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What Is the “Smart Market” Telling Us? (Part I)

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What Is the “Smart Market” Telling Us? (Part I) : Start a free trial of The Sevens Report.

What’s in Today’s Report:

  • What Is the Smart Market Telling Us? (Part I)
  • May ISM Manufacturing Index Takeaways
  • OPEC+ Decision Takeaways – Focus Shifts to Demand

Markets are trading with a risk-off tone globally as U.S. stock futures are tracking overseas equities lower while Treasuries maintain a strong safe-haven bid amid worries about global growth ahead of more key economic data today.

Overnight, Korean CPI fell to 2.7% vs. (E) 2.8% and Swiss CPI was unchanged at 1.4% vs. (E) 1.6%. German Unemployment was also steady at 5.9%, meeting estimates. The lack of positive response to the easing inflation data underscores increasing growth concerns.

Looking into today’s session focus will be on economic data early with JOLTS (E: 8.4 million), Factory Orders (E: 0.7%), and Motor Vehicle Sales (E: 15.8 million) all due to be released.

There are no Fed speakers or major Treasury auctions today, leaving the economic data releases the main potential market catalysts. If the data disappoints, growth worries could see the early risk-off money flows accelerate, however, “goldilocks” data could help stocks continue to stabilize after last week’s spike in volatility.

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Is Bad Economic Data Starting to Pressure Earnings?

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Is Bad Economic Data Starting to Pressure Earnings? Start a free trial of The Sevens Report.

What’s in Today’s Report:

  • Is Bad Economic Data Starting to Pressure Earnings?
  • EIA Analysis and Oil Market Update

Futures are modestly lower again following more disappointing earnings and another hot global inflation print.

DELL (down 15% pre-market) became the latest non-AI tech company to post disappointing results and that’s weighing on futures.

Economically, the EU flash HICP (their CPI) rose more than expected at 2.9% vs. (E) 2.7% y/y and that’s pushing back on expectations for multiple ECB rate cuts this year.

Today brings the biggest economic report of the week, the Core PCE Price Index (E: 0.2% m/m, 2.8% y/y).  Markets will want to see a number at, or ideally below, expectations to further ease inflation anxiety and pressure Treasury yields. If investors get that number this morning, expect a solid bounce back rally in stocks and bonds.  The other notable number today is the Chicago PMI (E: 40.8) but barring a major surprise that shouldn’t move markets.

Regarding the Trump guilty verdict, as we covered in Thursday’s Report, this could result in some temporary volatility in select sectors (oil and gas, industrials, financials) but we do not view this event as a material influence on markets.

Finally, there is one Fed speaker today, Bostic at 6:15 p.m. ET but he shouldn’t move markets.

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The market just seems like it can’t find the middle

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The market just seems like it can’t find the middle: Sevens Report Editor, Tom Essaye, Quoted in Barron’s

The Stock Market Keeps Going Back and Forth on Interest Rates. How to Play It.

“The market just seems like it can’t find the middle,” Sevens Report Research’s Tom Essaye told Barron’s in a phone interview.

Essaye says he can make the case that the economy is slowing, or not, based on a wide swath of data that’s available. That’s why every individual release has so much sway on the market’s day-to-day. Stocks were mixed on Tuesday, aside from tech, after Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said the Federal Reserve hasn’t formally taken rate hikes off the table and is prepared to keep rates steady until inflation hits the central bank’s 2% target.

“This is the world we’re in for now, until economic data gives us a clear direction as to where we’re going,” Essaye says. “I think we just sort of have to brace ourselves for this kind of back and forth. I think the net result for investors is that there’s just going to be more elevated volatility.”

Also, click here to view the full Barron’s article published on May 28th, 2024. However, to see the Sevens Report’s full comments on the current market environment sign up here.

It’ll be Very Hard for This Market to RallyIf you want research that comes with no long term commitment, yet provides independent, value added, plain English analysis of complex macro topics, then begin your Sevens Report subscription today by clicking here.

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Investors still view ‘bad data as good for stocks’

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Investors still view ‘bad data as good for stocks’: Sevens Report Editor, Tom Essaye, Quoted in Barron’s

Nvidia Earnings Spark a Rally in Tech Stocks

“For now, investors still view ‘bad data as good for stocks’ as it makes rate cuts more likely so a small miss vs. expectations should extend the early rally,” writes Sevens Report Research’s Tom Essaye.

Also, click here to view the full Barron’s article published on May 23rd, 2024. However, to see the Sevens Report’s full comments on the current market environment sign up here.

It’ll be Very Hard for This Market to RallyIf you want research that comes with no long term commitment, yet provides independent, value added, plain English analysis of complex macro topics, then begin your Sevens Report subscription today by clicking here.

To strengthen your market knowledge take a free trial of The Sevens Report.

Join hundreds of advisors from huge brokerage firms like Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo Advisors, Raymond James, and more! To start your quarterly subscription and see how The Sevens Report can help you grow your business, click here.

Explaining This Market to Clients (Summer Edition)

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Explaining This Market to Clients (Summer Edition): Start a free trial of The Sevens Report.

What’s in Today’s Report:

  • Explaining This Market to Clients (Summer Edition)
  • Weekly Economic Preview – All Eyes on Inflation (Friday)

Futures are modestly higher, led by mega-cap tech, as traders return from the long weekend to mixed headlines.

Economically, an ECB survey showed a favorable dip in medium term (3-year) consumer inflation expectations which was well received by equity traders overnight.

Geopolitically, an Egyptian soldier was killed in a fire fight with Israeli forces at the Rafah border over the weekend while, separately, there were dozens of civilian casualties following an Israeli airstrike just north of Rafah leaving Middle East tensions as high as they’ve been in months (oil is up more than 1%).

Looking into today’s session, there are two economic reports to watch: S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (E: 0.3%) and Consumer Confidence (E: 95.3) while several Fed officials are scheduled to speak: Kashkari (9:55 a.m. ET), Cook (1:05 p.m. ET), and Daly (1:00 p.m. ET). The market will want to see more “goldilocks” economic data and preferably less-hawkish Fed chatter.

Additionally, there are two key Treasury auctions, the first for 2-Yr Notes at 11:30 a.m. ET, and the second for 5-Yr Notes at 1:00 p.m. ET. With the total amount being auctioned just shy of $150B, demand for the Notes will be closely watched and weak auction outcomes could push yields higher and weigh on stocks with key inflation data looming later in the week.

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Did the Last 48 Hours Make the Fed More Hawkish?

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Did the Last 48 Hours Make the Fed More Hawkish? Start a free trial of The Sevens Report.

What’s in Today’s Report:

  • Did the Last 48 Hours Make the Fed More Hawkish?

Futures are modestly higher following a quiet night as markets bounce following Thursday’s high-rate driven declines.

Economically, UK Retail Sales declined –2.3% vs. (E ) -0.1%, although that’s not making a June cut more likely.

Geo-politically, there are reports Putin will seek a cease-fire in Ukraine, although that’s unconfirmed (it would be a surprise positive if true).

Given the looming long weekend we can expect quiet trading today but there are two notable economic reports:   Durable Goods Orders (E: -0.5%) and University of Michigan Inflation Expectations (1-Yr Inflation Expectations: 3.5%, 5-Year Inflation Expectations 3.1%). As yesterday demonstrated, strong data is “bad” for stocks in the near term so markets will want to see in-line readings or slightly soft numbers on both reports to help fuel a rebound from yesterday.

There is also one Fed speaker and it’s an important one, Waller at 9:35 a.m. ET, but it’s unlikely he’ll say anything surprising (he just spoke earlier this week).

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Investors will need to see economic data that remains goldilocks

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Investors will need to see economic data that remains goldilocks: Tom Essaye Quoted in SwissInfo.ch

US Futures Steady as Nvidia Results Grab Spotlight: Markets Wrap

“With stocks sitting on record highs investors will need to see economic data that remains ‘goldilocks,’ the absence of any hawkish Fed surprises, steady yields, good retailer earnings, and solid guidance from AI bellwether Nvidia to meaningfully advance beyond current levels,”  Tom Essaye at the Sevens Report said in a note to clients.  

Also, click here to view the full article published on May 22nd, 2024. However, to see the Sevens Report’s full comments on the current market environment sign up here.

Swissinfoch logo

Lastly, If you want research that comes with no long term commitment, yet provides independent, value added, plain English analysis of complex macro topics, then begin your Sevens Report subscription today by clicking here.

To strengthen your market knowledge take a free trial of The Sevens Report.

Join hundreds of advisors from huge brokerage firms like Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo Advisors, Raymond James, and more! To start your quarterly subscription and see how The Sevens Report can help you grow your business, click here.

Even after the revisions, the data was really mostly in line.

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Even after the revisions, the data was really mostly in line: Sevens Report Editor, Tom Essaye, Quoted in Barron’s

The Market Is in a Trance. Wednesday’s Inflation Data Could Break It.

But Sevens Report Research’s Tom Essaye told Barron’s in a phone interview that even after the revisions, the data was really mostly in line.

“The markets could be entering an extension of the sweet spot that they were in earlier in the year,” Essaye says. “If you’re looking out, there are definitely some things you want to pay attention to, because some of this data is starting to point in a not-great direction. But it’s not necessarily a reason to sell now.”

“We were in the bullish trance, and now Powell has kind of put us back into it by saying, ‘Well, no, we’re not going to hike rates. Probably going to cut rates once or twice’ or whatever,” Essaye says. “That kind of got us back into it. So it’s going to take a hot data point.”

Also, click here to view the full Barron’s article published on May 14th, 2024. However, to see the Sevens Report’s full comments on the current market environment sign up here.

It’ll be Very Hard for This Market to RallyIf you want research that comes with no long term commitment, yet provides independent, value added, plain English analysis of complex macro topics, then begin your Sevens Report subscription today by clicking here.

To strengthen your market knowledge take a free trial of The Sevens Report.

Join hundreds of advisors from huge brokerage firms like Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo Advisors, Raymond James, and more! To start your quarterly subscription and see how The Sevens Report can help you grow your business, click here.

Even a small bout of stagflation would result in a 10%-20% decline in stocks

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Even a small bout of stagflation would result in a 10%-20% decline in stocks: Tom Essaye Quoted in MarketWatch

The economy could be heading toward 1970s-style stagflation. What it means for the stock market.

 “Stagflation doesn’t have to be as bad as it was in the 1970s, but for a stock market that’s trading above 21 times earnings, the truth is that even a small bout of stagflation would result in a 10%-20% decline in stocks,” said Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research, in a Monday note.

“Of course, comparing this period to the 1970s, where GDP growth was flat or negative and CPI was running more than 10%, [Powell’s] absolutely right [that] there is no stagflation,” said Essaye. But he added that it’s somewhat “dismissive” to say that just because things aren’t as bad as they were in the 1970s, any talk of stagflation is unwarranted.

“In an absolute sense,” economic growth is not at levels that would imply stagflation — but data releases are becoming “more conclusive that economic momentum is slowing,” Essaye said. “While stagnation isn’t here yet, the data is showing a greater chance of it occurring than any time in the last year and a half.”

Also, click here to view the full MarketWatch article published on May 13th, 2024. However, to see the Sevens Report’s full comments on the current market environment sign up here.

If you want research that comes with no long term commitment, yet provides independent, value added, plain English analysis of complex macro topics, then begin your Sevens Report subscription today by clicking here.

To strengthen your market knowledge take a free trial of The Sevens Report.

Join hundreds of advisors from huge brokerage firms like Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo Advisors, Raymond James, and more! To start your quarterly subscription and see how The Sevens Report can help you grow your business, click here.

Advisor Considerations of the “T+1” Settlement Change

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Advisor Considerations of the “T+1” Settlement Change: Start a free trial of The Sevens Report.

What’s in Today’s Report:

  • Practice Management Update: Examining the Upcoming Move to T+1 Settlement
  • Long-Term S&P 500 Chart: Greatest Volatility Risk Since January 2022

Futures are flat this morning as economic data was mixed in Europe and global traders await NVDA earnings (tomorrow) to gauge the outlook for AI industry growth.

In Europe, German PPI fell -3.3% vs. (E) -3.1% underscoring that disinflation trends remain underway in the EU while the UK’s CBI Industrial Trends Order Balance dropped -33% vs. (E) -20% adding to global factory sector worries.

Looking into today’s session, there are no economic reports to watch but a handful of Fed speakers on the calendar this morning: Barkin (9:00 a.m. ET), Waller (9:00 a.m. ET), Williams (9:05 a.m. ET), Bostic (9:10 a.m. ET) and Barr (11:45 a.m. ET).

At this point, the higher-for-longer mantra has been absorbed by markets and it would take renewed talk of rate hikes to meaningfully move markets, especially as traders settle in and await tomorrow’s post-bell earnings release from NVDA which is widely viewed as the most important catalyst of this week.

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