Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton came out swinging in the second presidential debate last night, as both candidates attacked one another's fitness for the presidency and greeted each other without the traditional handshake. With the evening mainly focused on insults instead of policy, stock index futures were little changed during the debate, although the Mexican peso briefly gained 2% against the dollar. "I think the market declared it a draw and has no more clue after the debate than before," said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade.

Economy

Happy Columbus Day! Traders looking to take a day off for the federal holiday will be disappointed to find out that the stock markets will remain open. While investors will have to keep their eyes on their portfolios, the majority of banks and credit unions will be closed.

Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has given his clearest signal yet that the BOJ may postpone the forecast date for achieving its 2% inflation target to 2018. A delay could mean the BOJ would fail to reach its objective during Kuroda's term, raising the stakes for either the governor's reappointment or the selection of a successor who's committed to sustaining the unprecedented stimulus.

China's services sector created jobs at the fastest pace in seven months in September as new business picked up, even as Caixin/Markit's services PMI slipped fractionally to 52.0, from 52.1 in August. More signs of stability in China's economy support the growing consensus that the PBOC will hold off on further monetary easing such as interest rate cuts through at least the end of the year.

The IMF will not join the Greek bailout program, but will likely accept a special advisory status with limited powers that keeps it at the table, Reuters reports. The Fund has been holding out for more than a year over the terms under which it would participate in any new program, arguing that the financial targets set in the bailout are unrealistic without major debt relief.

German exports rebounded more than expected in August, climbing by 5.4%, highlighting their biggest rise since 2010 and dispelling fears that Europe's biggest economy is heading for a slowdown. Meanwhile, German police have captured 22-year-old Syrian refugee Jaber Albakr, a man suspected of planning a bomb attack who had slipped through their grasp during a raid two days ago.

The country is also considering changing its labor laws to make Frankfurt a more attractive hub for banks looking to move staff out of London after Brexit, FT reports. People briefed on the plan said Germany was looking at imposing an upper salary limit on employee protections of €100,000 or €150,000, which would make conditions such as redundancy terms less generous.

Sterling's short-lived 9% fall on Friday could not have happened without the lightning-fast algorithmic trading that now dominates the $5T a day forex market. But a person, not a machine, was probably ultimately the cause, according to Reuters. The Bank of England is still investigating the source of the sudden price movement.

"The persistently low growth has exposed underlying structural weaknesses and risks further dampening potential growth and prospects for inclusiveness," the IMF's steering committee said in a communique following its annual meeting in Washington. "We reinforce our commitment to strong, sustainable, inclusive, job-rich and more balanced growth. We will use all policy tools - structural reforms, fiscal and monetary policies - both individually and collectively."

Stocks

At least eleven people were killed in North and South Carolina by Hurricane Matthew's destructive forces on Sunday, bringing the storm's death toll to 19 across the southeastern U.S. More than 2M businesses and homes are still in the dark, and water, sewage and gas are out in many areas. Although the hurricane has been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, authorities have warned it will pose dangers for days to come. Related tickers: HCI, UVE, HRTG, UIHC, FNHC, PGTI, BECN, OC, HD, LOW

Samsung Electronics has suspended production of its Galaxy Note 7 following reports of fires in replacement devices, South Korean media said Monday, a further setback for the tech giant in the midst of its worst ever phone recall crisis. Samsung's (OTC:SSNLF) decision came after major mobile carriers in the U.S., including AT&T (NYSE:T) and T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS), said they would stop issuing Note 7s over safety concerns.

Despite recording global profits of $6.2B, Facebook's (NASDAQ:FB) U.K. business ended 2015 with an £11.3M credit to offset against future tax payments, just months after pledging to stop funneling earnings through Dublin and contribute more to the Exchequer. The revelation will likely reignite the debate about whether the internet firm is contributing a fair amount to British coffers. It paid just £4,327 in U.K. corporation tax in 2014.

The crude market is "pretty much in balance," BP CEO Bob Dudley announced at the World Energy Conference, saying current prices were giving producers a little more breathing room. But with oil stocks still so high, the wider market sentiment may take time to change. On the cost of production per barrel, Dudley said BP was looking to re-base targets: "We said $60 next year; we are under $55 now. We can see our way to $53 next year."

Negotiators from Unifor and Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) will not be with their families today celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving. The union has set a strike deadline of midnight for its 9,750 members employed by the automaker, and is looking for a contract similar to the one it signed last month with General Motors Canada (NYSE:GM). Among other things, that deal traded pension benefits for shortening the time it takes newly hired employees to reach full wage rates.

Contradicting last week's regulatory filing, Elon Musk said Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) would not need to raise equity or corporate debt in Q4 for its planned acquisition of SolarCity (NASDAQ:SCTY), and will "probably not" need to raise funds in first quarter of 2017 "either." In another Twitter message posted Sunday, he wrote "Tesla product unveiling on the 17th (unexpected by most), followed by Tesla/SolarCity on the 28th."

Not even Steven Spielberg is immune to Chinese moves into Hollywood. The legendary director is teaming up with Jack Ma in a partnership that will help his Amblin Partners produce, finance and distribute movies in China. Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), in turn, will rely on Amblin to become a bigger part of Hollywood's production and distribution scene. BABA +0.8% premarket.

The folks at Vice Media and HBO (NYSE:TWX) are trying to create what they're calling the first modern news show by rethinking the anchor-behind-the-desk format in favor of more fluid storytelling. Vice News Tonight will begin at 7:30 p.m. tonight, covering an array of subjects including world news, politics and technology, as VICE attempts to make its programming available across the media spectrum.

Citigroup has agreed to sell its consumer business in Argentina to Banco Santander Rio (NYSE:SAN) for an undisclosed amount, a day after it sold some of its Brazilian retail banking assets to Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB). Citi (NYSE:C) said the sale would include about $1.4B of assets, like its credit card, personal loans and retail brokerage businesses in Argentina, but wouldn't be material to earnings.

Deutsche Bank is continuing to cut back the size of its derivatives book, which is not as risky as investors may believe, Chief Risk Officer Stuart Lewis told Welt am Sonntag. "The €46T figure sounds gigantic... but reflects only the notional value of the contracts, while the bank's net exposure to derivatives is far lower, at around €41B. DB -1.8% premarket.

Separately, Chief Executive John Cryan wasn't able to negotiate a settlement with the Justice Department during a meeting in Washington last week, sources told Germany's Bild newspaper. Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) and the DOJ are planning to resume talks, however, and Cryan expects U.S. authorities to scale back their initial $14B request.

Today's Markets

In Asia, Japan closed. Hong Kong closed. China +1.5% to 3048. India +0.1% to 28082.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.2%. Paris +0.3%. Frankfurt +0.5%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.3%. S&P +0.3%. Nasdaq +0.3%. Crude -0.4% to $49.62. Gold +1% to $1264.20.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -2 bps to 1.72%

Today's Economic Calendar

12:30 PM TD Ameritrade IMX