• (BID)/-.61

• (TEVA)/.54

• (YRCW)/.57

• (ZTS)/.77

After the Close:

• (AAPL)/2.78

• (ANET)/1.85

• (CZR)/-.05

• (CBS)/1.22

• (CRUS)/.74

• (LOCO)/.18

• (EOG)/1.54

• (FLR)/.63

• (MET)/1.26

• (RMAX)/.61

• (SHAK)/.13

• (SBUX)/.60

• (SYMC)/.33

• (TDOC)/-.36

• (X)/1.73

• (OLED)/.66

Economic Releases

7:30 am EST

• Challenger Job Cuts YoY for October. 

8:30 am EST

• Preliminary 3Q Non-Farm Productivity is estimated to rise +2.1% versus a +2.9% gain in 2Q.

• Preliminary 3Q Unit Labor Costs are estimated to rise +1.0% versus a -1.0% decline in 2Q.

• Initial Jobless Claims for last week are estimated to fall to 212K versus 215K the prior week.

• Continuing Claims are estimated to rise to 1640K versus 1636K prior.

10:00 am EST

• Construction Spending MoM for September is estimated unch. versus a +.1% gain in August.

• ISM Manufacturing for October is estimated to fall to 59.0 versus 59.8 in September.

• ISM Prices Paid for October is estimated to rise to 69.0 versus 66.9 in September.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The BoE rate decision, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report and the (F) October sales call could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE:  Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by technology and commodity shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed.  The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.