22Oct2018 Midday Update: Wall Street Mixed At The Noon Hour, DOW Down 200 Points, Nasdaq Rises +0.2%, WTI Fell To 68.40, US Dollar Index Higher At 95.81

Written by Gary

U.S. stocks have edged down today (SPY -0.5%) as support from a rally in China faded, lower oil prices and disappointing earnings signals pulled the market lower.

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money
	North and South American markets are mixed. The Bovespa is higher by 1.28%, while the IPC is leading the S&P 500 lower. They are down 1.06% and 0.48% respectively.

What Is Moving the Markets

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Linde-Praxair deal clears final hurdle with U.S. antitrust nod Industrial gases groups Praxair and Linde won U.S. antitrust approval for their $86 billion merger on Monday, clearing the last hurdle for the deal in the nick of time.
	Hasbro results dented by lingering Toys ‘R’ Us woes, shares drop Toymaker Hasbro Inc missed analysts’ expectations for quarterly revenue and profit on Monday, as the demise of major retail partner Toys ‘R’ Us hurt sales in Europe and the United States, sending its shares down as much as 8 percent.
	Exclusive: Aston Martin considers flying in components, changing ports to handle Brexit Aston Martin is considering flying in car components and moving more parts through UK ports other than Dover to avoid possible border friction after Britain leaves the European Union, its boss told Reuters.
	Philip Morris stop-smoking campaign attacked as PR stunt Marlboro cigarette maker Philip Morris International drew accusations of hypocrisy on Monday after using a four-page newspaper advertisement to urge smokers to quit cigarettes.
	Wall Street drops as China support fades, earnings disappoint U.S. stocks edged down on Monday as early support from a rally in China faded, with lower oil prices and disappointing earnings signals from firms including Halliburton and Hasbro helping pull the market lower.
	KKR’s Calsonic buys Fiat Chrysler parts firm Magneti Marelli for $7.1 billion Japan’s Calsonic Kansei, owned by U.S. private equity firm KKR, has agreed to buy Fiat Chrysler’s Magneti Marelli for 6.2 billion euros ($7.1 billion) to form the seventh-largest independent car parts supplier.
	Belgium chooses Lockheed’s F-35 over Eurofighter: Belga Belgium has chosen Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth jets over the Eurofighter Typhoon to replace its aging F-16s, news agency Belga cited government sources as saying, in a move that would cement the U.S.-made war plane’s position in Europe.
	Hasbro sees no impact from Sears bankruptcy Hasbro Inc said on Monday the recent bankrupt retailer Sears Holding Corp will no impact on the toymaker as it accounted for less than 1 percent of the overall revenue last year.
	Oil slips below $80 after Saudi pledges rapid output rise Oil slipped below $80 a barrel on Monday as Saudi Arabia pledged to raise its crude production to a record, two weeks before U.S. sanctions potentially choke off Iranian crude supplies.
	Dow Dumps 300 Points, Back Below Overnight Lows Dow futures are down over 300 points from pre-opening highs (ramped by China’s National Team), and back below overnight lows. The S&P is also back in the red but Nasdaq – for now – remains in the green… Pushing The Dow back to Friday’s lows… The Dow and S&P are both well underwater but the machines still have control of Nasdaq…
	Morgan Stanley Declares “The Dead Cat Bounce Is Over” Two weeks after Morgan Stanley’s chief equity strategist Michael Wilson ominously warned that US capital markets have “hit the tipping point” – just days before a furious drop in the S&P – and predicted that the US stock market is set to peak some time in December… … while cautioning that when looking at the Equity Risk Premium, the S&P 500 is once again overvalued relative to the 10Y yield…
	This Is What A Paper Gold Short Squeeze Looks Like Authored by John Rubino via DollarCollapse.com, Huge recent imbalances in the gold futures market led many to predict that speculators (usually wrong at big turning points) would be forced to close out their historically extreme short bets. Put another way, too many traders were using gold futures contracts to bet that precious metals will go down, and when those bets are reversed out it will make gold and silver go up. Last week this prediction started to come true, with gold rising and speculators reacting by closing out a big part of their shorts. The shift displayed below is one of the biggest on record for a single week:
	“Sloppy” Carl Bernstein Says Trump To Declare Midterms Illegitimate If GOP Loses Power President Trump has discussed ways to challenge the results of the midterm elections if the GOP loses control over Congress, according to journalist and ardent Trump foe, Carl Bernstein. The Washington Examiner reports Bernstein’s Sunday comments on CNN, in which he said that Trump has talked about “a disruption campaign if the results are close but have the Democrats taking control of the House or Senate.” “I talked to people … in touch with the White House on Friday who believe that, if the congressional midterms are very close and the Democrats were to win by five or seven seats, that Trump is already talking about how to throw legal challenges into the courts, sow confusion, declare a victory actually, and say that the election’s been illegitimate,” said Bernstein, adding “That is really under discussion in the White House.” Bernstein and Trump locked horns in August after the veteran journalist co-wrote a
	Consumer Giants’ Have an Emerging Market Problem Big footprints in emerging markets are often considered the crown jewels of European consumer-products giants like Nestlé and Unilever. But the downside is apparent.
	Wall Street’s Fear Gauge Flashes Green Again Panic in the stock market is officially over—at least according to derivatives markets.
	The Table Is Rigged Against Macau Stocks Shares in major casino operators in the world’s largest gambling market have been tumbling, but it isn’t time for investors to up their bets.
	September 2018 CFNAI Super Index Moving Average Declined Written by Steven Hansen The economy’s rate of growth slowed based on the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) 3 month moving (3MA) average – but economic growth remained above the historical trend rate of growth.
	Market Snapshot: Stocks lose ground on global growth worries, earnings anxiety Stocks drift lower, giving up early gains attributed to a continued recovery in China’s markets. Investors are gearing up for a heavy week of earnings.
	Currencies: Dollar strengthens as sterling and euro fall prey to political pressures Currency traders on Monday watch as recent themes, including Italy’s budget, Brexit and U.K. leadership, were heating up.
	Market Extra: Here’s why Italian bonds rallied after Moody’s downgrade Italian bonds rallied after a downgrade from Moody’s in part because it cleared up uncertainty of a slide into “junk”