Data, Earnings, Central Banks and Virus Cases In Focus

July 13, 2020 — Mitul Kotecha

Risk appetite took a turn for the better at the end of last week despite an array of the usual suspect risk factors (accelerating Covid-19 cases, US-China tensions, rich valuations). This kept the US dollar under pressure given the inverse relationship between equities and the USD over recent weeks.  Market positioning continues to show sentiment for the USD remaining negative (CFTC IMM data revealed that aggregate USD speculative positions have been net short for 15 out of the last 17 weeks, including the last 5).  Increasingly risks of a US fiscal cliff as stimulus programs run out, with Republicans and Democrats wrangling over more stimulus and US Presidential elections will be added to the list of factors testing market resilience in the days and weeks ahead.

This week there are several key data and events including China June trade data (Tue), China Q2 GDP (Thu), US June  CPI (Tue), US June retail sales (Thu), Australia June employment data and several central bank decisions including Bank of Japan (Wed), European Central Bank (Thu), Bank of Canada (Wed), Bank Indonesia (Thu), Bank of Korea (Thu), and National Bank of Poland (Tue).  Aside from economic data and events the path of virus infections will be closely watched, especially in the US given risks of a reversal of opening up measures.  Last but not least the Q2 earnings season kicks off this week, with financials in particular in focus this week.  Low real yields continue to prove supportive for equities and gold, but very weak earnings could prove to be a major test for equity markets.

On the data front, Chinese exports and imports likely fell in June, but at a slower pace than in the previous month, China’s Q2 GDP is likely to bounce, while US CPI likely got a boost from gasoline prices, and US retail sales likely recorded a sharp jump in June. Almost all of the central bank decisions this week are likely to be dull affairs, with unchanged policy decisions amid subdued inflation, although there is a high risk that Bank Indonesia eases.  The EU Leaders Summit at the end of the week will garner attention too, with any progress on thrashing out agreement on the recovery package in focus.  Watch tech stocks this week too; FANGS look overbought on technical including Relative Strength Index (RSIs) and more significantly breaching 100% Fibonacci retracement levels as does the Nasdaq index, but arguably they have looked rich in absolute terms for a while.

There has been plenty of focus on the rally in Chinese equities over recent weeks and that will continue this week.  Last week Chinese stocks had their best week in 5 years and the CSI 300 is up close to 19% year to date.  Stocks have been helped by state media stories highlighting a “healthy” bull market, but the rally is being compared to the bubble in Chinese stocks in 2014/15, with turnover and margin debt rising.  At that time stock prices rallied sharply only to collapse.   However, Chinese equity valuations are cheaper this time and many analysts still look for equities to continue to rally in the weeks ahead.  China’s authorities are also likely to be more careful about any potential bubble developing.

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Markets Facing a Test of Reality vs. Liquidity

June 28, 2020 — Mitul Kotecha

Risk assets ended last week under pressure (S&P 500 fell 2.4%) as some US states including Texas and Florida began to reverse opening measures and Anthony Fauci, the infectious diseases expert, warned that some states may have to return to full “shelter in place”.  Banks were among the worst performers even as they came through the Fed’s stress tests in reasonably good shape.  The Fed did however, cap buybacks and dividend payouts for the 33 banks that underwent tests. However, the reality is that banks were hardly likely to increase dividends over the next few months, while the 8th biggest banks had already suspended buybacks.  Perhaps what spooked markets was the news of “additional stress analyses later in the year”.

It feels like equities and risk assets in general are facing a test of reality vs. liquidity. It’s hard to fight the growth in excess liquidity global (G4 central bank balance sheets minus GDP growth) which has risen to its highest rate since Sep 2009, coinciding with a solid run in global equities over that period.  Clearly forward earnings valuations have richened but while absolute valuations appear rich (S&P forward price/earnings ratio has risen to 24.16), relative valuations ie compared to low global rates, are more attractive. This hasn’t stopped the intensification of concerns that after a solid market rally over recent months, the entry of a range of speculative investors is leading to a Minsky Moment.

Investor concerns range from the fact that the rally has been narrowly based, both in terms of the types of investors (retail investors piling in, while institutional have been more restrained) and type of stocks (momentum vs. value), the approach of US Presidential elections in November and in particular whether there could be a reversal of corporate tax cuts, as well as the potential for renewed lockdowns. Add to the mix, geopolitical concerns and a certain degree of market angst is understandable. All of this is having a growing impact on the market’s psyche even as data releases show that recovery is progressing somewhat on track, as reflected for example in the New York Fed’s weekly economic index, which has continued to become less negative and the Citi Economic Surprise Index, which is around its highest on record.

China, which was first in and now looks to be first out is a case in point, with growth data showing ongoing improvement; data today was encouraging, revealing that industrial profits rose 6% y/y in May though profits in the first five months of the year still fell 19.3%, with state-owned enterprises recording the bulk of the decline.  While there are signs that Chinese activity post-Covid is beginning to level off, domestic consumption is gradually improving. This week, market activity is likely to slow ahead of the US July 4th Independence Day holiday but there will be few key data highlights that will garnet attention, including June manufacturing PMIs in China and the US (ISM), and US June non-farm payrolls.

Posted in Asia, bank rescue, Bond markets, central banks, China, coronavirus, COVID-19, Currencies, ECB, Economics, emerging markets, equity markets, Europe, eurozone, Federal Reserve, FX, Interest rates, Monetary Policy, Politics, Trade, Trump, US, US administration. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Nervousness Creeping Back – US dollar firmer

June 22, 2020 — Mitul Kotecha

Last week ended on a sour note as concerns over second round virus cases intensified; Apple’s decision to close some US stores in states where cases are escalating added to such concerns. This overshadowed earlier news that China would maintain its commitment to buying US agricultural goods.  Although on the whole, equity markets had a positive week there is no doubt that nervousness is creeping back into the market psyche.  Indeed it is notable that the VIX equity volatility “fear gauge” ticked back up and is still at levels higher than seen over most of May.

Economic recovery is continuing, as reflected in less negative data globally, but hopes of a “V” shape recovery continue to look unrealistic.  In this respect the battle between fundamentals and liquidity continues to rage.  Economic data has clearly turned around, but the pace of improvement is proving gradual.  For example, last week’s US jobless claims data continued to trend lower, but at a slower pace than hoped for.  A second round of virus cases in several US states including Florida, Arizona and the Carolinas also suggest that while renewed lockdowns are unlikely, a return to normality will be a very slow process, with social distancing measures likely to remain in place.  Geopolitical tensions add another layer of tension for markets.  Whether its tensions between US/China, North/South Korea, India/China or the many other hot spots globally, geopolitical risks to markets are rising.

The USD has benefitted from increased market nervousness, and from US data outperformance, with US data surprises (according to the Citi economic surprise index) at around the highest on record.  JPY has bucked the trend amid higher risk aversion as it has regained some of its safe haven status. GBP was badly beaten last week selling off from technically overbought levels, amid fresh economic concerns and a dawning reality that a Brexit trade deal with the EU may be unreachable by year end.  EUR looks as though it is increasingly joining the club on its way down. Asian currencies with the highest sensitivities to USD gyrations such as KRW are most vulnerable to further USD upside in Asia.

Data highlights this week include the May US PCE Report (Fri) which is likely to reveal a bounce in personal spending, Eurozone flash June purchasing managers indices (PMIs) (Tue) which are likely to record broad increases, European Central Bank meeting minutes (Thu), which are likely to reflect a dovish stance, and several central bank decisions including Hungary (Tue), Turkey (Thu), New Zealand (Wed),  Thailand (Wed), Philippines (Thu).   The room for central banks to ease policy is reducing but Turkey, Philippines and Mexico are likely to cut policy rates this week.

 

 

Posted in Brexit, central banks, China, coronavirus, COVID-19, Currencies, ECB, Economics, Economy, emerging markets, equity markets, Europe, eurozone, Federal Reserve, India, Interest rates, Monetary Policy, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Trump, US, US administration. Tags: , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Don’t Fight The Fed, Markets Are Teflon Coated

June 7, 2020 — Mitul Kotecha

The rally in equity markets since their late March lows has been tremendous.  Despite an unrelenting chorus of doomsayers who like me have worried about the shape of recovery, markets have been impervious to bad news.  At the end of last week the May US employment report provided the latest catalyst to boost markets, after the release of data showing a shock 2.5 million increase in non-farm payrolls compared to consensus expectations of a 7.5 million decline.  The unemployment rate also surprisingly fell, to 13.3%, compared with 14.7% in April.  The data was taken as an indication that the US economy was resuming activity more quickly than expected.   As a result, the S&P 500 closed 2.6% higher on the day and almost 5% higher over the week. Another support factor for markets over the week was the European Central Bank’s expansion of its stimulus package, adding a more than expected EUR 600 billion to its asset purchase programme.

The lesson here is to not fight the Fed.  While many of us have been looking at fundamentals and surmising that fundamentals do not justify the rally in stocks, the reality is that this rally is not about fundamentals, well at least fundamentals in the traditional sense of the word.  The Fed and global central banks have been pumping in vast quantities of liquidity via quantitative easing, and this has led a massive increase in money supply in excess of economic growth.  This excess has had to find a home and equities have been such a home.  As of last week the S&P 500 recorded its biggest ever 50-day rally, up 37.7% and shows no sign of turning even as forward price/earnings ratios look increasingly stretched and economic activity appears likely to return only slowly, not withstanding the jump in May payrolls.

There are clearly plenty of risks on the horizon as mentioned in my previous blog posts, with a key one being the fraught relationship between the US and China.  However, for now markets don’t really care or at least are choosing not to care.  What started as a narrowly based risk rally has increasingly drawn in a wider base of investors who have increasingly been caught in what is commonly termed as FOMO or the fear of missing out.  This is dangerous to say the least, as it suggests that investors are only jumping on to avoid missing out on the rally rather than due to any fundamental rationale.  Nonetheless, the risk of not joining the rally is to miss out on even further potential gains.  The rally in risk assets has continued to hurt the dollar, which slid further over the last week, but is looking somewhat oversold based on some technical indicators.

Direction this week will come from the FOMC meeting on Wednesday although it seems unlikely that the Fed will announce anything new.  Markets will be particularly watchful for any indication on whether the Fed is moving towards enhancing its forward guidance.  In the Eurozone, the Eurogroup meeting will garner attention as Finance Ministers discuss the EU’s proposed Recovery Fund.  In Asia, China’s May trade released earlier today data will set the tone for the week.  The data revealed that China’s May exports fell less than expected, dropping 3.3% y/y USD terms, while imports dropped much more than expected, falling by 16.7% y/y.   Importantly, Chinese imports from the US declined further, highlighting the lack of progress towards the targets set out in the “Phase 1” trade deal.

Posted in Asia, Asian currencies, Australia, central banks, China, coronavirus, COVID-19, Currencies, ECB, Economics, Economy, emerging markets, equity markets, Europe, eurozone, Federal Reserve, FX, Interest rates, Monetary Policy, Trade, Trump, US, US administration. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Revoking Hong Kong’s Special Status – Data/Events This Week.

May 31, 2020 — Mitul Kotecha

In a further escalation of US-China tensions, President Trump revoked Hong Kong’s (HK) “Special Status” as revealed in a speech on Friday.  What does this mean? At this stage there is scant detail to go on.  Trump also promised to implement sanctions against individuals in China and HK who he deems responsible for eroding HK’s autonomy, but no names were given. Markets reacted with relief, with US equities closing higher on Friday, perhaps in relief that that the measures outlined by Trump were not more severe, or that the lack of detail meant that there could be various exemptions.

On the face of it, removing Hong Kong’s “Special Status” would deal a heavy blow to Hong Kong’s economy and to US companies there, while hurting China’s economy too.  However, while still an important financial centre, Hong Kong’s economy relative to China is far smaller than it was at the time of the handover in 1997, at around 3%.   As such, removing Hong Kong’s “Special Status” could be less painful on China than it would have been in the past.  This may explain why the US administration is focusing on other measures such as student visa restrictions, sanctioning individuals, restricting investment etc.  Even so, tensions will continue to cast a shadow over markets for some time to come and will likely heat up ahead of US elections in November.

Data wise, the week began with the release of China’s May manufacturing and non-manufacturing purchasing manager’s indices (PMIs) today.  The data revealed a slight softening in the manufacturing PMI to 50.6 in May from 50.8 in April, indicating that manufacturing activity continues to remain in expansion.  However, the trade related components were weak, suggesting that China’s exports and imports outlook is likely to come under growing pressure, weighing on overall recovery.  China’s currency, the renminbi, has been weakening lately against the US dollar and against its peers, though it rallied against the dollar on Friday.  Further gradual weakness in the renminbi looks likely over coming weeks.

This week there will be attention on various data releases and events including US May jobs data, ISM manufacturing, European Central Bank (ECB) and Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) policy decisions and UK-EU Brexit discussions.  Of course markets will remain tuned into Covid-19 developments as economies around the world continue to open up.   While the US jobs and ISM data will likely remain very weak, the silver lining is that the extent of weakness is likely to lessen in the months ahead.  Consensus forecasts predict a massive 8 million drop in US non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate to increase to close to 20%.  The RBA is likely to leave policy unchanged at 0.25% while the ECB is expected to step up its asset purchases. Meanwhile UK-EU Brexit discussions are likely to continue to be fraught with difficulty.

 

 

 

Posted in Asia, Australia, Brexit, central banks, China, coronavirus, COVID-19, Currencies, ECB, Economics, Economy, emerging markets, equity markets, Europe, eurozone, FX, Hong Kong, Interest rates, Monetary Policy, Trade, Trump, UK, US, US administration. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »
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