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[PLUS] Weekly Sentiment Report

September 7, 2022
JC Parets

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaway: Despite the stock market’s reluctance toward sustained advances, investors have refused to throw in the towel. The bulls showed up last month, declaring their intent by triggering short-term breadth and momentum thrusts. Yet, as impressive as the display of strength was, they’re still waiting for the market to respond. Or at least the response they were hoping for. We would expect oversold conditions to reverse quickly after strong upside momentum and broadening participation. That hasn’t happened yet and bulls are showing signs of getting discouraged. If the relationship between investors and stocks isn’t going to be a two-way street, the likelihood of a broader and deeper sentiment re-set increases.

Sentiment Report Chart of the Week: Investors Not Giving Up On Stocks

[PLUS] Dynamic Portfolio Management

September 7, 2022
JC Parets

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

After reviewing the Cyclical Portfolio, we are making the active decision to sit on our hands for now. In the Tactical Opportunity Portfolio, we've made a couple of tweaks. We are seeing "Higher for longer" resonate with the bond market and are increasing exposure to one of the few areas that is actually still in an uptrend.

[PLUS] One Chart For The Weekend

September 2, 2022
JC Parets

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

The late-July breadth thrust provides a breadth thrust regime that lasts for a year (or more if we get additional breadth thrusts between now and mid-2023). In such an environment, near-term oversold conditions tend not to persist and, in fact, reverse quite quickly. One way of measuring this is to look at the percentage of world markets trading above their 50-day average. Anything above 70% is pretty good participation, whether we are in a bullish breadth thrust regime or not. Below 40% is a different story. Without a breadth thrust as support, the S&P 500 struggles to make headway when the percentage of world markets above their 50-day average collapses. But within breadth thrust regimes, it signals an oversold condition that leads to strength. 

The percentage of world markets above their 50-day average was at 90% in mid-August and is now down to just 25%. The recent breadth thrust suggests that rather than a red light arguing for caution, the signal now is a greenlight encouraging exposure.  

Breadth Thrusts & Bread Crusts: Worst Month Of The Year?

September 1, 2022
JC Parets

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

The first eight months of the year have been a grind. 

A mid-month reversal in August took the S&P 500 from a 4% gain to 4% loss for the month and the early breadth and momentum thrusts now seem like a distant memory. Two-thirds of the way through the year and we are on track for the fewest days of more new highs than new lows observed in the past two decades, and 2022 is just ahead of 2020 (and lagging only 2009) in terms of daily swings of 1% or more on the S&P 500. Weakness in stocks this year has been exacerbated by weakness in bonds, as yields have climbed to new multi-year highs. The 60/40 stock/bond benchmark portfolio is down 14% through August.

Welcome to September. If you haven’t heard, it’s the worst month of the year for stocks. Since 1950, only two months (February and September) have been down on average. This is a case were we don’t really need to focus on the exact numbers – the large red bar for September says it all:

[PLUS] Weekly Sentiment Report

August 31, 2022
JC Parets

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaway: In July, consumer expectations for stocks dropped to their lowest level since March 2009.  Excessive optimism is clearly not an issue for stocks right here. But bulls need to be resilient if the market is going to move higher. Recent breadth and momentum thrusts are fodder for optimism, but the persistent downtrend in stocks is dampening rally attempts. The latest numbers from AAII, II and NAAIM suggest questions about bullish resolve are well-founded. All have rolled over and are showing increased caution. If that continues, a broader re-set becomes more likely - one in which positioning (which has been resilient) gets more in line with sentiment.

Sentiment Report Chart of the Week: Expectations For Stocks Have Tanked

[PLUS] Weekly Market Perspectives - Trends Stymie Bullish Signals

August 30, 2022
JC Parets

From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaways:

  • Thrust signals are typically reliable indicators of strength
  • Lack of risk appetite and rising yields working against stocks
  • Without marked deterioration in macro health, we still trust the thrust

The mid-August momentum thrust was just two weeks ago, but it seems longer than that. The S&P 500 has gone from up 4% for the month to down 3% for the month, in the process giving back half of the entire rally off of the June lows. It is possible that the volatility environment produced false signals of strength, but we are not ready to jump to that conclusion. The combination momentum and breadth strength seen prior to the mid-month peak has been a typically reliable indicator that further strength lies ahead for stocks. Two weeks of price action is not enough for me to throw out 40-years worth of data. 

[PLUS] Weekly Market Notes

August 29, 2022
JC Parets
From the desk of Willie Delwiche.

Key Takeaway:

  • Powell’s tough talk justified by incoming inflation data.
  • Slowing growth unlikely to derail Fed’s plans.
  • Bull market re-birth struggling with labor pains.

Our bull market re-birth checklist took a step backward but a tough labor does not preclude a successful delivery. Without new complications from a macro perspective, we are willing to be patient and trust the thrust. At the same time, however, so far this year stocks have yet to show that they can sustain strength when yields and the dollar are rising. If the market is taking the Fed at its word, then higher bond yields are likely to be seen this year, in the US and around the world. Japanese yields are again approaching the 0.25% level that the Bank of Japan has targeted as a ceiling for yields. When that happened in Q2, the yen suffered.