Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• As Many as Two Million Protesters Hit Hong Kong Streets.

• Hong Kong's Leader Apologizes as Hundreds of Thousands Protest. 

• In Pictures: Streets Turn Into a Sea of Black .  

• Ross Downplays Prospect of Major Trade Deal at Trump-Xi Meeting.

• Argentina Isn’t Ruling Out a Cyberattack in Major Power Outage.

• Asia Stocks to Dip as Focus Turns to Central Banks. Futures pointed lower in Japan and Hong Kong, though ticked higher in Australia. S&P 500 Index futures were steady after U.S. shares dipped Friday. Treasury yields finished the week little changed as upbeat economic data left some doubts about a more dovish position from the Federal Reserve. Securities in Hong Kong will be closely watched after huge street protests over the weekend. Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.1%. The underlying gauge slipped 0.2% Friday. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.3% in late Friday trading. Hang Seng futures slipped 0.4%. Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.1%.  

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

• Fischer Sees Powell's End, Fed to Push BOJ, U.S. Record: Eco Day.

• Powell’s Concern Over Zero Rates Expected to Lower Bar for Fed Cut .

• Stanley Fischer Says Powell Out If Trump Re-Elected in 2020.

Wall Street Journal:

• As Tariffs Loom, U.S. Firms Say Buying American Not Viable.

• Trials Near for Boeing 737 MAX Fix.

• Case for Cutting Rates Can Be Found in Close Calls of the 1990s.

• Iran’s Elite Defense Force Finds New Funding as Tension Rises With U.S.

• China Biotechs Lure Industry Talent in the U.S.

MarketWatch.com:  

• Five things to watch in the pivotal Fed meeting. 

• As China exports slow, government might face growing labor unrest, researcher says.

CNBC:

• Hong Kong protest organizers say demonstrations swell to 2 million people.
  

Zero Hedge:      

• "Treason!" NYT Story Reveals US Cyber Ops Against Russian Power Grid Hidden From Trump.

• Deutsche Bank To Launch €50 Billion "Bad Bank" Housing Billions In Toxic Derivatives.

• US Govt's Entire Russia-DNC Hacking Narrative Based On Redacted Draft Of Crowdstrike Report.

• "It's Going To Be A Train Wreck": Farmers Say Corn Crop Far Worse Than USDA Estimates.

• OJ Simpson Joins Twitter On Nicole's Death Anniversary, Says He Has Some “Getting Even” To Do.

• Venker: The Future Of Men & Marriage Is Bleak.

• Two Million Protesters Flood Hong Kong Streets, Demand Lam Resign.

• Meet "Gekko": The Robot Bond Trader Being Developed By Quant Funds.  

Business Insider:

• Pete Buttigieg says he's to open raising children in White House with husband: 'It wouldn't be the first time children have arrived to a first couple'.

• Boeing(BA) CEO admits 'mistake' with 737 Max ahead of Paris Air Show, as analysts note 'ominous dark cloud' hanging over the entire industry.

• Apple(AAPL) CEO Tim Cook called out companies like Facebook(FB), Theranos, and YouTube in a speech pushing for responsibility in Silicon Valley.

Telegraph:

• Washington can pull the plug on Hong Kong's economic model at any moment.

Night Trading

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 72.50 -.25 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 51.0 +.25 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 66.33 -.01%.

• FTSE 100 futures +.22%.

• S&P 500 futures +.22%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.31%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• None of note

After the Close:

• None of note

Economic Releases
8:30 am EST

• Empire Manufacturing for June is estimated to fall to 10.5 versus 17.8 in May.

10:00 am EST

• The NAHB Housing Market Index for June is estimated to rise to 67.0 versus 66.0 in May.

Afternoon

• Net Long-Term TIC Flows for April.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone Labor Data, Jefferies Steel/Metals Summit and the Jefferies Consumer Conference could also impact trading today.

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