US/China trade war concerns continue to cast a shadow over the markets. Another 2-day meeting that includes China’s vice premier Lieu He is confirmed to start Jan 30 in the US. The US government shutdown is now in day 27 and there was concern the next US/China meeting would be delayed as the self-imposed March 1 deadline is quickly approaching. Further concerns were cast by US actions that US federal prosecutors are investigating allegations that Huawei Technologies stole trade secrets from US companies. Additionally, a bi-partisan bill was launched in Congress seeking to ban US companies from exporting goods that violated State Department sanctions; specifically, Chinese company Huawei and ZTE Corp. The economic calendar is light with Philly Fed and Claims @ 8:30am EST. Housing Starts will not be released due to the government shutdown. The Fed’s Quarles speaks @ 10:45am EST. JPM and GS both beat expectations yesterday. CSX also beat but warned of slowing growth which sent the stock down over 4% this morning. On deck today are NFLX, MS, AXP, BBT, JBHT, and KEY. Volatility is remaining steady with price moving easier to the downside than the upside. Size bias is short into the US session open.
