Thursday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:      

• Beijing Sends Stark Message to Biden With Hong Kong Crackdown.  
• Xi’s Push Against Jack Ma Sparks New Threat for China Tech.
  
• Kim Jong Un Tells Ruling Party Congress He Wants Defense Boost.
• Asia Stocks Up on U.S. Senate Sweep; Bonds Steady: Markets Wrap.
• Oil Pares Gains With U.S. Capitol Protests Shaking Risk Appetite.  
• Stimulus Boost, Tokyo State of Emergency, BOE Caution: Eco Day.
  
• U.S. Imports No Saudi Crude Oil for First Time in 35 Years.
  
• Congress to Resume Electoral Vote Tally Once Capitol Secure.
  
• California Hospital Crisis Worsens; Moderna EU Nod: Virus Update.  
• Fed Officials All Backed Bond-Buying Pace, December Minutes Show.  
• States Urged to Widen Vaccination Pool Amid Slow U.S. Start.  
• What You Need to Know About Allergic Reactions to Covid Vaccines.

Wall Street Journal:

• Analysis | A Single Day Shakes Two Presidencies, Two Parties and One Nation to the Core.
• Live Coverage | Lawmakers in an Undisclosed Location.
• Capitol Police Weren’t Prepared for Rioters, Authorities Say.
• Biden to Name Merrick Garland as Attorney General.
• U.S. Weighs Adding Alibaba, Tencent to China Stock Ban.
• NYSE Says Again It Will Delist Three Chinese Telecom Stocks.
• Covid-19 Case Studies Offered at Business Schools.
• Dow Rises, Tech Trails as Investors Weigh Unrest at Capitol.

Fox News:    

• Trump addresses violence, maintains election was 'stolen'.
• WATCH LIVE: Congress resumes counting Electoral College votes after protesters at Capitol spark delay.
  

CNBC.com:

• Strategist picks three stocks to buy in 2021 and three to avoid.
• Roblox raises $520 million ahead of planned stock market direct listing.

MarketWatch.com:    

• 10 Biden tax plans that will sail through a Democratic-controlled Senate — and how to prepare for them. 

Zero Hedge:

• Trump Urges Protesters "To Go Home Now" In Video Blasting "Stolen Election".
• Twitter Has Locked President Trump's Account For 12 Hours, Threatens "Permanent Suspension".
• South Carolina Legislation Looks To Ban Mandatory Vaccines.
• Capitol Declared 'Secured'; Woman Shot During Standoff Has Died; Confirmation Process To Resume Tonight.
• Hank Paulson Returns To Wall Street To Run 'Climate-Focused' PE Fund.
• Iran Showcases Suicide Drones During Large-Scale UAV Combat Exercise.
• Omar, Pressley, & Pritzker Push Impeachment As Lobbyists Float 25th Amendment Counter-Coup.
• Despite No Lockdown/Mask-Mandate, Florida Has Same Hospitalization Rate As 2018 Flu Season.
• Northeast Braces For "High Impact" Snowstorms.
• Chicago's COVID And Crime Mess Captured In On Graphic.
• Failure To Contain Big Tech Is The Biggest Failure Of 2020.
• Big-Tech & Bonds Battered But Bitcoin Bid On 'Blue Wave', Gold Pumped'n'Dumped.

Newsmax:

• As Siege Abates, Curfew Takes Hold; Lawmakers to Resume Electoral Process This Eve.
• Protesters Move Inside Kansas Statehouse, Demonstrate at Others.  
• DOJ Says Its Emails Were Breached by SolarWinds Hackers.
  

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• BREAKING: Unarmed Woman Shot and Killed by Capitol Police Identified – 14-Year USAF Veteran (VIDEO).
• BREAKING REPORT: Former FBI Agent on the Ground at US Capitol Says at Least One Bus Load of Antifa Thugs Infiltrated Trump Demonstration.
• EXCLUSIVE: Evidence Reveals Individuals in the Capital Today Who Weren’t Trump Supporters.
• BREAKING: Twitter Deletes President Trump’s Video Calling for Peace – LOCKS OUT ACCOUNT – Threatens PERMANENT Suspension!
• Pence Betrayed General Flynn in 2017 and Today He Betrayed President Trump and America.

The Epoch Times: 

• Chinese Communist Party Says Biden a ‘New Window of Hope’.  
• Another Northern Chinese City Orders Mass COVID-19 Testing as Outbreak Intensifies.
• Chinese Citizens Decry Extreme Lockdown Measures in Northeastern China. 

ProtectTheVote.com: 

• Serious allegations of misconduct in the 2020 elections have resulted in unprecedented legal action to ensure our elections are -- and remain -- free and fair. Find out where we’re exposing fraud and how you can help.

HereIsTheEvidence.com:

• This is for aggregating publicly available items of voter fraud evidence in the US election that would be admissible in court.
  

Digital Blackboard:

• Daily New Cases by Region.

Worldometer:

• New Cases/Deaths by state.

Rt Covid-19:

• How fast virus is growing by state.

KFF:

• State Data(Tests/Hospitalizations).

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -.25% to +1.5% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 57.75 unch.

• China Sovereign CDS 28.5 unch.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 63.14 -.05%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 1,642.0 +61.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 25.5 -3.1%.
• FTSE 100 futures +.59%.

• S&P 500 futures +.61%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.88%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (AYI)/1.86
• (ANGO)/-.02
• (BBBY)/.21
• (CCL)/-1.84
• (CAG)/.74
• (STZ)/2.24
• (HELE)/3.01
• (LNN)/.75
• (FIZZ)/.71
• (WBA)/1.04
  

After the Close:

• (MU)/.68
• (PSMT)/.67
• (WDFC)/1.03
  

Economic Releases

7:30 am EST

• The Challenger Job Cuts YoY report for Dec.
  

8:30 am EST

• Initial Jobless Claims for last week are estimated to rise to 803K versus 787K the prior week.
• Continuing Claims are estimated to fall to 5300K versus 5219K prior. 
• The Trade Deficit for Nov. is estimated to widen to -$67.3B versus -$63.1B in Oct.
  

10:00 am EST

• The ISM Services Index for Dec. is estimated to fall to 54.5 versus 55.9 in Nov.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone Consumer Confidence report, China Trade Balance report, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report and the weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

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