This is the video recording of the December 22nd Weekly Town Hall w/ Willie Delwiche

12/22/21 2:00 PM ET

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaway: The sentiment backdrop is more characterized by a lack of optimism than widespread pessimism. This is in sharp contrast to the experiences of December 2020 and 2019. In those instances, too much holiday cheer led to hangovers in the year that followed (don’t forget, new highs peaked early in 2021 and many areas have been a sideways mess for months now). The current sentiment backdrop is not dissimilar to (though less extreme than) what was experienced in December 2018. Intense selling that month had investors thinking more about the Grinch than Santa Claus. While probably won’t get widespread pessimism this time around without further volatility - but if we do and investors throw in the towel on stocks, it could ultimately help light a fire that leads to early year breadth thrusts like what we experienced in early 2019.

Sentiment Report Chart of the Week: Households Are Loaded Up On Equities

Quarterly data from the Federal Reserve shows that asset...

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

• Tactical model argues for caution heading into 2022
• Absence of a breadth thrust leaves market looking for energy elsewhere
• Liquidity indicator remains supportive but Macro Sentiment and Breadth point to rising risks

There was a story in the WSJ earlier this year about a fund manager who held 900 of his best ideas in his main mutual fund. I saw a model this summer that was made up of nearly 100 individual momentum  indicators. Some will use a double-digit number of categories for gauging the market. One more holding, one more indicator, one more lever - it’s as easy as adding one more column in the spreadsheet. If more is better that is great, the question though is at what point is more just too much.

Information, even when useful, can easily pile up and become overwhelming. This adds to, rather than reduces noise. Distillation is an ongoing challenge in this age of distraction. There is a tension between focusing on as much as we need to, but as little as we have...

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaway: Falling bond yields do not inspire confidence. Industry group trends faltering as breadth weakens. Holiday cheer has already turned sour.

• After last week’s big jump from Consumer Staples (which held in at #4 this week), it was Utilities making a big move (from #9 to #6) in the rankings. Defensive groups are seeing strength on an absolute basis (more on that in a moment) and that is translating into higher sector rankings and improving conditions at the industry group level.
• Real Estate has taken over the top spot in the rankings while cyclical sectors seem to be in a race to the bottom.

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.

Are The Worst Stocks Bottoming?

One thing we’re looking for to signal that the selling pressure has passed is the weakest areas carving out bottoms. In recent sessions, we’ve actually seen resilience and some relative strength from US growth stocks. Many of 2020s top-performers have endured significant losses already this year, and the ARK Innovation ETF is a great barometer for what’s taken place. When we look at a weekly chart, there is a hammer candle slightly beneath the May lows. If we see some upside follow-through, this could result in a failed downside move and fast move in the opposite direction. We’re also seeing signs of selling pressure waning on the daily chart as buyers continue to step in during the intraday session and send prices higher. This is illustrated by a handful of long lower wicks at the recent lows, which is evidence of strong demand at current levels. We think things are setting up for...

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:

• This week, our macro universe was in the red as 74% of our list closed lower with a median return of -0.98%.
• The Volatility index $VIX was a massive winner again, closing out the week with more than a 15% gain.
• The biggest loser was US 10-Year Yield $TNX, with a weekly loss of -5.84%
• There was a 6% drop in the percentage of assets on our list within 5% of their 52-week highs – currently at 45%.
• 17% of our sector...

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

The Fed is turning off the liquidity spigot and expects to start raising interest rates next year. There are plenty of historical studies showing the relatively benign impact of the first one or two rate hikes. This cycle, though, will be a bit different than what has been experienced in the past. Historically, the Fed is leading the way with interest rate hikes, moving toward tightening ahead of other global central banks. The muted impact of those initial rate hikes may be partly due to the fact that most central banks have still been accommodative.  That is not going to be the case this time around. Nine central banks have raised their interest rates in December alone and by the time the Fed makes its first move, a majority of central banks will likely be tightening.  

This is the video recording of the December 16th Weekly Town Hall w/ Willie Delwiche

12/16/21 2:00 PM ET

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

This week's FOMC meeting has received more than its fair share of attention. 

Many are no doubt tired of hearing about it. Some might even mentally paraphrase Thomas Jefferson (in Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamiliton): Can we get back to prices, please?

Yes, in just a moment.

Yesterday’s headlines announced that the "Fed doubles pace of tapering". Unless you are paying close attention, this probably seems like confusing doublespeak. My friend Joe Kalish (at NDR) put it more succinctly, "Fed Turning Off Liquidity Spigot Sooner." 

The Fed will end asset purchases early next year. Based on current expectations, this will be followed by three 25 basis-point interest rate hikes over the remainder of 2022. Powell was clear to emphasize that this pivot, while compelled by higher than expected inflation, has been made possible by improving labor market conditions and strength in the overall economy. That messaging probably helped stocks shake off early weakness yesterday and rally into the close.

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaway: We have seen some evidence of fear on a shorter-term basis, but still plenty of optimism (and risk) from a longer-term positioning perspective. If we had to sum up the current sentiment backdrop with one data point it would be the AAII survey that shows even split between bears and bulls. Sentiment is neither here nor there and that leaves the door open to a more complete unwinding in optimism at a time of year when the market tends to be filled with holiday cheer. Combine that with increasing headwinds from deteriorating breadth and the trend in earnings revisions turning lower, and the sentiment shifts of 2021 look increasingly incomplete as we move toward 2022.

Sentiment Report Chart of the Week: Earnings Estimates Rolling Over

The stock market tends to do well when analysts are too pessimistic and have to chase reality higher by raising their earnings estimates. That had been the case coming off of the 2020 lows. Now, the rug is being pulled from...

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

• Yield curve flattening in anticipation of rate hikes
• Elevated inflation usually weighs on economic growth and financial market performance
• Markets have grown unaccustomed to global interest rate hikes

Federal Reserve policy is in a period of transition and this week’s FOMC meeting will provide some clarity as to the speed with which Powell is choosing to pivot. From beginning to taper the rate at which it has continued to expand its balance sheet, to accelerating the pace of that tapering process to actually raising interest rates (likely some time in 2022), pressure is building for the Fed to fight inflation with deeds, not just words. The yield on the 10-year T-Note continuing to move sideways suggests that either inflation, if not as transitory as some had hoped, is not yet as deeply embedded as some fear or in fighting inflation the Fed will derail a recovery that remains fragile. 2-year yields are pricing in action by the Fed sooner rather than later and the spread...

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaway: A surge to new highs can leave stocks out of breath. S&P 500 at an all-time high while more NYSE stocks make new lows than new highs. FOMC meeting likely to feature Fed grappling with surging inflation.

• The Technology sector remains at the top of our relative strength rankings. While mega-cap leadership is helpful, sector strength goes beyond that. It is the top-ranked sector from an equal-weight perspective as well as among small-cap sectors. This is also reflected in our industry group heat map, which shows strength out of the Hardware and Semiconductor groups across market cap levels.
• Consumer Staples saw a big jump in the rankings this week, and there is plenty of improvement within the Food & Staples Retailing and Household & Personal Products groups within the sector.