Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:       

• More Protests Planned After Demonstrator Shot: Hong Kong Update.

• Hong Kong Protests Bring More Pain as Chinese Shoppers Stay Away.

• North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles After Setting U.S. Talks.

• Boris Johnson to Make His ‘Final’ Brexit Offer: My Deal or No Deal.

• Stocks in Asia Drop After U.S. Data Disappoints. Asian stocks tracked losses in U.S. equities after a weak reading on American manufacturing added to concern about the global economy. Treasuries retained gains. Japan and South Korea bore the brunt of declines, with Australian equities also lower. Earlier, the S&P 500 fell the most in five weeks and pushed through a key support level after the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index slipped to the lowest since June 2009. The yield on 10-year Treasuries was at 1.64%. Hong Kong securities will also be in focus after further clashes between protesters and police. Japan’s Topix index dropped 0.8% as of 9:03 a.m. in Tokyo. Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.3%. The underlying gauge fell 1.2% on Tuesday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.5%. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.8%.  

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

• Hong Kong Economic Toll, U.S. Slowdown, EU Recession: Eco Day.

• Are Russia and Saudi Arabia Still Pumping Too Much Oil?  

• Trump to Unveil Medicare Plan in Bid to Contrast Democrat Rivals.

• BMW Beats Mercedes by Just 34 Cars in Tight U.S. Sales Race.

• Einhorn's Greenlight Jumps 8% as Factor Reversal Proves Boon.

• With $0 Fees, Schwab Risks Blowing Up Brokerage Model It Built.

Wall Street Journal:

• Trump Impeachment Defense Complicated by Tense Giuliani-Barr Relationship.

• The Seven-Year Auto Loan: America’s Middle Class Can’t Afford Their Cars.

• Escalation From Beijing on Its National Day.

• Ringmaster Rashida Tlaib Introduces the Impeachment Circus.

• Slowing Trade Hits Global Manufacturing.

• Judge Rules Harvard’s Race-Conscious Admissions Constitutional.

• One Hong Kong District Becomes a Combat Zone.

Fox News:

• Obama AG Holder lobs chilling warning to Barr in Fox News interview.

• Virginia officer suspended after turning in suspected illegal immigrant to ICE.

MarketWatch.com:   

• Here are the stocks that have soared and sunk the most in 2019.

CNBC:

• Silicon Valley donors starting to back Elizabeth Warren despite her pledge to break up Big Tech.

• Jim Cramer: It should be harder for Chinese companies to go public in the US.

• Trump, RNC blow away top Dems with $125 million raised in the third quarter.

• Boris Johnson will unveil final Brexit offer to the European Union on Wednesday.

Zero Hedge:

• Dead Deutsche Banker's Son Peddled Trump Financial "Dirt" To The Highest Bidder - Which Adam Schiff Promptly Subpoenaed.

• Global Warming Fraud Exposed In Pictures.

• "History In The Making:" UPS Attains FAA's First Full Approval For Drone Airline. 

• DOJ To Declassify 'The Backbone' Of Mueller Investigation With Monthly Document Dumps.  

• What Exactly Is Trump's Impeachable Offense?

• The Myth Of Imminent Environmental Collapse.

• DOJ To Declassify 'The Backbone' Of Mueller Investigation With Monthly Document Dumps.

• These Were The Best And Worst Performing Assets In September, Q3 And YTD.

• Could Pricey Urban Meccas Become Crime-Ridden Ghost Towns?

• VC Veterans Host Emergency Meeting Of Unicorns As IPO 'Bubble' Implodes.

• Oil Prices Rebound After Ugly Day On Big Surprise Crude Draw.

• Global Growth Scare Sparks Safe-Haven Surge, Slam Stocks.

Business Insider:

• A glimpse into the subculture of e-girls and e-boys, the teen gamers who are the radical antithesis of the Instagram influencer.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -1.25% to -.5% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 77.0 +.5 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 49.0 +1.75 basis points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index  65.04 +.01%.

• FTSE 100 futures -.53%.

• S&P 500 futures +.16%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.16%.

Morning Preview Links 

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (AYI)/2.83

• (LEN)/1.32

• (PAYX)/.69

After the Close:

• (BBBY)/.31

• (RECN)/.14

Economic Releases
8:15 am EST

• The ADP Employment Change for Sept. is estimated to fall to 140K versus 195K in Aug.

10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory gain of +1,497,450 barrels versus a +2,412,000 barrel gain the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to rise by +12,000 barrels versus a +519,000 barrel gain the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to fall by -1,932,180 barrels versus a -2,978,000 barrel decline the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to fall by -.26% versus a -1.4% decline prior.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note

Other Potential Market Movers

• The China National Day 2, weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report, Cantor Healthcare Conference, (TK) investor day, (CLX) analyst day, (MSFT) product event and the (F) 3Q sales call could also impact trading today.

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