Tuesday Watch

Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:           

• Hong Kong Protests Revive a Demand That China Hates: Real Elections.

• Japan’s Wages Fall Again, Adding to Concerns Over Tax Hike.  

• Facebook’s Libra Must Be Under Central Bank Oversight, PBOC Says.

• Hedge Funds Post Best First Half in Decade.

• Wall Street Dons a ‘Tinfoil Hat' to Ponder U.S. Currency Intervention.

• U.S. May Top Debt Limit Sooner Than Forecast, Forcing Congress’s Hand    

• Asia Stocks See Mixed Start; Yen Near 4-Week Low. Asian stocks saw a muted start to trading Tuesday after their U.S. counterparts slipped overnight. The yen held near a four-week low. Stocks in Japan and South Korea clawed back some of Monday’s losses while Australian shares drifted. Earlier, U.S. equities fell for a second day as investors took a cautious approach in a week full of central bank activity. Treasury yields ticked lower while the dollar was flat. S&P 500 futures were little changed. Trading may continue to be muted ahead of key testimony this week from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, as investors assess prospects for monetary easing following some conflicting signals on the U.S. economy. Topix Index rose 0.4% as of 9:05 am in Tokyo. Kospi Index climbed 0.3%. S&P/ASX 200 was flat. S&P 500 futures fell 0.1%.

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

• Supply Chain Disruption, Gold Rush, Malaysia Rates: Eco Day.

Wall Street Journal:

• Iran Threatens to Extend Breaches of Nuclear Agreement.

• SoftBank Unit Yet to Conquer Internet of Things.

• Heavy Debt Humbles China’s Business Champions, Including the Jewelry Queen.

• U.S., China Tentatively Move to Revive Trade Talks.

• Barr Sees Path to Legally Add Census Citizenship Question.

• Instagram Introduces New Anti-Bullying Features.

• Piper Jaffray Nearing Deal to Buy Sandler O'Neill for $485 Million.

Fox News:

• Former president 'knows nothing' about 'terrible' Epstein crimes amid new sex-trafficking charges.

• AOC uses Pelosi's own words against her after being accused of insulting her.

CNBC:

• Amazon Prime Day could be the ‘record-breaking event’ to boost consumer stocks next week.

• Apartment rental demand soars as more millennials believe it’s cheaper than owning a home.

• Apple’s iPhones coming in 2020 could spark sales growth as 5G excitement builds: JPMorgan.

• US judge halts Trump administration rule requiring drug prices in TV ads.

Zero Hedge: 

• Majority Of Americans Want Citizenship Question Included On 2020 Census. 

• Before SHTF, Let's Revisit Jeffrey Epstein's Little Black Book.

• Barr Weighs In On 2020 Citizenship Question, Recuses Self From Epstein Case.

• Snyder: The Latest Large Quakes Should Be Taken As A Warning By Everyone Still Living In California.  

• CBO Destroys Democrat Dreams Of Utopia; Almost 4 Million Jobs Lost Under $15 Minimum Wage. 

• Consumer Credit Hits All Time High As Credit Card Debt Surges.

• Just What Was That Stricken Russian Submarine Carrying?

• iDowngrade Sparks Tech-Stock Slide As Dollar, Gold, Bonds Flatline. 

Business Insider:

• We stood outside Deutsche Bank's New York office as staff who'd just been laid off walked out. Here's what we saw..

• A new poll shows Trump has a major shot at being reelected in 2020. 

• These are the top five trends shaping the future of digital health.

Night Trading 

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 62.0 -. basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 40.75 - basis points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index  67.79 -.%.

• S&P 500 futures +.%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.%.

Morning Preview Links 

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (LNN)/.76

• (PEP)/1.51

After the Close:

• (HELE)/1.69

• (WDFC)/1.22

Economic Releases
6:00 am EST

• The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for June is estimated to fall to 103.1 versus 105.0 in May.

10:00 am EST

• JOLTS Job Openings for May are estimated to fall to 7473 versus 7449 in April.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Powell speaking, Fed's Bostick speaking, Fed's Quarles speaking, Fed's Bullard speaking, China money supply report, $38B 3Y T-Note auction and the weekly US retail sales reports could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are modestly lower, weighed down by commodity and financial 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.