Tuesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Judge in Huawei Hearing Not Satisfied With Meng Bail Conditions.

• Phone Carriers Fear Possible Order to Rip Out Huawei Equipment.  

• The Pros and Cons of a PBOC Rate Cut as China's Economy Slows.  

• Senate Drive to Punish Saudi Prince Over Khashoggi Death Delayed.

• Stocks Mixed as U.S. Rebounds, Pound Holds Losses. Asian stocks opened mixed as investors shrugged off a rebound in their U.S. counterparts from sharp losses, with trade and U.K. political concerns lingering. The pound held onto a slump after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May delayed a critical vote on a Brexit deal. Benchmarks in Japan nudged lower, while stocks rose in Australia from a two-year low and South Korean shares were little changed. U.S. futures declined even after the S&P 500 Index recovered from the lowest intraday level since April to finish higher, buoyed by rallies in Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp. The dollar maintained gains and Treasuries were little changed. In Asia, Indian assets face pressure after the surprise resignation of the central bank’s governor. Derivatives tipped a rupee plunge. Japan’s Topix index fell 0.3 percent as of 9:13 a.m. in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.4 percent after reaching a two-year low. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index contracts fell 0.8 percent overnight. S&P 500 futures fell 0.3 percent.  

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

• Patel's Shock Exit, New Brexit Chaos, China Rate Debate: Eco Day.

• Where's the Bottom? Valuation Cases for an Unstable Stock Market.   

• Goldman Says Selling Volatility Is More Attractive as the Year Ends.   

• U.S. Factories Are Posting Job Openings Like Never Before.

Wall St. Journal:

• U.K.’s May Delays Brexit Vote in Face of Broad Opposition.

• The Road to a Bad Brexit.

• The Debt Threat to the Economy.

• Cheaper Oil Ripples Through the Global Economy.

• Arrest of Huawei CFO Hinges on an Offshore Puzzle.

• Macron Pledges Tax Cuts, Minimum-Wage Boost to Placate Protesters.

• House Republicans Recast Tax Bill, Seeking New Momentum.

Fox News:

• Sentencing memo hints at damaging Russia info from Trump’s former personal attorney Cohen.

• High court scraps review of Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood.

CNBC:       

• Apple files appeal to overturn iPhone sales ban in China.

• Cramer: Fed didn't do 'its homework' and is now forced to hike rates this month.

• This year's losers will be next year's winners, Goldman's Kostin says.

• Popular apps like WeatherBug and GasBuddy are tracking your location with incredible detail: NYT. 

• Small-business optimism dips over fears of an economic slowdown: Survey.

• Job openings back over 7 million and near a record high.

Zero Hedge:   

• This is What The "Trade" War With China Is Really All About.

• Judge Raises "Flight Risk" Concerns In Huawei CFO Bail Hearing.

• Quant Who Predicted Last Week's Carnage Now Sees Risk Of Explosive "Blast To The Upside".

• How Government Bureaucrats & The NYTimes Are Misleading The Public About Climate Change.

• 6 Contrarian/Bullish Points For US Stocks.

• Kavanaugh Sides With Supreme Court Liberals In Planned Parenthood Funding Fight.

• Meanwhile In Brexit... Total Chaos.

• Breakevening Bad: Stocks Dump-n-Pump As Crude Crashes, Pound Plunges.

Night Trading 

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 98.0 +.25 basis point. 

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 10.0 +.25 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 66.83 -.01%.

• FTSE 100 futures +.35%.

• S&P 500 futures -.43%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.54%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• (DSW)/.51

• (FRAN)/-.18

After the Close:

• (AEO)/.48

• (PLAY)/.24

• (PVTL)/0-.08

Economic Releases

6:00 am EST

• The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for November is estimated to fall to 107.0 versus 107.4 in October.
  

8:30 am EST

• The PPI Final Demand MoM for November is estimated unch. versus a +.6% gain in October.

• The PPI Ex Food and Energy MoM for November is estimated to rise +.1% versus a +.5% gain in October.

Upcoming Splits

• (EBIX) 5-for-1

Other Potential Market Movers

• The UK GDP report, Australia Home Price report, WasDe Crop report, US weekly retail sales reports, Cowen Networking/Cybersecurity Summit, (FSLR) financial guidance/outlook conference call, (URI) investor day and (THS) investor day 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 modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher.  The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.