Key Takeaway:  The lack of a meaningful rebound in price sustains a subdued atmosphere across the market. Sellers continue to drive prices lower and equity put/call ratios are on the rise. But due to the overwhelming decline in call volume this speaks more to a lack of risk appetite than outright fear. While pessimism is certainly present and has reached levels associated with opportunity, there is still plenty of room for sentiment to unwind. Current conditions carry significant risks with lackluster price action and  equity ETFs starting to experience net outflows (three weeks in a row and four of the past five weeks). Simply put: we have not seen significant evidence of capitulation. Just because the recent market environment has been tough doesn’t mean it can’t get worse.

Key Takeaway: That investors are in a dour mood is not in doubt. We just saw the fewest bulls on the AAII survey since 1992 and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index is about as low as it has ever been. This week has brought news that US equity ETF’s have had outflows in three of the past four weeks. If this is just a pause in what some have called the persistent bid fueled by a move toward index investing, then this too is a bullish development. If, on the other hand, it represents the early stages of passive equity investors becoming disgruntled and looking for other options, then consider it a meaningful increase in equity market risk. Time will tell, but price and breadth improvements would help assuage these concerns. Either way, pessimism is a condition that needs a catalyst to spark a rally. It’s a pile of firewood, but for now it remains unlit. 

Key Takeaway: Renewed selling pressure brings an air of disappointment rather than fear. Lackluster price action, an absence of a meaningful breadth thrust, and an overall risk-off environment leave little to spark an optimistic outlook. We’ve seen bears from a survey perspective, and that has created the conditions for a rally. Now, we need to see an increase in bulls if a rally is to materialize into a bull market. Without a rebound in price it’s hard for bulls to get excited and a v-shaped recovery in optimism (like we saw in 2019 and 2020) becomes less likely.                 

Sentiment Report Chart of the Week: Reversing From An Extreme

Key Takeaway: The rally off of the mid-March stock market lows has equity investors feeling better. Without upside follow through (in terms of price and/or risk appetite), moods could quickly sour. So far, evidence of follow through has been lacking. Taking a longer-term perspective, the pessimism that was seen earlier this year seems more consistent with frustration that the stocks one owns aren’t going up rather than a deep-seated desire to reduce exposure and avoid equities altogether. Equity funds continue to see inflows, stocks are expensive relative to earnings and household exposure to equities has remained at historically high levels. Without these conditions unwinding, short-term mood swings may be even more sensitive to price changes than they normally are.                 

Key Takeaway: Price action has a way of changing sentiment, and the recent bout of strength has brought signs of hope. Optimism is on the rise with an uptick in bulls, a rebound in both the II and AAII bull-bear spreads, and an increase in exposure by active equity managers. Yet, bears linger and the drop in put/call ratios is driven by decreasing put activity. This speaks to less of a risk-off tone rather than a definitive sign of risk-on behavior. Though optimism is in the air, it’s going to take further improvements in trend, momentum, and breadth for bears to change their tune in support of a sustained rally.                   

Sentiment Report Chart of the Week: Breadth Backdrop Improving

Key Takeaway: Investors are identifying with fear and pessimism as bears dominate the surveys. But we have yet to see the type of pessimism that drives market participants to do something about it. The disconnect between what investors are saying and what they are actually doing is evident in the juxtaposition of bearish surveys and elevated stock allocations. This speaks to an underlying confidence that remains unbroken and a lingering optimism susceptible to further unwind. Combined this with lackluster breadth readings, our global trend indicators nearing new lows, and a general lack of risk appetite and it’s difficult to claim the unwind in sentiment is complete.           

Sentiment Report Chart of the Week: Unwind Complete When Appetite Returns