Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:       

• Skyrocketing Metal Prices Threaten to Hinder EV Affordability.
• Asia Stocks Steady as U.S. Shrugs Off Inflation: Markets Wrap.
• Oil Rises on Signs of U.S. Inventory Drawdown, OPEC Bullishness.
• Inflation Discussion, BOE Hawk Departs, Back to Future: Eco Day.

Wall Street Journal:

• Mexico’s Televisa to Merge Content Business With Univision.
• Apple Schedules April 20 Event.
• Grab to Go Public in Record $40 Billion SPAC Merger.
• In Alabama, Black Amazon Workers Vote Their Economic Interest.
• The Shooting of Daunte Wright.
• Iran Says It Will Enrich Uranium Closer to Weapons-Grade Levels.

Fox News:

• Decision on charges in Wright death could come Wednesday, city braces for more violence.
• Pelosi, Biden, other Dems run from Tlaib 'no more policing' call.
  

CNBC.com: 

• Stitch Fix shares fall as company’s founder Katrina Lake steps down as CEO.
• Why one trader is ‘cautious’ on the Coinbase debut as bitcoin hits all-time high.

MarketWatch.com:     

• Opinion: Why Generation ‘I’ — YOLO investors who’ve never seen a bear market — should worry us all.  
• Used-car prices soar and the sticker shock may get worse .
  
• Opinion: GameStop’s stock price is down 50% from the highs — and it’s still crazy.

Zero Hedge:

• 'We Were Creating A Story -- Our Focus Was To Get Trump Out': CNN Director Busted By Undercover Veritas Operative.
• The 3 Nations Vying For Global LNG Dominance.
• China Threatens Retaliation Over Japan's Decision To Dump Radioactive Fukushima Waste Water.
• NCAA "Unequivocally Supports" Transgender Biological Male Participation In College Women's Sports.
• Coinbase Sets Reference Price At $250, Well Below Last Private Market Trade.
• Credit Suisse Still Not Done: Dumping Over 70 Million Shares Of Discovery And IQIYI.
• "There Is Significant Internal Weakness": Why The "Flight To Quality" In The Nasdaq Stinks.
• WTI Holds Gains Above $60 After Mixed Inventory Data.
• SPY Has Just Done Something It's Never Done Before.

Newsmax:

• Texas Sues Over Biden Scrapping Trump’s Stay-in-Mexico Rule.
  

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• Peter Navaro: Jerome Powell is “the Worst FED Chair in Modern History…That Is One Bad Dude on So Many Levels”.
• DEVELOPING: BLM Mob Forms Outside Brooklyn Center Police Department Chanting, “Whose Streets, Our Streets!” (VIDEO).
• Daunte Wright Had Warrant Out For His Arrest For Attempted Aggravated Robbery Charges After Choking a Woman, Holding Her at Gunpoint For Money.
• Oh Boy… Chauvin Trial Update: National Use-of-Force Expert Testifies Officer Chauvin DID NOT Use Deadly Force on George Floyd.
• Americans Aren’t Stupid: Most Americans Still Believe Democrats and Biden Cheated to Win 2020 Election.

The Epoch Times:

• China Closes Military Related Self-Media Accounts to Prevent Security Leaks.
• Hong Kong Epoch Times Vows to Never Give Up After Attack on Printing Press.

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 +.75% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 81.25 +8.75 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 39.25 +1.25 basis points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 60.60 +.05%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 3,170.0 -6.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 20.5 +.33%.
• FTSE 100 futures +.02%.

• S&P 500 futures -.03%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.01%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (BBBY/.31)
• (GS)/8.93
• (JPM)/2.94
• (WFC)/.65
  

After the Close:

• (SJR)/.34
  

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• The Import Price Index MoM for March is estimated to rise +.9% versus a +1.3% gain in Feb.
  

10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory decline of -2,580,080 barrels versus a -3,522,000 barrel decline the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to rise by +555,270 barrels versus a +4,044,000 barrel gain the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to rise by +1,510,000 barrels versus a +1,452,000 barrel gain the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to rise by +.33% versus a +.1% gain prior.

2:00 pm EST 

• US Fed Beige Book release.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Powell speaking, Fed's Clarida speaking, Eurozone Industrial Production report and the MBA Mortgage Applications report could also impact global trading today.

US Equity Market Hours

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by technology and consumer shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher. The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the day.