One thing unique about the market is that the game is never over. There aren't four 15-min quarters or two 20-min halves like in sports.
In those endeavors there is a beginning and an end.
You know who won (or who tied in some cases). But the match is over, and there will be another one in a few days or a few months, depending on the sport.
In the market, it never ends. This can cause issues psychologically, so it's something we should all be aware of and keep in mind.
But if you ask me, currently the bulls are scoring a lot more points. This is the first time we've seen that since Q1 this year, when the bears started running up the score.
Look at the S&P500 break out to new all-time highs relative to US Treasury Bonds.
You know me, I'm skeptical of everything and everyone.
You have to earn my trust.
And if there's one indicator in this market that has earned my trust and attention over the years, it's the relationship between Consumer Staples and the rest of the market. More specifically, Staples relative to Consumer Discretionary stocks.
You see, when portfolio managers believe stocks are going higher, they are going to overweight Consumer Discretionary stocks. These are things like Retailers, Automobiles and Housing stocks. Areas where "Consumers" spend their "Discretionary" Income.
Consumer Staples, on the other hand, are things "Consumers" are going to spend money on regardless of economic conditions, therefore being "Staples". Think Toothpaste, Laundry Detergent, Beer, Soda and Cigarettes.
From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza and Ian Culley @Ianculley
I was talking to the team earlier this week and mentioned that I was having a hard time writing. Grant and Ian were quick to remind me that it's probably because "nothing new is happening!"
They were right. Until now...
We finally got a major resolution in what we consider one of the most important charts in the world these days.
I'm talking about the US 10-year yield reclaiming that critical 1.40% level this week. And this begs the question as to what a rising rate environment might mean for investor portfolios.
Well, one thing we know for sure is we want to stay away from bonds... unless we're shorting them.
But how do we want to position ourselves in the stock market if yields are breaking out?
It's simple really. Some stocks do better with rising/higher rates, while others thrive in markets characterized by low growth and low yields. If this is the beginning of a fresh move higher for yields, then we want to be focused on buying the stocks that are likely to benefit the most.
Every year in the Spring we hear about "Sell in May and Go Away".
And this year that would have worked out well for you. That's when the NYSE Advance-Decline line peaked. That's when the NYSE stocks really began their drawdowns. That's when the new 52-week high list peaked on the NYSE.
From the desk of Steven Strazza @Sstrazza and Grant Hawkridge @granthawkridge
In today's post, we’re going to do an update on some of our favorite and most essential intermarket indicators. We’ve also updated our risk checklist so we can discuss the changes that have occurred over the past week or so.
Are market participants embracing more or less risk these days?
We’ll get there.
We've been obnoxious about our theme that this remains a messy environment for stocks, which is nothing but classic "year two" bull market behavior.
But guess what: That’s just what it is right now. You have to play the cards you’re dealt, and right now they’re not the best. This is particularly true for trend-followers like ourselves.
Let’s talk about why.
Our custom “Risk-On” and “Risk-Off” indexes have been a perfect illustration of the 2021 market environment.
This is what a hot mess looks like… and it’s true for both custom indexes as well as the ratio of the two!
Welcome to our latest RPP Report, where we publish return tables for various asset classes and categories, along with commentary on each.
Looking at the past helps put the future into context. In this post, we review the absolute and relative trends at play and preview some of the things we’re watching to profit in the weeks and months ahead.
We consider this our weekly state of the union address, as we break down and reiterate both our tactical and structural outlook on various asset classes and discuss the most important themes and developments currently playing out in markets all around the world.