Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:        
  • Asia Stocks Look Mixed as Late U.S. Rally Falters. Asian stocks headed for a mixed start to trading Wednesday as worries about future earnings revived by Caterpillar Inc. dragged U.S. equities lower, offsetting a late-in-the-day revival of risk appetite. Treasuries climbed with the yen and gold. An afternoon rally in the S&P 500 Index helped buoy futures for Japan and China equities, indicating the two-biggest Asian markets may eke out gains at the open, while Hong Kong futures pointed to a lower start. Australian shares were flat. Treasuries led gains in safe-haven assets, though 10-year yields did pare losses into the close. Oil maintained losses after tumbling more than 4 percent on a pledge by Saudi Arabia to meet any supply shortfall that materializes from Iranian sanctions. The dollar was lower against most major peers. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1 percent in Singapore trading. FTSE China A50 Index futures advanced 0.8 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added less than 0.1 percent. Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.3 percent. S&P 500 futures lost 0.1 percent.    
Wall St. Journal:
Zero Hedge: 
Night Trading 
  • Asian equity indices are -.25% to +.50% on average.
  • Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 89.50 +1.5 basis points. 
  • Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 10.0 +.25 basis point.
  • Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 66.82 -.01%.
  • FTSE 100 futures +.56%.
  • S&P 500 futures -.15%.
  • NASDAQ 100 futures -.22%.
Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:
  • (ALXN)/1.75
  • (AB)/.63
  • (T)/.95
  • (BA)/3.47
  • (BSX)/.34
  • (FCX)/.32
  • (GD)/2.77
  • (HLT)/.76
  • (ITW)/1.88
  • (IR)/1.71
  • (LH)/2.89
  • (NSC)/2.44
  • (NOC)/4.36
  • (OC)/1.66
  • (SCHN)/.95
  • (TUP)/.82
  • (UPS)/1.82
After the Close:
  • (AMD)/.13
  • (AFL)/.99
  • (ABX)/.06
  • (ETH)/.33
  • (FFIV)/2.63
  • (F)/.28
  • (KNX)/.58
  • (LSTR)/1.60
  • (LVS)/.81
  • (MSFT)/.96
  • (ORLY)/4.30
  • (RJF)/1.81
  • (TSLA)/-.10
  • (V)/1.20
  • (WHR)/3.77
  • (XLNX)/.76
Economic Releases
9:00 am EST
  • The FHFA House Price Index MoM for August is estimated to rise +.3% versus a +.2% gain in September.
9:45 am EST
  • The Preliminary Markit US Manufacturing PMI for October is estimated to fall to 55.3 versus 55.6 in September.
  • The Preliminary Markit US Services PMI for October is estimated to rise to 54.0 versus 53.5 in September.
10:00 am EST
  • New Home Sales for September is estimated to fall to 625K versus 629K in August.
10:30 am EST
  • Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory gain of +3,522,920 barrels versus a +6,490,000 barrel gain the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to fall by -1,424,750 barrels versus a -2,016,000 barrel decline the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to fall by -1,681,830 barrels versus a -827,000 barrel decline the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to rise by +.09% versus unch. prior.
2:00 pm EST
  • US Fed's Beige Book report. 
Upcoming Splits
  • None of note
Other Potential Market Movers
  • The Fed's Bostic speaking, Fed's Bullard speaking, Fed's Mester speaking, Eurozone PMI report, $39B 5Y T-Note auction, weekly MBA Mortgage and the (HPE) analyst meeting could also impact trading today.
BOTTOM LINE:  Asian indices are are mostly higher, boosted by consumer and industrial 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.

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