Growth/Risk Asset Rally Dichotomy To Continue

January 3, 2021 — Mitul Kotecha

Happy New Year!  2020 ended with record highs for US stock markets, capping off a solid year for risk assets amid massive and ongoing central bank liquidity injections.  In contrast the dollar index (DXY) ended the year languishing around its lowest levels since April 2018.  The dichotomy between the sharp deterioration in global growth and risk asset performance has widened dramatically.  Given the acceleration in COVID-19 cases over recent weeks and consequent lockdowns, especially in the US and Europe, this divergence is likely to be sustained and even widen further over the next few months, at least until various vaccines finally manage to stem the damage.

Two of the biggest stumbling blocks for markets over recent weeks/months have been US fiscal stimulus and Brexit.  Both have now passed with last minute deals, setting the scene for a clearer path in the weeks ahead though political obstacles have not disappeared by any means, with the Georgia Senate run-off elections scheduled for Tuesday.  The outcome will be crucial for control of the US Senate with Democrats needing wins in both races to take over. However, the races are too close to call according to polls. Separately the US Congress will meet on Wednesday to declare the winner of the Presidential election. 

On the data and events front the week begins with an OPEC+ meeting tomorrow, with officials deliberating on whether to expand output by up to 500k barrels.  There are also a series of December Markit manufacturing purchasing managers indices (PMI) tomorrow including in various countries in Asia as well as the release of the Caixin manufacturing PMI in China.  US data will take centre stage with the release of the ISM manufacturing survey (Tuesday), Federal Reserve FOMC minutes (Wednesday) and non-farm payrolls (Friday).  Overall, markets are likely to begin the year much as the same way they left 2020, with risk appetite remaining firm. 

One interesting observation as we kick off 2021 is that so many investor and analysts’ views are aligned in the same direction (long Emerging markets, short USD, long value stocks, etc), and positioning is already looking stretched in various asset classes as a result.  While I would caution against catching a falling knife there is a clearly a risk of jumping on the same bandwagon as everybody else in a market that is increasingly positioned in one direction.  Overall, while the risk rally is likely to continue to have legs in the months ahead, investors should be on their toes in the weeks ahead given risks of a positioning squeeze in various asset classes.

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Still Buying On Dips

October 11, 2020 — Mitul Kotecha

US stocks had a positive end to the week despite the ongoing uncertainty over a new fiscal stimulus package.  A buy on dips mentality continues to hold on any sell off in equities and risk assets in general.  Although President Trump is now calling for a much larger stimulus, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin has only edged close to Democrats demands for a $2.2 trillion stimulus, by offering $1.8 trillion.  This was subsequently rejected by House speaker Nancy Pelosi.  A deal this side of the election still looks unlikely given the differences between the two sides in not just the size, but also the content of further stimulus.  Either way it’s doubtful this will stop equity markets from moving higher in the interim.

Although markets will continue to keep one eye on the approach of US elections this week – especially on whether President Trump can try to claw back some of the lead that Democratic Presidential contender Joe Biden has built according to recent polls – it is a busy one for events and data, especially in Asia.  Key US data releases include US September CPI inflation (Monday) and retail sales (Fri) while in Australia a speech by the RBA governor (Thu) and employment data (Fri) will be in focus.  In Asia monetary policy decisions by central banks in Indonesia (Tue), Singapore (Wed) and Korea (Wed) will be in focus though no changes in policy are expected from any of them. 

In Singapore, the 6-monthly policy decision by the Monetary Authority of Singapore is unlikely to deliver any major surprises.  Singapore’s monetary policy is carried out via its exchange rate and the MAS is likely to keep the slope, mid-point and width of the Singapore dollar (SGD) nominal effective exchange rate (NEER) band unchanged amid signs of improvement in the economy. Singapore’s government has announced several fiscal stimulus packages (February 18, March 26, April 6, April 21, May 26, August 17) helping to provide much needed support to the economy, with total stimulus estimated to amount to just over SGD 100bn.  Much of the heavy lifting to help support the economic recovery is likely to continue to come from fiscal spending.

In Indonesia, the central bank, Bank Indonesia (BI), has been on hold since July and a similar outcome is expected at its meeting on Tuesday, with the 7-day reverse repo likely to be left unchanged at 4%. However, the risk is skewed towards easing. Since the last meeting the economy has suffered setbacks. Manufacturing confidence deteriorated in Sep, consumer confidence has also slipped while Inflation continues to remain benign. However, BI may want to see signs of greater stability/appreciation in the Indonesia rupiah (IDR) before cutting rates further.

Chinese data including September Trade data and CPI inflation (both on Thursday) will also be scrutinised and will likely add to the growing evidence of economic resilience, that has helped to push China’s currency, the renminbi (CNY) persistently stronger over recent weeks.  Indeed, the CNY and its offshore equivalent CNH, have been the best performing Asian currencies over the last few months.  This is a reflection of the fact that China’s economy is rapidly emerging from the Covid crisis and is likely to be only one of a few countries posting positive growth this year; recent data has revealed both strengthening supply and demand side activity, amid almost full opening up of China’s economy.

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US Elections Take Yet More Twists & Turns

October 4, 2020 — Mitul Kotecha

Amidst mixed messages from the White House about President’s Trump’s health and a growing circle of US administration officials and Senate Republicans infected with Covid-19, markets will kick of this week with many questions about the running of government, prospects for fresh fiscal stimulus and the nomination of the new Supreme Court Justice. President Trump pushed for stimulus in tweet while in hospital but obstacles in the Senate remain, including the fact that the Senate has adjourned until Oct 19, a factor that will also delay the Supreme Court confirmation process. 

In what was already an election fraught with various issues, President Trump’s Covid infection has added another layer of uncertainty.  The fact that several of his campaign aides have tested positive also complicates his ability to campaign to try to close the gap with ex- VP Biden.  There is also the question of whether the President will be well enough to take part in the second Presidential debate scheduled for October 15.  Markets initial sharp negative reaction to the news that Trump had contracted the virus, on Friday was tempered by the end of the session suggesting some calm.  However, every piece of news on Trump’s health will be closely scrutinized in the days ahead.  

The US dollar ended last week firm and this trend is likely to continue given the uncertainty about events in the weeks ahead, which despite the fact that much of this uncertainty is US led, will still likely lead to some safe haven dollar demand. 

A weaker than consensus US September jobs report didn’t help markets at the end of last week, with non-farm payrolls coming at 661k (consensus 859k) while a 0.5% drop in the unemployment rate was due a drop in the participation rate.  US non-farm payrolls are still down 10.7 million from the levels seen in February, highlighting the still significant pressure on the US labour market despite the job gains over recent months. 

Attention this week will focus on Federal Reserve Chair Powell’s speech on Tuesday and Fed FOMC minutes on Wednesday, which will be scrutinised for details on how the Fed will implement average inflation targeting.  Also on tap is the US Vice Presidential debate on Wed between Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris, which hopefully will not be a fractious as the debate between President Trump and ex-Vice President Biden.  

Monetary Policy rate decisions in Australia (consensus 0.25%) on Tuesday and in Poland (consensus 0.1%) on Wednesday as well as the Australian Federal budget on Tuesday will also garner attention this week. 

Posted in Australia, central banks, coronavirus, COVID-19, Currencies, Economics, Economy, Federal Reserve, Fiscal/Budget, FX, Interest rates, Monetary Policy, Politics, Trump, US, US administration. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

US Earnings, Virus Cases, Dollar & Data

July 20, 2020 — Mitul Kotecha

Last week US equities registered gains, led by value rather than momentum stocks, with US equities closing higher for a third straight week amid low volumes and declining volatility.  However, the S&P 500 is still marginally lower year to date, compared to a 17% gain in the tech heavy Nasdaq index.  In theory this implies more room to catch up for value stocks vs. momentum but I wouldn’t bank on it. If the surge in virus cases equates to renewed lockdowns, the value stock story will likely fail to gain traction until either the virus curve flattens again or a vaccine is found.

Unfortunately Covid-19 infections continue to accelerate, with more than 14 million cases confirmed globally, but mortality rates are likely to be key to the extent that lockdowns intensify. US, Latin America and India are at the forefront, risking another downturn in global activity if lockdowns intensify at a time that concerns about a fiscal cliff in the US have grown.  All of this has to put against vaccine hopes, with some success in various trials, but nothing imminent on the horizon.

Meanwhile the US dollar (USD) remains under pressure, continuing its grind lower since the start of this month, with the euro (EUR) capitalizing on USD weakness to extend gains as it targets EURUSD 1.15.  The USD has maintained its negative relationship with risk, and sentiment for the currency has continued to sour as risk appetite has strengthened.  It’s hard to see the USD turning around soon, especially given uncertainty about renewed US lockdowns, fiscal cliff and US elections.

Over the weekend European Union leaders’ discussions over the “recovery fund” failed to reach a deal though there has been some softening from the “frugal four” on the issue of grants vs. loans.  However, after a third day of meetings there was still no agreement on how much of the recovery fund should be distributed via grants versus loans.  Despite the lack of agreement EUR continues to remain firm against USD and approaching key resistance around 1.1495.

US Q2 earnings remain in focus and this week is particularly busy, with tech earnings under scrutiny (including IBM today).  Last week banks were the main highlight of the earnings calendar, with US banks reporting a very strong quarter in trading revenues amid heightened market uncertainty and volatility, but large loan loss provisions. Aside from earnings expect more jawboning from US officials over China. While there is some focus on whether the US will target Chinese banks with sanctions, it is still likely that the US administration will avoid measures that will roil markets ahead of US elections.  

On the data and event front, highlights over this week include Australia RBA minutes (Tue), Eurozone PMIs (Fri) and policy rate decisions in Hungary (Tue), Turkey (Thu), South Africa (Thu), and Russia (Fri).

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

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.

Posted in Asia, Asian currencies, Australia, Bank of Japan, Canada, central banks, China, coronavirus, COVID-19, Currencies, ECB, Economics, emerging markets, equity markets, eurozone, Fiscal/Budget, FX, Indonesia, Interest rates, Japan, Monetary Policy, Politics, South Korea, Trade, Trump, US, US administration. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »
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