More Unforced Errors

What’s in Today’s Edition:

  • More Unforced Errors

Stock futures are bouncing modestly this morning after the worst Christmas Eve selloff in history took place on Monday which saw all of the major indexes fall well over 2%.

News flows were mostly quiet over the last 48 hours however President Trump did make supportive comments regarding Secretary Mnuchin after he spooked markets Monday and continued to blame the Fed for the recent selloff.

There were no economic reports overnight.

There is not a lot on the calendar today as there are no Fed officials scheduled to speak and there is just one economic report to watch: S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller HPI (E: 0.4%).

As a result, investor focus will remain on U.S. politics and global growth as they have been the main reasons for the most recent stock declines.

Long Term Entry Point?

What’s in Today’s Report:

  • Why I’m Buying Some Stock in My IRA Today
  • Weekly Economic Cheat Sheet
  • Weekly Market Preview

Futures are seeing a modest oversold bounce following a generally quiet weekend.

If there is a “reason’ for this modest bounce in futures it was the administration trying to reassure investors over the weekend.  Treasury Secretary Mnuchin tried to calm markets by 1) Stating Trump knows he can’t fire Fed Chair Powell and 2)  Calling the heads of major U.S. banks to ensure there were no liquidity problems (there weren’t).

There was no notable economic data or U.S./China trade updates over the weekend.

Today there are no economic reports and no Fed speakers,  and the markets close early (1:00 p.m. ET).

Sevens Report’s Tom Essaye quoted in Bloomberg on December 2, 2019

Sevens Report’s Tom Essaye quoted in The Wall Street Journal on December 12, 2018

Sevens Report’s Tom Essaye quoted in The Wall Street Journal on December 12, 2018. Read the full article here.

Sevens Report’s Tom Essaye quoted in Barron’s on December 12, 2018

Sevens Report’s Tom Essaye quoted in Barron’s on December 12, 2018. Read the full article here.

Sevens Report’s Tom Essaye quoted in Barron’s on December 13, 2018

Tom Essaye quoted in Barron’s on December 13, 2018. Read the full article here.

Sevens Report’s Tom Essaye appeared on Cheddar on December 12, 2018

Sevens Report’s Tom Essaye appeared on Cheddar on December 12, 2018. He breaks down how Trump’s optimism on trade talks, and impacted the markets.

Watch the entire clip here.

Bounce Coming?

What’s in Today’s Report:

  • Why We Could Be Close to a Bounce

Futures are modestly lower following the surprise resignation of Defense Secretary Mattis.

Mattis was seen as a stabilizing force in the administration, so his resignation is an incremental negative on general sentiment and that’s pressuring stocks this morning.

Economically, Q3 British GDP met expectations at 0.6%.

Today there is a lot of important economic data including (in order of importance):  Durable Goods (E: 1.4%), Core PCE Price Index (E: 0.2%), Final Q3 GDP (E: 3.5%) and Consumer Sentiment (E: 97.5).  The key numbers will be the Core PCE Price Index (it needs to stay around 2.00%) and Durable Goods (they need to be stable) as they can give us a stock positive “Goldilocks” outcome.

Additionally, Fed Governor Williams will by on CNBC at 10:00 a.m., and if he’s dovish that might help stocks rally.

Finally, today is quadruple witching options expiration.

FOMC Takeaways (Not Good)

What’s in Today’s Report:

  • FOMC Decision Takeaways – Not Good.

Futures are slightly higher as markets bounce following Wednesday’s post Fed selloff.

It was a quiet night of news as there were no new headlines on trade, and most commentary focused on the takeaways of the Fed decision.

Economically, UK data was mixed as Nov. Retail Sales were strong (1.4% vs. (E) 0.3%) while Dec. Distributive Trades were weak (-13 vs. (E) 15).

Today focus will remain on the economic data, which becomes even more important in the face of the not dovish enough Fed.  We get to notable reports today, Jobless Claims (E: 220K) and Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey (E: 16.5) and if the later misses expectations, look for more selling.

FOMC Preview

What’s in Today’s Report:

  • FOMC Preview

US stock futures are enjoying a pre-Fed bounce this morning due to positioning and short-covering as stocks remain oversold after the steep losses Friday and Monday.

Despite the bounce in futures, news flows were actually bearish since yesterday’s close as both FDX and MU made cautious comments about slowing global growth in their respective earnings calls and both cut guidance for 2019.

In the US today, there is one economic report due to be released: Existing Home Sales (E: 5.190M) and a “beat” would be well received after the string of soft housing data points of recent, but frankly all eyes will be on the Fed and the report will not materially move markets.

The New York session is likely to be slow in the morning with traders positioning into the Fed. The FOMC Meeting Announcement and Forecasts will hit at 2:00 p.m. ET and then Fed Chair Powell’s press conference is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET.