Market tensions set to return

August 27, 2012 — Mitul Kotecha

Having returned from my summer break it appears that markets are in reasonable shape. Volatility is low, while equities have registered solid gains over recent weeks and markets in general appear to be more settled. In part this is due to hopes and expectations of further stimulus measures in the US and Europe. The coming weeks may be much less calm than experienced over the summer.

Having lost steam over recent weeks the USD may benefit from renewed market nervousness over coming weeks. On the one hand there are hopes of more Fed stimulus in September following comments by Fed Chairman Bernanke that there is “scope for further action”. More information will likely come from the Jackson Hole Fed symposium on Friday and expectations of more quantitative easing could restrain the USD.

On the other hand, it increasingly appears that the summer rally in risk assets is beginning to fade, a factor that will help the USD. The latter effect is likely to be more dominant on the USD especially as it is far from clear that another round of Fed quantitative easing will be USD negative. My analysis suggests that the impact on the USD from QE is ambiguous.

There is plenty of event risk over coming weeks which could feed potential nervousness in the market and help the USD. Markets have to contend with the IMF / EU review of Portugal’s aid program tomorrow which takes place against the background of reports that deficit targets have slipped amid weakening growth. In addition, the 6 September European Central Bank (ECB) meeting will be a major focus given expectations of a further cut in policy rates and other policy steps to purchase Eurozone peripheral debt

Aside from these events, Dutch general elections on 12 September could provoke more uncertainty given that polls currently show a split outcome while the decision by the German constitutional court on the ESM permanent bailout fund on the same date will add to tensions especially as the outcome remains unclear.

Meanwhile, discussions and speculation on Greece’s future within the Eurozone or at least some easing in its bailout terms and a potential formal request for Spanish bailout from the EFSF temporary bailout fund will run alongside these other uncertainties.

To cap it all off, these events combined with the the Eurogroup / Ecofin meeting on 14-15 September will leave markets with plenty to fret about over coming weeks. EUR/USD will struggle to extend upon its gains against this background, with moves above 1.2600 likely to provide better levels to sell EUR.

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EUR/USD edging towards 1.20

July 23, 2012 — Mitul Kotecha

There hasn’t been much of a respite before Eurozone concerns have resurfaced. Spain and Greece are once again in the spotlight, with the formal approval of a bank bailout for the former providing little solace as speculation of a full scale sovereign bailout grows. The fact that two Spanish regions have asked for government help, with more likely in the pipeline, has only acted to reinforce such concerns.

As for Greece, the halting of a bailout tranche due to failure to meet targets, the European Central Bank (ECB) decision not to accept Greek debt as collateral and the visit of the Troika (EC, ECB. IMF) will keep markets nervous as default fears intensify. Unsurprisingly Eurozone peripheral bond yield have come under renewed pressure while core Eurozone yields have turned negative in some cases.

Spanish yields have moved above the critical 7% threshold while the EUR has tanked versus USD and on the crosses as it increasingly takes on a funding currency role and makes its way towards the 1.20 level versus USD that I expect it to test soon.

Hopes of further monetary stimulus, especially in the US and China have provided some support to markets recently but the provision of drugs will not cure the patient this time around. Even relatively decent US corporate earnings, with around 2/3 of S&P earnings released beating admittedly lowered expectations so far, have failed to stop the rout.

Big cap defensive and high dividend companies have fared well, giving a degree of resilience to US equities which are up over 8% (S&P 500) this year, but with around 171 companies set to deliver results this week it is not clear that this will continue.

Weakening US data, with a deceleration in US Q2 GDP set to be revealed this week will provide more evidence that US economic momentum is slowing. Nonetheless, as long as US Fed quantitative easing is not an imminent prospect the USD will likely find plenty of support as risk aversion creeps back into the market psyche.

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No respite for the Euro

July 11, 2012 — Mitul Kotecha

Following a relatively positive session for European stocks yesterday, the enthusiasm did not carry through to US markets which registered losses overnight. Commodity prices dropped led by gold while equity volatility rose.

Marginal progress at the meeting of European Finance officials, with the decision to furnish Spain with the first EUR 30 billion of funds for its banks, helped sentiment in Europe. Moreover, officials edged closer to purchasing bonds in the secondary market by agreeing a separate accord to use the European Central Bank (ECB) as a buying agent for bond purchases by the bailout funds.

However, questions such as how Greece would get through next month’s bond redemptions following a delay in a loan tranche for the country were left unanswered while the timing of setting up a single banking supervisor was also unclear. Meanwhile, the German constitutional court hearings on complaints about the ESM bailout fund mean that the ESM’s implementation continues to be delayed.

All-in-all, despite the marginal progress made yesterday there is a long climb ahead before markets can be appeased. Coupled with growing concerns about the US earnings outlook following several profit warnings by US companies market sentiment will remain fragile, with little headway likely for risk assets. Hopes of further Fed stimulus may offer some solace to markets but the reality is that the Fed is unlikely to be close to a further round of quantitative easing.

High beta / risk currencies remain pressured although it is notable that there is at least a little relative resistance from the likes of the AUD as indicated by the drop in EUR/AUD. European officials are doing just enough to prevent the EUR from gapping lower but not enough to enable the currency to rally. Having already dropped by around 3% against the USD since the start of the month EUR/USD looks set to test tech technical support around 1.2193 before next support around 1.2151.

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Progress at last in Europe

June 30, 2012 — Mitul Kotecha

As last week progressed markets had been increasingly poised for disappointment at the EU Summit at the end of the week. Given such low expectations it was probably not so difficult to exceed them. In the event there was progress towards breaking the vicious cycle between banks and sovereigns. The immediate reaction to the announcements from the EU President was clearly positive, with risk assets rallying sharply. EUR/USD had rallied by over 2 big figures from a low just above 1.24 as a massive short squeeze helped propel it higher.

With their backs against the wall EU leaders finally agreed upon short term stabilisation measures as well as long term measures towards closer European integration. Under pressure from other leaders including French President Hollande, German leader Merkel obviously softened her stance to agree on some of these measures. The deal goes to show that leaders in Europe can act when needed or at least when desperate which is how they were after 13 hours of talks and the reality that bond yields in Spain and Portugal were at unsustainable levels.

Short term measures in particular utilising the EFSF / ESM bailout fund to recapitalize banks directly and the creation of a European banking supervisory body was a shot in the arm for Italian and Spanish bonds and the EUR. The dropping of the condition that EU governments be given preferred creditor status for loans to Spanish banks bodes well for peripheral Eurozone sovereign debt markets as it means that private investors will not be put at the back of the que in any debt restructuring.

While the measures mark an important step in the direction of providing clear resolutions to the Eurozone crisis there is a very long way to go. Admitedly the use of the bailout funds is positive but at some point markets will ponder the fact that while they could handle a bailout of Spain the funds are clearly insufficient to cope with a bailout of Italy should it be needed. If the steps announced at the EU summit lead to a sustained drop in peripheral country bond yields then the prospects of more bailouts will be limited but this is by no means guaranteed.

Whether the risk rally is sustained into next week depends in part on whether the European Central Bank responds with actions of its own by cutting interest rates or by indicating the use of other measures such as restarting its securities markets purchases program. The risk remains that the rally will likely fade as skepticism sets in again once again and more details are sought.

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More bad news in Europe, INR not impressed by new measures

June 26, 2012 — Mitul Kotecha

Nervousness or simply just impatience is growing ahead of the EU Summit beginning on Thursday. The formal application by Spain for a banking bailout of up to EUR 100 billion has started the process while Greece is looking to renegotiate the terms of its bailout following the formation of a new government in the country.

European equities are not reacting well, however, with sharp declines registered yesterday following by drops in US stocks. Risk assets have come under pressure as noted by the sharp 12.5% jump in the VIX index overnight while the USD index continued to strengthen.

Interestingly despite the rise in risk aversion, many high beta currencies are holding up reasonably well. Indeed, those with the biggest sensitivities to risk such as ZAR, MXN, PLN and EUR have failed to drop while implied currency volatility has been falling over recent weeks. This may reflect the beginning of summer trading conditions rather than resilience in currency markets but nonetheless, it suggests a dose of FX calm ahead of the EU summit.

EUR/USD came under pressure hitting a low around 1.2471 failed to extend losses. The bad news intensified and included the formal Spanish bank aid request, Moody’s downgrade of 28 Spanish banks’ ratings, Fitch’s decision to cut Cyprus’ ratings to junk status, lack of concessions from German Chancellor Merkel who maintained her strong stance against common Eurobonds and inflexibility about the use of rescue funds. As a result it looks increasingly unlikely that a concrete plan will emerge from this week’s EU summit. EUR/USD will find technical support around 1.2442 and resistance around 1.2584.

One currency that has failed to perk up is the Indian rupee. New measures announced yesterday to shore up the INR including a $5 billion increase in the foreign investment cap in government bonds and an increase in the limit for domestic firms to borrow from overseas of up to $40 billion, failed to have more than a fleeting impact on the currency.

What were missing were measures to increase exports and cut excise duties. The measures left markets who had expected much more, with a taste of disappointment. While the measures are a decent starting point clearly much more will need to be done to appease markets and reverse the gloom among INR bears.

Posted in eurozone, Greece, India, Spain. Tags: , , , , . Leave a Comment »
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