This is the video recording of the November 3rd, 2022, Weekly Town Hall w/ Willie Delwiche.

11/03/22 2:00 PM ET

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

This All Star Charts PLUS Monthly Playbook breaks down the investment universe into a series of  binary decisions, tactical calls and asset allocation models. 

Paired with our Weight of the Evidence Dashboard and our Playbook Chartbook, this piece is designed to help dynamic asset allocators follow trends, pursue opportunities, and manage risk.

The Fed announced another 75 basis point rate hike yesterday. The upper range of the Fed Funds rate began the year at 0.25% and is now 4.00%, the highest level since early 2008. In his post-FOMC press conference, Fed Chair Powell made clear that the Fed is not finished raising rates.

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

With fear subsiding but strength slow to emerge, downside tactical risks are rising. We reduced the equity exposure in our Tactical Opportunity portfolio and have moved more cash to the sideline.

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Household equity exposure is ten percentage points below its November 2021 peak. Even with that decline, it is only now approaching its long-term average. Bond exposure remains below its long-term average and cash exposure in October moved above its long-term average for the first time since COVID. 

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

The Scales are more balanced than last month but are still tipped toward risk and away from opportunity. 

Macro folks are sorting out just how bearish they need to get while market folks are trying to figure out just how bullish they should get. From my perspective, less macro-related volatility could help stocks build on their October gains heading into year end. But there isn’t much evidence of that taking place just yet. With that, the inability of the recent rally to show sustainable strength (and more new highs than new lows) suggests caution remains warranted. 

Our Weight of the Evidence Dashboard fills in the details and includes a few charts that have our attention heading into November.

Beyond the mega-cap earnings-related blow-ups of last week, the rally off of the mid-October lows quietly gained strength. At Friday’s close, more than 55% of S&P 500 stocks were trading at new 20-day highs. In our work, that is a breadth thrust - the first since July and only the second since June 2020.

More Context: After stocks were uncharacteristically weak following the July breadth thrust, investors may be more cautious about embracing the latest signal. In this environment it is entirely possible that breadth thrusts are more evidence of volatility than strength. Over the course of my career I have tended to “trust the thrust”, but also believe it is a case of “thrust, but verify.” 

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Our Top 10 Charts Report was just published.

In this weekly note, we highlight 10 of the most important charts or themes we're currently seeing in asset classes around the world.

Insurance Claims a Leadership Role

The Equal Weight SPDR Insurance ETF(KIE) just closed at its highest level since April. One thing we know about relative strength is that the stocks and indexes that hold up best during bear markets tend to be the first to make new highs when the selling pressure subsides. We think this group will continue to outperform in the future as it completes a failed head & shoulder top and is only 3% from fresh all-time highs.

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Check out this week's Momentum Report, our weekly summation of all the major indexes at a Macro, International, Sector, and Industry Group level.

By analyzing the short-term data in these reports, we get a more tactical view of the current state of markets. This information then helps us put near-term developments into the big picture context and provides insights regarding the structural trends at play.

Let's jump right into it with some of the major takeaways from this week's report:

* ASC Plus Members can access the Momentum Report by clicking the link at the bottom of this post.

Macro Universe:

From the Desk of Willie Delwiche.

A Market of Stocks > A Stock Market

The Chart: The S&P 500 fell 0.7% on Wednesday, despite a majority of the stocks in the index advancing on the day. Thursday was similar, with the index falling 0.6% but again more stocks were up than down.

By The Numbers: Going back to 1998, there have been 276 single day instances of the index declining on days when more stocks were up than down. That is less than 5% of the time. We’ve seen it for two days in a row only 25 times. 2022 is the first year since 2017 that we have had two in a row more than once in a single year. We’ve only seen three for three (three consecutive index-level declines accompanied by more stocks rising than falling) three times since 1998, with the most recent coming more than twenty years ago.

This is the video recording of the October 27th, 2022, Weekly Town Hall w/ Willie Delwiche.

10/27/22 2:00 PM ET

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

The S&P 500 this month and last undercut its June low but it is now back above that key level. The same can be said from a sentiment perspective. The NAAIM Exposure index and the Bull-Bear spreads for Investors Intelligence and AAII in recent weeks dipped below their Q2 lows but have since recovered.

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Stocks and bonds are enduring one of their worst years on record. Yet the St. Louis Fed’s Financial Stress Index dropped to never before seen levels. It’s off its lows but still indicates less stress in the financial system than at any previous point in the past quarter century.   

Why It Matters: Aggressive tightening by central banks around the world has pushed sovereign yields higher and kept interest rate spreads subdued. That has made financial stress less apparent. Until this changes, there is little impetus for the Fed to pivot away from its intense focus on bringing down inflation.    

In taking a Deeper Look we see how the specific characteristics of this cycle may be masking signs of stress that are present just beyond the headlines.