DAILY MORNING BRIFING.

The S&P 500 futures are down 56 points and trade 1.7% below fair value after President Trump announced he and the First Lady tested positive for COVID-19. The news has exacerbated the political uncertainty in the market, although reports indicate Mr. and Mrs. Trump are both feeling well right now. Coming up at 8:30 a.m. ET is the consequential Employment Situation Report for September. The Briefing.com consensus projects 800,000 jobs added to nonfarm payrolls, an 8.2% unemployment rate (versus 8.4% in August), and a 0.2% increase in average hourly earnings. Later, the final University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for September (Briefing.com consensus 79.0) and Factory Orders for August (Briefing.com consensus 1.2%) will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Auto and truck sales for September will be released throughout the day. On stimulus, the House passed a symbolic $2.2 trillion relief bill, but it currently has no chance of passing in the Senate. Negotiations will continue between both sides. Separately, the Trump administration recently announced $20 billion in new Phase 3 funding for health care providers. U.S. Treasuries have edged higher, pushing yields lower. The 2-yr yield is down one basis point to 0.12%, and the 10-yr yield is down two basis points to 0.66%. The U.S. Dollar Index is up 0.1% to 93.77. WTI crude futures have dropped another 3.6% to $37.32/bbl amid oft-repeated concerns related to economic growth and oil demand. In U.S. Corporate news: Twilio (TWLO 277.62, +20.66): +8.0% after guiding Q3 revenue above consensus. Invesco (IVZ 11.99, +0.74): +6.6% after Trian Fund Management announced a 9.9% stake in the company. Reviewing overnight developments: Most major Asian equity indices were closed on Friday while the remaining markets ended on a lower note. Japan's Nikkei: -0.7%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: CLOSED, China's Shanghai Composite: CLOSED, India's Sensex: CLOSED, South Korea's Kospi: CLOSED, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: -1.4%. In economic data: Japan's September Household Confidence 32.7 (last 29.3) Australia's August Retail Sales -4.0% m/m (expected -4.2%; last 3.2%) India's September trade deficit reached $2.91 bln (last deficit of $6.77 bln) In news: Trading in Japan resumed after Thursday's daylong technical outage. Japan's Finance Minister, Taro Aso, said that a third extra budget is not being considered at this time. Australia's Council of Financial Regulators observed a tightening in availability of credit. Markets in Hong Kong, South Korea, and India will reopen on Monday while China's Shanghai Composite will remain closed through Wednesday. Major European indices trade in negative territory. STOXX Europe 600: -0.6%, Germany's DAX: -1.0%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: -0.7%, France's CAC 40: -0.9%, Italy's FTSE MIB: -0.9%, Spain's IBEX 35: -0.6%. In economic data: Eurozone's September CPI 0.1% m/m (last -0.4%); -0.3% yr/yr (expected -0.2%; last -0.2%). September Core CPI 0.2% m/m (last -0.6%); 0.2% yr/yr (last 0.4%) France's August budget deficit EUR165.70 bln (last deficit of EUR151.00 bln) Italy's Q2 public deficit 10.3% (last 9.8%) Spain's September Unemployment Change -26,300 (last 29,800) In news: British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, will speak with European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, over the weekend about Brexit. European Central Bank economist, Fabio Panetta, said that the central bank should prepare to issue a digital euro. ECB Vice President, Luis de Guindos, echoed the comments, saying that a digital euro is becoming more necessary. U.S equity futures: S&P 500 Futures +32 @ 3384 DJIA Futures +238 @ 27902 Nasdaq Futures +158 @ 11565 Overseas: Europe: DAX -1.0%, FTSE -0.7%, CAC -0.9% Asia: Nikkei -0.7%, Hang Seng CLOSED, Shanghai CLOSED Commodities: Crude Oil -1.30 @ 37.42 Nat Gas -0.063 @ 2.463 Gold -2.80 @ 1913.50 Silver -0.174 @ 24.08 Copper +0.04 @ 2.906 U.S. Summary: Earnings/Guidance (Full Earnings Calendar): Nu Skin (NUS) guides Q3 revenue well above consensus SMART Global (SGH) beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS in-line, revs in-line Twilio (TWLO) guides Q3 revenue above consensus General News: House passes $2.2 trillion stimulus bill 214-207, but it currently has no chance of passing the Senate. Talks are ongoing to reach a bipartisan compromise, but both sides remain far apart on some issues, according to Washington Post Mississippi becomes first state to remove mask mandate, according to Forbes Manhattan tenants put 2.5 million square feet up for sublease in Q3, according to Bloomberg Moody's downgrades to Aa2 New York State's GO and related credits; outlook revised to stable Activision Blizzard (ATVI) delays release of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Aecom Tech (ACM) announces completion of approximately $155 million stock repurchase program and initiation of additional up to $300 million repurchase program Amazon (AMZN) discloses that 19,816 employees have tested positive since pandemic began AstraZeneca's (AZN) COVID-19 vaccine AZD1222 clinical trial resumed in Japan Brazil wants to reopen $27 bln lawsuit against BHP (BHP) and Vale (VALE), according to Reuters FedEx (FDX) among recipients of US Transportation Command contracts Four Corners Property Trust (FCPT) has received rent payments representing over 99% of its portfolio's contractual base rent for the quarter ending September 30, 2020 General Motors (GM) mulling increased stake in Nikola (NKLA), according to Bloomberg Hyatt Hotels (H): S&P 'BBB-' rating affirmed, removed from CreditWatch; outlook negative Intel (INTC) secures second phase military chip contract, according to Reuters Laboratory Corp (LH) received an Emergency Use Authorization for a new, high-throughput method that uses heat and technology to extract RNA from samples collected for COVID-19 molecular testing Lennar (LEN) increases quarterly cash dividend to $0.25/share from $0.125/share Trian (Nelson Peltz) confirms 9.9% active stake in Invesco (IVZ) and Janus Henderson Group (JHG) - to discuss asset management industry strategic combinations Marathon Oil (MRO) reinstates base quarterly dividend of $0.03/share and provides update on debt reduction initiatives Mesoblast (MESO) receives Complete Response Letter from the FDA for Biologics License Application for steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease in children Nokia (NOK) announced that it has signed 17 new 5G commercial deals in Q3 Pool (POOL) to join S&P 500, effective prior to the open on October 7 Tesla (TSLA) could enter India in 2021, according to Reuters Uber Technologies (UBER) and Greenbriar Equity Group, L.P., a New York-based investment firm and one of the leading investors in the logistics space, announced today that an investor group led by Greenbriar has committed to invest $500 million in a Series A preferred stock financing for Uber Freight UHS (UHS) network being restarted after security incident, according to Reuters M&A: Aduro Biotech (ADRO) announces stockholder approval of merger agreement with Chinook Therapeutics, with anticipated on or around October 5; announces one-for-five reverse stock split, effective October 2 ASGN Incorporated (ASGN) announces acquisition of Skyris, bolstering expertise in geospatial and open source intelligence and data analytics BorgWarner (BWA) completes acquisition of Delphi Technologies (DLPH) Casella Waste (CWST) acquires Pinto Trucking Services; terms not disclosed LyondellBasell (LYB) and Sasol (SSL) form Integrated Polyethylene Joint Venture; LyondellBasell to acquire 50% of certain Sasol assets in Louisiana TeleNav (TNAV) confirms non-binding 'go private' proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares for $4.32 per share TopBuild (BLD) acquires Garland Insulating, one of the largest locally owned and operated insulation companies in Texas and Colorado Tortoise Acquisition Corp (SHLL) completes previously announced combination with Hyliion; to be renamed "Hyliion Holdings Corp." and trade on the NYSE under the ticker "HYLN" Universal Forest (UFPI) to acquire the equity of Fire Retardant Chemical Technologies; terms not disclosed Walmart's (WMT) wholly-owned UK business Asda to be acquired by The Issa Brothers for an enterprise value of 6.8 billion on a debt-free and cash-free basis; expected to complete in H1 2021 Syndicate: Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) prices offering of 4 mln shares of common stock at $25.00 per share BiondVax Pharmaceuticals (BVXV) announces $100 mln At-The-Market equity offering program CoreSite Realty (COR) files mixed securities shelf offering Hycroft Mining (HYMC) upsizes and prices underwritten public offering of units of common stock and warrants Owens & Minor (OMI) prices offering of 8,475,000 shares of its common stock at $20.50 per share Washington Trust (WASH) files for $150 mln mixed securities shelf offering IPOs: Priced to Trade: Academy Sports + Outdoors (Nasdaq: ASO): The leading full-line sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer prices 15,625,000 share IPO at $13.00 per share, below the expected range of $15-17 C4 Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CCCC): The biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic candidates to target and destroy disease-causing proteins to treat cancer & neurodegenerative conditions upsizes and prices 9.6 mln share IPO (from 8.8 mln) at $19.00 per share, above the opening range of $16-18. Oncorus (Nasdaq: ONCR): The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing viral immunotherapies to transform outcomes for cancer patients prices 5.8 mln share IPO at $15.00 per share, at the midpoint of the $14-16 expected range Gapping Up/Down Gapping up: NNOX +23.8%, NBEV +12.7%, TWLO +8.6%, AGO +8.4%, RNST +7.5%, NUS +7.5%, CFFN +6.2%, PSN +5.6%, IVZ +4.1%, TNAV +4.1%, NVAX +3.2%, OZK +2.6%, ENDP +2.4%, BLUE +2.1%, NTST +1.1%, ITCI +1%, SHLL +0.8%, AZN +0.5% Gapping down: ADRO -79.2%, MESO -35.4%, CWST -29.5%, ARQT -6.8%, OMI -6.7%, PBR -5.9%, SGH -5.1%, NEOG -4.8%, SSD -4.5%, NIO -4.2%, BE -3.8%, H -3.6%, AMC -3.4%, BA -3.2%, LEN -2.8%, AMZN -2%, FDX -2%, GOOG -1.9%, LI -1.8%, QQQ -1.8%, IWM -1.7%, POOL -1.6%, ATVI -1.5%, SPY -1.4%, DIA -1.3%, MRO -1%, EBAY -0.9% Analyst Research (see Upgrades/Downgrades calendarfor full list): Upgrades: American Eagle (AEO) upgraded to Neutral rom Underperform at BofA Securities; tgt raised to $16 American Equity Investment Life (AEL) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Mkts; tgt $36 Avient (AVNT) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman; tgt raised to $39 Carvana (CVNA) upgraded to Equal-Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley; tgt $215 CSX (CSX) upgraded to Outperform from In-line at Evercore ISI; tgt $90 Donaldson (DCI) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird; tgt raised to $56 HomeStreet (HMST) upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Keefe Bruyette; tgt raised to $39 J.B. Hunt Transport (JBHT) upgraded to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna Nu Skin (NUS) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA Securities; tgt raised to $58 Pacific Biosciences (PACB) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan; tgt $15 Paycom Software (PAYC) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel; tgt $365 Paylocity (PCTY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel; tgt $195 Six Flags (SIX) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman; tgt lowered to $21 United Bankshares (UBSI) upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Keefe Bruyette; tgt $29 Walmart (WMT) upgraded to Buy from Hold at DZ Bank; tgt $157.50 Workday (WDAY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel; tgt $275 Downgrades: Dexcom (DXCM) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo; tgt lowered to $350 General Dynamics (GD) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird; tgt lowered to $149 Landstar System (LSTR) downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna Others: Alexandria RE (ARE) initiated with a Buy at Berenberg; tgt $190 Baker Hughes (BKR) initiated with a Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets; tgt $16 BCE Inc (BCE) initiated with an Equal Weight at Barclays; tgt $43 Evofem Biosciences (EVFM) initiated with a Buy at Stifel; tgt $5 Halliburton (HAL) initiated with a Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets; tgt $14 Hutchison China MediTech (HCM) initiated with a Buy at Deutsche Bank; tgt $40 Immunovant Sciences (IMVT) initiated with an Outperform at Credit Suisse; tgt $49 Mustang Bio (MBIO) initiated with a Buy at B. Riley FBR; tgt $9 Natl Oilwell Varco (NOV) initiated with an Underperform at BMO Capital Markets; tgt $9 Papa John's (PZZA) initiated with a Buy at Loop Capital; tgt $110 Rogers Comms (RCI) initiated with an Equal Weight at Barclays; tgt $43 Schlumberger (SLB) initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital Markets; tgt $21 Shake Shack (SHAK) initiated with a Buy at Loop Capital; tgt $78 Shaw Comms (SJR) initiated with an Equal Weight at Barclays; tgt $21 Snowflake (SNOW) initiated with a Mkt Perform at Bernstein; tgt $270 TechnipFMC (FTI) initiated with a Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets; tgt $7.50 Telus (TU) initiated with an Overweight at Barclays; tgt $21 Xenon Pharmaceuticals (XENE) initiated with an Outperform at SVB Leerink; tgt $22 Upcoming Events: Econ Data: 08:30 ET: September Nonfarm Payrolls (Briefing.com consensus 800,000; prior 1.371 mln) 08:30 ET: Nonfarm Private Payrolls (Briefing.com consensus 814,000; prior 1.027 mln) 08:30 ET: Unemployment Rate (Briefing.com consensus 8.2%; prior 8.4%) 08:30 ET: Average Hourly Earnings (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%; prior 0.4%) 08:30 ET: Average Workweek (Briefing.com consensus 34.6; prior 34.6) 10:00 ET: August Factory Orders (Briefing.com consensus 1.2%; prior 6.4%) 10:00 ET: September Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Briefing.com consensus 79.0; prior 78.9) Asia & Europe detail: Asia: Nikkei -0.7%, Hang Seng CLOSED, Shanghai CLOSED Most major Asian equity indices were closed on Friday while the remaining markets ended on a lower note. Trading in Japan resumed after Thursday's daylong technical outage. Japan's Finance Minister, Taro Aso, said that a third extra budget is not being considered at this time. Australia's Council of Financial Regulators observed a tightening in availability of credit. Markets in Hong Kong, South Korea, and India will reopen on Monday while China's Shanghai Composite will remain closed through Wednesday. In economic data: Japan's September Household Confidence 32.7 (last 29.3) Australia's August Retail Sales -4.0% m/m (expected -4.2%; last 3.2%) India's September trade deficit reached $2.91 bln (last deficit of $6.77 bln) ---Equity Markets--- Japan's Nikkei: -0.7% (-0.8% for the week) Hong Kong's Hang Seng: CLOSED (+1.0% for the week) China's Shanghai Composite: CLOSED (UNCH for the week) India's Sensex: CLOSED (+3.5% for the week) South Korea's Kospi: CLOSED (+2.2% for the week) Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: -1.4% (-2.6% for the week) ---FX--- USD/JPY: -0.4% to 105.14 USD/CNH: +0.1% to 6.7546 USD/INR: +0.3% to 73.37 Europe: DAX -1.0%, FTSE -0.7%, CAC -0.9% Major European indices trade in negative territory. British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, will speak with European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, over the weekend about Brexit. European Central Bank economist, Fabio Panetta, said that the central bank should prepare to issue a digital euro. ECB Vice President, Luis de Guindos, echoed the comments, saying that a digital euro is becoming more necessary. In economic data: Eurozone's September CPI 0.1% m/m (last -0.4%); -0.3% yr/yr (expected -0.2%; last -0.2%). September Core CPI 0.2% m/m (last -0.6%); 0.2% yr/yr (last 0.4%) France's August budget deficit EUR165.70 bln (last deficit of EUR151.00 bln) Italy's Q2 public deficit 10.3% (last 9.8%) Spain's September Unemployment Change -26,300 (last 29,800) ---Equity Markets--- STOXX Europe 600: -0.6% (+1.2% week-to-date) Germany's DAX: -1.0% (+1.0% week-to-date) U.K.'s FTSE 100: -0.7% (-0.1% week-to-date) France's CAC 40: -0.9% (+1.1% week-to-date) Italy's FTSE MIB: -0.9% (+1.1% week-to-date) Spain's IBEX 35: -0.6% (+1.0% week-to-date) ---FX--- EUR/USD: -0.3% to 1.1713 GBP/USD: +0.2% to 1.2912 USD/CHF: +0.3% to 0.9211