The equally-weighted Value Line Index (roughly 1700 issues) is right on the cusp of breaking out to multi-year highs, following consecutive declines of roughly -25% and -45% over the last 2+ years. This is about as good of an indication we have that participation is broadening under the surface. The recent outperformance from small-caps, trading to 5-month relative highs last week, is also suggestive of this positive shift. Continued improvement from credit – BB vs. BBB corporate spreads hit recovery lows on Friday – is also historically supportive for small-caps.
If there is reason for some tactical prudence, it comes from the message of very low put/call ratios just a week out from the election. What strikes us is how different this looks from the days leading up to the 2016 election… put volume was surging then, and it’s hard to keep a market down for very long when that’s the case. We’re not sure what would be the catalyst for a correction or consolidation – Blue Wave? Split Government? Trump wins? Contested Election? – but that’s not the point… the good news is the market is in a clear uptrend, different than the set-up that preceded the 2000 election chaos. By the time Election Day 2000 was here, the S&P was already in a downtrend – the die was likely cast no matter how Bush vs. Gore turned out.
It’s hardly pronounced, but Banks have shown some life over recent days – particularly vs. Gold and vs. REITs. Yields are up and a steeper curve no doubt helps, and we’re curious how 10 year treasuries respond to 200-day moving average resistance (the first time it has seen it nearly 2 years). The equity and macro tone all summer and fall has argued for higher nominal yields, and that remains our best guess today. Homebuilders have quietly started to soften as yields have pushed higher, though ultimately we view this as corrective vs. trend changing. Both the Autos and Hotels/Restaurants groups flipped positive in our relative trend work last week.
EITHER THE CONSENSUS IS WRONG OR STOCKS ARE NOT A VERY GOOD PREDICTOR OF THIS ELECTION
We copied the headline above straight from our October 18, 2016 report. At the time, stocks were down 2.5%, and, if the historical pattern held, stocks were indicating what seemed unbelievable at the time: that Trump would beat Clinton. Like today, investors believed that “other” factors were more important for stocks than the election, and the expectation that the Fed would begin to raise interest rates was weighing on stocks. Today’s debate is similar in that the explanation for stocks being up is due to “other” factors like monetary and fiscal policy stimulus coupled with the promise of vaccine approvals coming online.
As we enter into the second full week of Corporate earnings in the US, we are pleasantly surprised with where we are at. The market has had it correct, and if anyone is questioning the market rally, the data below should answer your questions:
Source: Strategas
Source: Factset
Sincerely,
Fortem Financial
(760) 206-8500
team@fortemfin.com
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