Plenty of time is wasted and much virtual ink is spilled pulling apart and putting back together various pronouncements by the Federal Reserve and other central banks. With an FOMC meeting on tap, this coming week will likely be more of the same. Rather than focus on what central bankers are saying, it might be more productive to watch what they’re doing. The average central bank (Fed, ECB, BoJ, PBoC) balance sheet has expanded by 10x over the past 20 years (that’s a 25% increase per annum). There is no realistic expectation that balance sheets will contract any time soon. But the pace of expansion is likely to slow (the Fed is expected to announce a timetable for a tapering of its balance sheet expansion this coming week), and interest rates around the world are on the rise. All of the net gains for global equities over the past 30-plus years have come when a majority of central banks have been in easing mode. Currently, just under 60% of central banks are still easing. But, as inflation remains persistent, we expect the number to fall and liquidity headwinds to rise.
Federal Reserve officials have talked about the benefit from having well-anchored inflation expectations. It provides flexibility in setting policy even as recent inflation readings have moved to their highest levels in years (or in some cases, decades). In fact, in recent speeches several have made the case that inflation expectations becoming un-anchored would prompt a meaningful re-evaluation of current policy. That now seems to be the case. Data from the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers shows 1-year inflation expectations have risen to their highest level since 2008 and the pace of increase is its fastest in nearly two decades. Survey responses can be cheap, but market-based expectations reflect actual positioning and prices. Market data shows that the 10-year breakeven inflation rate has reached its 2011 and 2012 peaks and it hasn’t been higher in over 15 years. The inflation expectations discussion could be moving from “if they remain well-anchored” to ”since they have become unmoored.”
If there is something to know about me when it comes to the market, it’s this: When I have a chance to talk about the Value Line Geometric Index, I don’t let it pass. The Value Line index is still a smidge further below its June high than the S&P 500 is from its September high, and the Value Line index has not (yet) re-claimed the lead on a YTD return basis. But over the past month, it has provided some leadership, showing the S&P 500-based indexes the path through the 50-day average. While the cap-weight index (SPY) has changed little over the past month, the equal-weight index (RSP) is up nearly 2% and the Value Line index is up more than 3%. I continue to believe that will be the theme of the fourth quarter.
We like to say that dollars flow to where they are treated best. If that is the case, commodities could soon see a surge of inflows. The DBC/AGG ratio shows commodities surging to new multi-year highs versus bonds and the DBC/SPY ratio shows strength versus stocks as well. DBC has more than doubled up SPY on a YTD return basis (43% vs 18%). Commodities are proving again to be a place of relative safety when inflation and bond yields are on the rise. For many investors, commodity exposure isn’t even included as part of the asset allocation discussion. At least, not yet.
Index-level volatility picked up in September and by month-end the S&P 500 has experienced its first 5% drawdown in nearly a year. Beneath the surface, we’ve been seeing increasingly widespread and substantial pullbacks since early this year. More than 50% of NASDAQ stocks are more than 20% below their highs, and more than 20% are more than 50% below their highs. These percentages have been trending higher since February and reflect a market that has churned, corrected and seen a substantial amount of air come out of it since Q1. With the indexes themselves now catching down, Q4 could be when the average stock starts to get back in gear.
The story this week was bond yields and the mounting evidence that they are ready to move higher. 10-year yields in the US and Germany have climbed to their highest levels since July. The US 10-year T-Note yield has broken above 1.40% and could soon have 1.75% again in its sights. A 2-handle by the end of the year would not be surprising. Except for the May/June time period, German yields are the least negative they have been since crossing the zero threshold in mid-2019. These moves may reflect inflation expectations, but with the rise in the 2-year T-Note yield this week (highest level since March 2020) it is also the bond market taking seriously the possibility that the Fed will soon be joining the 30% of global central banks that have already begun to raise interest rates. For investors, this could be an opportunity to rotate back into cyclical sectors that do well in rising rate environments.
In 2021, every month except April has seen the S&P 500 testing its 50-day average. Only after the initial test in February did the index fall further below that average than it is doing in September. The pattern so far this year has been tests of the 50-day that ultimately resolve higher. Whether that happens this time remains to be seen. With investors re-evaluating their bullish views on stocks, bond yields starting to rise and the action beneath the surface showing increasing vulnerability, we want to see evidence of upside resolution rather than just assuming it is on its way.
Despite government officials trying to explain it away, inflation is running at its highest levels in years or (in the case of producer prices) decades. For now, however, the bond market shows little evidence of concern. After pulling back from 1.75% to 1.15%, the yield on the 10-year T-Note has risen in recent weeks but remains below 1.40%. It has bumped up against that level but has not been able to get through it. German yields have moved higher recently and seem to be giving US yields a green light to break out. Resiliency from Financials even as yields were retreating in Q2 and Q3 also argue for an upside resolution here. The high P/E, speculative growth sectors of the market ran out of steam when yields moved higher earlier this year and they could be vulnerable again if yields make a sustained move to the upside from here.
While what’s happening beneath the surface in US markets is a bit frustrating, we are seeing evidence of improving breadth on a global basis. Just shy of 75% of ACWI markets are trading above their 50-day averages, the highest level in more than two months. For comparison, 63% of S&P 500 stocks are above their 50-day averages. Broad global strength is important for the S&P 500 (especially given the current lack of a breadth-thrust backdrop) and could be critical if global equities are going to move into a leadership position as we move toward the end of 2021.
On the heels of last week’s surprising drop in the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index, we are now seeing a similar decline in the Future Activity Index from the Philadelphia Fed. Just two months removed from a multi-decade high, this index has undercut its post-Covid lows and is now at its lowest level since late-2019. The 2-month decline is the largest in more than 50 years. Not only is current economic data falling short of expectations, but prospects for future growth are also being revised lower. This comes at a time when earnings expectations are still being pushed higher, valuations have swelled and investors remain all-in on equities.
Consumer Sentiment for August was expected to be little changed from where it was in July (81.2). The actual data (based on responses collected over the first half of the month) showed consumer sentiment undercutting last year’s lows and dropping to its lowest in nearly a decade. While consumers’ assessment of current conditions moved lower in August, the collapse in the overall sentiment index was really fueled by more dour expectations about the road ahead. Consumer expectations indexes are considered leading indicators for the economy overall and the August collapse may point to increased economic headwinds as we head toward the end of the year.
It’s said that the most bullish thing stocks can do is go up. If something goes up enough, it starts to make new highs. Indexes like the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ 100, fueled by gains in a handful of mega-cap stocks, have been making new highs but beneath the surface, participation has been relatively narrow. Breaking the S&P 1500 into its component indexes, we see that while still not getting a plethora of new highs (especially at the mid-cap and small-cap level), we have seen some improvement over the past month. Encouraging, but not yet exciting. For that, we want to see new highs eclipse their early June levels (which for the S&P 1500 overall would be in the 200-250 range).
