From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

With our latest Weight of the Evidence Dashboard improving and now signaling a neutral stance, we have put cash to work across our portfolios to reflect a more balanced approach.

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

• Bond-fueled cyclical rotation offers opportunity for better participation
• Breadth already better beyond our borders
• Commodity conflicts

Make no mistake about it, bond yields are rising. Yields on 2-year and 5-year T-Notes have surpassed their 2021 highs and are at levels not seen since their Q1 2020 COVID-related breakdown. The yield on the benchmark 10-year T-Note is above 1.50% and appears headed toward a test of the early 2021 high near 1.75% sooner rather than later. 

How high yields could rise in Q4 remains an open question. A two-handle by the end of the year does not seem far-fetched. As recently as 2019, 2’s, 5’s and 10’s all had yields above 2%. With inflation pressures showing little evidence of meaningfully subsiding the path of least resistance for bond yields appears higher. 

As we get ready for the final quarter of the year, we need to remember that while guesses are great, we don’t want to get ahead of what is actually happening. Evidence...

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

• • Volatility shifts affect investor risk tolerances
  • Portfolios positioning reflects cautious message from weight of the evidence.
  • Watching to see if evidence argues for increasing exposure or getting more defensive

When volatility picks up, there can be a natural desire to review and reconsider or reduce all long exposure. This impulse reflects the reality that for many, risk tolerance is higher in periods of strength than in periods of weakness. Our view is that proactive risk management can lead to better outcomes than reactionary decision-making. 

That is a major reason why we spend so much time reviewing and discussing the weight of the evidence. We don't know what the future will hold, but we can increase the odds of looking in the right direction by watching where the wind is blowing....

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

• Median stock has gone nowhere for months
• Bond market trusting Powell more than data
• Commodity strength fueled by broad participation

As discussed in yesterday’s Market Notes, last week’s rally has us questioning whether we remain in the choppy market that has been experienced on many levels for the past few months or if we are poised for some degree of resolution to the upside. Today, we’ll take a closer look at what that could mean across stocks, bonds and commodities. As market depth evaporates ahead of the Labor Day weekend, there is no reason to believe that what we talk about has to happen this week.

The S&P 500 is getting plenty of press these days for the number of new highs it has made in 2021 (over 50 at this point). I’m more focused, however, on what the Value Line Geometric Index is doing. This index has gone nowhere over the past three months (while the S&P 500 has risen nearly 8%). A new high by this index (and a return to leadership on a YTD...

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

• Emerging Market indexes weighed down by weakness at top.
• Europe & Middle East showing leadership.
• If China is finding a bottom, broad EM strength could support a sustained rally.

Here in the US, a handful of mega-cap stocks are pushing the indexes to new highs, while beneath the surface many stocks are languishing. The NASDAQ Composite began this week by making a new all-time high, but it was the first time in eight days that there were actually more stocks making new highs than were making new lows. The S&P 500 is trading in record territory, while nearly 40% of its stocks aren’t even above their 50-day averages. 

When we look overseas, what’s happening in Emerging Markets is the inverse of what we’re seeing within the US indexes. For EM, the weakness is at the top, in the countries that make up the largest weightings within the EM indexes. China accounts for more than a fifth of the weighting in EM indexes and is down nearly 15% over the past six weeks....

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

• Inflation narratives, not inflation itself, proving to be transitory 
• Economic rebound and higher inflation sapping financial liquidity
• Stocks (and bonds) usually struggle when inflation surges

With inflation, first it shocks you then it sneaks up on you. That is the way it has played out in 2021. This Spring, when the yearly inflation numbers started to heat up, newspapers ran banner headlines announcing the news and inflation-related Google searches exploded. In the months since, inflation has moved out of the headlines and searches related to it have fallen. What has shown little sign of letting up is inflation itself. 

In the latest round of inflation report (for data through July) there was some easing in some niche inflation components (e.g. used car prices) but the overall trend remains higher. The three-month change in the median CPI, which by definition is not influenced by outliers on either end of the distribution, has risen to its highest level in over...

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

• Breadth downgraded to neutral as trends in the US and globally weaken
• Absence of breadth thrust regime weighs on a market struggling for direction
• Reducing equity exposure in Cyclical and Tactical Opportunity portfolios

The divergences between what has been seen in the popular averages and what is happening beneath the surface have become significant enough that we have moved breadth to neutral in our weight of the evidence framework. This leaves the scales tilted away from opportunity and toward risk. 

The most recent breadth thrust regime expired in early June and since then the percentage of global markets trading above their 50-day averages has fallen from the upper 80’s to now just 20%. One-third of the markets are not even above their 200-day averages. US industry group trends have also faltered. The percentage trading above their 10-week averages is breaking down while the percentage making new 13-...

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

• New highs are not expanding, but neither are new lows
• Housing costs fuel inflation but bonds are unconcerned
• Risk on/risk off in neutral but broker dealers threaten break down

As 2021 began, the strong trends that emerged in 2020 were intact. But as we get ready to make the turn to the second half, we find ourselves looking at a muddled mess of stalled out trends and conflicting signals. How these resolve will go a long way toward dictating the paths that the market and the economy take over the second half of the year. 

The NASDAQ and S&P 500 have continued their foray into record territory, but find themselves without much support. Take this week for example. New highs in the indexes on Monday & Tuesday came with a continued contraction in NYSE & NASDAQ new highs and more stocks declining than advancing on the S&P 500. The lack of strength has been...

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

• Investors are optimistic, but momentum isn’t confirming price strength
• While indexes rally, breadth trends are stumbling
• Big rebound in earnings is already priced in

The NASDAQ Composite rallied to a new all-time high this week. The S&P 500 fell just shy of a record close of its own. While sentiment indicators suggest that investors are celebrating these new highs, a closer look shows that index-level price strength is not being confirmed by momentum. In fact just the opposite is happening, with weekly momentum trends continuing to move lower.

The Value Line Geometric Index has moved from new high to below its 10-week average in the space of a week. Momentum has peaked and is moving lower.

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

• Breadth thrust regime from last year has expired
• Higher inflation and unbalanced asset allocations can weigh on stocks
• Global earnings revisions trends remain healthy 

2020 was a remarkable year in many ways. The rally that emerged off of the early year lows was broad-based and historically strong. It was fueled by numerous momentum surges, overwhelming amounts of fiscal and monetary liquidity, an unprecedented string of better than expected economic data, and a persistent trend in earnings estimates being revised higher. While 2021 began with some of those tailwinds intact, as we move toward the second half of the year, we want to avoid the assumption that nothing has changed as we have entered year two of the cyclical rally. 

Breadth thrusts can signal strong and sustainable upward momentum for stocks that can last for up to a year. Our two favorite indicators are having 90% of stocks above their 50-day...

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

• Active/passive debate is in need of an overhaul
• Dynamic allocation emphasizes what you own as well as when you buy it
• Shifting leadership trends could force portfolio decisions

The active-passive debate has never been really well framed. It's been oversimplified to the point of being meaningless. For example, the shift from actively-managed mutual funds to passive ETF's would seem like a victory for passive proponents. But if investors have moved from buying-and-holding those mutual funds to moving in and out of ETF's, is this really a shift from active to passive?

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

• Housing market activity restrained by supply imbalances
• Surging demand and lack of supply sends home prices to record levels
• Buyers becoming price-sensitive and home buying plans plummet

I’ll start by acknowledging more questions than answers on this subject. But that itself is part of the point. The housing market was one of the earliest parts of the economy to bounce back last year, but activity in recent months has been more uneven. Existing home sales in April unexpectedly fell (and are at their lowest level since June) and new home sales fell more than expected last month and data for the preceding month was revised lower.  There is evidence that supply constraints (in terms of both current housing stock as well as workers and supplies necessary to build additional units) are weighing on activity. But when something as diverse and complex as the national housing market gets wrapped up in a narrative that is...