Nothing Doing.

Well this was hardly what one might call an “exhilarating” U.S. session.

There’s plenty to trade on later in the week, so maybe everyone is saving their mental energy or maybe everyone went ahead and turned a four-day weekend into a five-day hiatus, but whatever the case, it felt like no one was home.

U.S. stocks were flat. Donald Trump overdosed on Fox & Friends:

We should have a contest as to which of the Networks, plus CNN and not including Fox, is the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted in its political coverage of your favorite President (me). They are all bad. Winner to receive the FAKE NEWS TROPHY!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2017

The dollar hit a new two-month low and then crazy orange juice man reassured everyone that tax reform is “going very well” via Twitter. Things reversed after that:

Ultimately, this was the first winning session in five for the greenback:

Just after 11:15 New York time, this hit:

JAPAN GETS SIGNAL THAT’S SEEN AS N.KOREA MISSLE LAUNCH PREP:TBS

Apparently, Kim could launch something “within days.” You can see the reaction in gold and USDJPY:

Tough day for emerging market equities, which fell the most in two months…

…as oil fell back below $58. Uncertainty about Russia’s commitment to extending the production cuts this week is hanging over an otherwise cheery crude market where prices are still hovering near two-year highs.

European shares were lower across the board after an initial bounce:

All of that said, Asia wasn’t boring. As detailed first thing this morning, the Kospi was hit by a Morgan Stanley downgrade of Samsung…

…and the rout in Chinese equities resumed after taking a breather on Friday. Here’s how that’s played out since the harrowing Thursday plunge on the mainland:

One thing worth mentioning about Asia is that while the Hang Seng is up some 30% YTD, over the past couple of days there are signs that liquidity is tightening in Hong Kong. There’s certainly room for a correction here….