The U.S. dollar, which rallied to a two-month high last week, is demonstrating a bullish signal from a technical perspective and has the potential to trend up in the coming months. The greenback’s strength will weigh on equities, starting by the beginning of June, noted Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research. Click here to read the full article.
What’s in Today’s Report:
Stock futures are slightly lower this morning as traders digest disappointing economic data from overseas and look ahead to today’s debt ceiling negotiations.
Economically, Chinese Fixed Asset Investment slowed in April while Industrial Production came in at just 5.6% vs. (E) 10.7% and Retail Sales rose to 18.4% vs. (E) 22.0%. The underwhelming data is continuing to pour some cold water on hopes that a robust recovery in China will help support broader growth in the global economy this year.
Looking into today’s session there are several economic releases to watch in the U.S. including (in order of importance): Retail Sales (E: 0.7%), Industrial Production (E: 0.0%), and the Housing Market Index (E: 45). Specifically, if Retail Sales is disappointing, that could rekindle hard-landing fears and pressure stocks.
Several Fed officials are also expected to speak today: Mester (8:15 a.m. ET), Bostic (8:55 a.m. ET), Williams (12:15 p.m. ET), and Logan (3:15 p.m. ET). A more cautious tone regarding policy plans would be welcomed while any decidedly hawkish commentary is likely to pressure markets.
Finally, the main focus today will be the debt ceiling talks between the Biden Administration and House Republicans as we are fast approaching the “X date” and prospects of a deal being reached remain very uncertain. Any reported progress on the topic will be well-received today and likely result in a modest relief rally but if concerns about the debt ceiling increase, expect equities to come under pressure.
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With increasing focus on the debt ceiling, investors will be keenly focused on today’s meeting between President Biden and Congressional leadership as hopes for a delay to September are building and any disappointment of those hopes could result in volatility across asset classes, said Tom Essaye, the founder of Sevens Report Research. Click here to read the full article.
What’s in Today’s Report:
U.S. stock futures are tracking global shares higher this morning as investors cheer better than expected economic data out of China.
Economically, China’s Manufacturing PMI jumped to 51.6 vs. (E) 49.9 in February, up from 49.2 in January, indicating the recovery process is gaining momentum. The Eurozone Manufacturing PMI, meanwhile, met estimates at 48.5.
Today, investor focus will be on economic data early beginning in Europe with the German CPI release at 8:00 a.m. ET (E: 8.7%). So far this week, European yields have led global yields higher on hot inflation data and if the German print is above estimates, expect that trend to continue and stocks to remain under pressure.
In the U.S. we will get the February ISM Manufacturing Index (E: 48.0) as well as the lesser followed Construction Spending report (E: 0.2%). Investors will want to see improving, but not overly strong growth metrics and fading price pressures to see some of the recent hawkish money flows ease.
Finally, there is one Fed speaker today: Kashkari (E: 9:00 a.m. ET), and as a voting member of the FOMC, his comments will be closely watched for any new hints at the Fed’s policy plans.
“Last Week and This Week in Economics”—an excerpt from today’s Sevens Report: everything you need to know about the markets in your inbox by 7am, in 7 minutes or less.
For all of 2017, better-than-expected economic data has helped to offset the decreased likelihood of pro-growth policies from Washington, and that continued last week as what little economic data we did receive was generally supportive for stocks.
Looking at Durable Goods, longer-term readers know we ignore the headline and look straight for New Orders for Non-Defense Capital Goods ex-Aircraft (NDCGXA). That is the better measure of business spending, as the headline Durable Goods order is massively skewed by the timing of aircraft orders.
NDCGXA missed estimates in the Feb. report (-0.1% vs. (E) 0.5%), but the January data was revised higher (from -0.4% to 0.1%). So, that largely offsets the miss in February.
The March flash manufacturing PMI was a disappointment, as it missed estimates and hit a surprise six-month low at 53.2 vs. (E) 54.3. But while disappointing, the flash PMI forecasted weakness in February that didn’t appear in other national manufacturing PMIs, and even at 53.2, that’s still a decent absolute number (remember, anything above 50 shows activity accelerating). Point being, that one number doesn’t suggest a loss of momentum.
Looking at other data, February Existing Home Sales slightly missed estimates but February New Home Sales beat estimates. But, with housing it’s helpful to step back from the monthly data and observe the overarching trend, and that trend is stability. All the housing data confirms that so far. Higher mortgage rates are now causing a noticeable slowdown in the housing recovery, and that remains key un-sung support for the economy.
Turning to the Fed, there were multiple speakers last week, but the headliner was Fed Chair Yellen, who made no comments about the economy or policy during her speech. Other Fed members were on balance slightly hawkish, as many of them referenced hiking three or four times this year, but none of it was impactful enough to reverse the dollar or Treasury yield decline we’ve seen since the Fed’s dovish hike in March. Markets still have a June rate hike at about a 50/50 proposition, unchanged from last week.
Bottom line, all the focus was on politics last week, but economic data remains the unsung hero of 2017, and it continues to help offset growing policy headwinds via Washington.
This Week
This week will be another relatively quiet week from an economic standpoint, and once again the most important number won’t come until Friday.
That number is the Core PCE Price Index contained in the Personal Income and Outlays report. That’s important because it’s the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, and if the headline PCE Price Index breaks through 2.0% yoy (last 1.9%), and the Core PCE Price Index moves further towards 2.0% (last 1.7%), that may elicit a slightly hawkish reaction in markets.
Internationally, there are two notable reports to watch. First, Chinese Manufacturing PMI hits Thursday night, and while China remains on the back burner from a macro standpoint, any signs of economic slowing will surprise markets. Second, EMU Flash HICP (their CPI) comes Friday. The best outcome for European stocks is a Goldilocks number, where core inflation doesn’t rise much from the current 0.9% yoy pace, and as such doesn’t make the ECB think about ending QE prematurely. A Goldilocks number will be positive for European ETFs (HEDJ, VGK, EZU).
Bottom line, this will be another quiet week from a data standpoint, but the numbers need to confirm the acceleration of growth to continue to support stocks. From a risk standpoint, too-strong HICP or Core PCE numbers are the events to watch (they might make the Fed and ECB lean more hawkish).
Politically, there will be a lot of analysis on the shift towards tax cuts (we’ll do a primer this week), but nothing truly important is scheduled. Finally, on the international front, British PM May will formally trigger Article 50 to begin the Brexit process (although that shouldn’t cause much volatility).
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Jobs Report Preview: For notable releases like tomorrow’s jobs report, the Sevens Report offers a “Goldilocks” outlook to give a few different scenarios: too hot, too cold, and just right.
This gives our subscribers clear talking points to explain the importance of the report to clients and prospects clearly and without a lot of jargon. As always, the Sevens Report is designed to help you cut through the noise and understand what’s truly driving markets—all in seven minutes or less and in your inbox by 7am each morning. Sign up for your free 2-week trial today and see the difference this report can make for you.
Wednesday’s ADP Jobs Report clearly put upward pressure on expectations for tomorrow’s government report. And, there’s good reason for that. Over the past five months, the ADP report has been within 10k jobs of the official jobs report (the one outlier was November, when ADP was 50k over the actual jobs report). So, yesterday’s 298k jobs blowout implies a big number tomorrow.
Given that, the major issue for tomorrow’s jobs report is simple: Will it cause the Fed to consider more than three rate hikes in 2017? If the answer is “yes,” than that’s a headwind on stocks. If the answer is “no,” then it shouldn’t derail the rally.
Getting a bit more specific, the only reason the dollar is still generally stuck at resistance at 102 (and below the recent high at 103), and the 10-year yield is still below 2.60% is because the market assumes that the Fed will still only hike rates three times this year.
If that assumption gets called into doubt via a very strong jobs and wage number tomorrow, we will see the Dollar Index likely surge through 103 and the 10-year yield bust to new highs above 2.60%, and then they will begin to exert at least some headwind on stocks.
So, tomorrow’s jobs report is potentially the most important jobs number in years, as it has the ability to fundamentally alter the market’s perception of just how “gradual” the Fed will be in hiking rates.
“Too Hot” Scenario (Potential for More than Three Rate Hikes in 2017)
“Just Right” Scenario (A March Rate Hike Is A Guarantee, But Three Hikes for 2017 Remain the Expectation)
“Too Cold” Scenario (A March Hike Becomes in Doubt)
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Leading Indicator Update: Showing Signs of Fatigue
An excerpt from today’s Sevens Report… Skip the jargon, arcane details and drab statistics, and get the simple analysis that will improve your performance.
At the start of the year, I said that beyond the normal economic data and fund flow data, we’ll be watching two other specific leading indicators:
As a refresher, we watch Trump’s approval rating because it is an imperfect, but still effective, measure of political capital.
Earlier this year, we said that if his approval rating dips in the weeks and months following Inauguration Day, that won’t be a positive sign for corporate tax cuts (i.e. it will be stock negative). Conversely, if his approval ratings rise following his inauguration, the chances of tax reform will rise (i.e. it will be stock positive).
Turning to the Semiconductor Index (see chart on Pg. 1), we view semiconductors as a destination for incremental capital that comes off the sidelines or out of bonds.
It’s our proxy for money flows, or “chasing” into the US markets.
That reasoning here is based on watching the price action in semis and observing that they handily outperformed post election (implying they were a destination for capital coming off the sidelines), and we continue to believe that is the case.
LI #1: Trump’s Approval Rating Updated. The outlook here hasn’t been that positive, and the movement in the approval rating anecdotally confirms our opinion that the market remains too optimistic regarding corporate tax cuts in 2017.
Why is the president’s approval rating a leading indicator?
From a broad standpoint, Trump’s approve/disapprove gap has gotten worse since the inauguration, and we think that represents a slight erosion of political capital.
Last week, we saw a slight bounce following his speech to Congress, but the numbers look to be rolling over again.
I am particularly focused on his raw approval rating numbers (as opposed to just the spread between approve/disapprove). So, while the spread between approve/disapprove has gotten worse, the reason this leading indicator isn’t flashing negative for me is because Trump’s raw approval rating is still about the same as it’s been since the inauguration (about 44%).
However, if that raw number were to drop below 40%, I would view that as a material negative for pro-growth policies… and a potential negative for stocks.
LI #2: Semiconductor Index Updated. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, our loose proxy for incremental money flows out of bonds/other assets and into stocks, has until recently confirmed the 2017 rally.
The SOX rallied 9% from the first of the year till February 22, at which point the index stalled, and it’s traded side-way for nearly two weeks.
Going forward, support at 955.11 now is an important level to watch, as a break of that level would constitute a “lower low” on the charts.
Below that, support at the 20-day moving average at 947.25 has supported this index three times over the past few months. So, that also will be an important level to watch.
Bottom Line
Neither of these leading indicators have sent a non-confirmation signal of the rally at this point. Yet after confirming the rally earlier this year, both of these leading indicators are starting to wobble.
Again, we’ll be watching 40 in Trump’s approval rating and 955 and 947 in the SOX. If those levels are broken that will likely prompt us to become more defensive near term for stocks.
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Senate Math Primer from the Sevens Report: One of the easiest ways to cut through the seemingly unending amount of political noise in the markets is to focus on the fact that there are only two important questions that need to be answered.
Republicans have a simple 52 to 48 majority—but that’s not really that powerful.
We’ve already covered the first question from multiple angles in the full subscriber edition of the Sevens Report, but I think the second question is just as important.
In fact, part of the reason I’m covering this is because I get the sense that a lot of people think that once a plan has general Republican support it will automatically become law, because Republicans “control” the House, Senate and the presidency.
While the first and the last are truly under control from Republican leadership, the Senate is anything but.
Looking at the math, as mentioned yesterday, Republicans have a simple 52 to 48 majority—but that’s not really that powerful.
First, it’s well short of a filibuster-proof 60-person majority, and there’s zero chance eight Democrats will break with Republicans on Obamacare or corporate tax cuts.
That’s why both those issues have to be passed via a budget process called “reconciliation.” Reconciliation only requires a simple majority, so 52 to 48 would work.
But, it gets more complicated than that.
First, to say Republicans have a hard 52 votes on any issue is an overstatement. Senator Susan Collins of Maine (technically a Republican) acts much more like an independent. The same can be said for Alaska Senator Murkowski (she’s taking a hard line against supporting an Obamacare repeal that rolls back Medicaid expansion).
Then, there are Senators McCain and Graham. Both are solid Republican votes, but I think it’s fair to say they despise President Trump for multiple reasons. So while it’s unlikely they’d derail passage of Obamacare repeal/replace or tax cuts, they are going to be tough “gets.”
Finally, Rand Paul is more Libertarian than Republican, and he (and others) will have a hard line approach to any tax cuts that might increase the deficit.
Bottom line, while Republicans “control” the legislative and executive branches of government, the Senate is still a bottleneck in the legislative process, and getting Obamacare repeal/replace through the Senate by Memorial Day will be a tough task—never mind corporate tax reform by the August recess (remember, there aren’t even hearings scheduled for the Supreme Court nominee yet).
Again, I’m not trying to throw cold water on this rally, or the optimism fueling it. I’m just trying to keep everyone focused on facts, and the outlook for passage of major reforms through the Senate remains dicey at best.
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The Economics excerpt from today’s Sevens Report, which focuses on the most important financial news and takeaways for investors, financial advisors, and CPA’s, last week and this week.
Even uber-dove Lael Brainard supported potentially hiking in March.
Last Week:
The major takeaway from the economic data and Fed speak last week is that because of continued strong data and hawkish Fed speak, a March rate hike now is expected by the markets. Probability (according to Fed Fund futures) of a rate hike on March 15 rose from just over 20% two weeks ago, to over 70% at the end of this week… and that was a legitimate surprise for markets.
The reason that change didn’t cause a pullback in stocks is simple. Economic data last week showed continued acceleration in growth and inflation, and as such that helped cushion the blow from the increased rate hike expectations.
To that point, there were three big numbers from last week and they all beat estimates. February ISM Manufacturing PMI rose to 57.7 vs. (E) 56.4, February ISM Non Manufacturing PMI rose to 57.6 vs. (E) 56.5. And, the core PCE Price Index (the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation) rose 0.3% in February, the biggest monthly increase since January 2016. While the core PCE Price Index rose 1.7% yoy, same as January, the headline PCE Price Index rose 1.9% yoy, just below the Fed’s 2% target and the highest level since February 2013!
Not every economic data point was strong last week (Pending Home Sales missed estimates as did Core Durable Goods. And, headline revised Q1 GDP was a touch light at 1.9% vs. (E) 2.1%). Still, the good data handily outweighed the bad data.
Bigger picture, it’s hard to understate how important continued good economic data has been for markets in 2017. Strong data has helped buy Washington more time on corporate tax cuts, and now it’s helping to cushion the blow from a potentially more hawkish Fed. Strong economic data continues to be the unsung hero of the 2017 stock rally, and it needs to continue given the increasingly bleak policy outlook, and potentially a more hawkish Fed. Frankly, watching and correctly interpreting economic data hasn’t been this important in years.
Looking at Fed speak from last week, it was almost universally hawkish. Clearly the Fed is trying to pave the road for a March rate hike. Fed officials Williams, Dudley and Powell all signaled that a rate hike could come in March, and even uber-dove Lael Brainard supported potentially hiking in March.
Then, as if there was any doubt left by the end of last week, on Friday Fed Chair Yellen basically said that if the jobs report is in line, the Fed is hiking rates (her exact words were more general, and a bit more eloquent, but that was her point).
Bottom line, the Fed appears to be sticking to its promise of three rate hikes in 2017, with the first likely coming in 10 days.
This Week:
Are Janet Yellen and the other members of the Fed supporting more rate hikes in 2017?
Jobs reports are always important economic releases but due to the potential for a March rate hike, this jobs report is even more important than normal because it will decide whether we get a hike next Wednesday.
As usual, it’s jobs week, so that means we will get the ADP report on Wednesday, weekly jobless claims on Thursday (which continue to hit levels last seen since the 1970s), and the official jobs report Friday.
I’ll do my normal “Goldilocks” jobs preview later this week, but the bottom line is that as long as this jobs re-port remains firm, the Fed will hike rates next week.
Outside of the jobs report, it’s actually a pretty quiet week, economically speaking.
In the US, the only other notable report is Productivity (out Wednesday). Low worker productivity has been a major downward influence on inflation, but it’s shown signs of ticking higher lately. A continuation of that trend will be slightly hawkish. Finally, looking internationally, China will be in focus as we get Trade Balance (Tuesday) and CPI/PPI Wednesday.
Data from China has been consistently decent (including last week’s February manufacturing and composite PMIs), so it’ll be a big surprise if the data suddenly turns south, but China remains a macro area to watch as any hints of a slowdown will make waves for global markets.
Bottom line, this week really is all about the jobs report. If it’s close to in line, the Fed will hike next Wednesday. And, if it’s hotter than expected, get ready for talk about more than three hikes this year (and that idea is a risk to stocks).
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If A Rate Hike Is Expected, Why Aren’t Rates and the Dollar Higher?
If a rate hike is expected, why isn’t the dollar index higher?
That’s a fair question to ask, given two weeks ago there was no expectation of a May rate hike. Then, a week ago, there was no expectation of a March rate hike. Now, a March hike is fully expected.
Yet despite that relatively quick shift, as mentioned the Dollar Index still isn’t materially above 102, and still not close to the recent 103 high. Meanwhile, the 10-year yield is still decently below 2.60%.
The reasons we haven’t seen greater rallies in the dollar or yields are twofold.
First, a rate hike is not a foregone conclusion because of the jobs report next Friday. If it’s disappointing then a May hike makes more sense.
Second, the market still doesn’t believe the Fed is materially more hawkish. So, even if the Fed hikes now, the market still expects just three hikes the remainder of the year, which is what the Fed said in December.
The point is, the currency and bond markets still haven’t fully priced in a March hike yet, nor have they accepted the existence of a “hawkish.” Fed. However, if that jobs number is strong I believe we’ll see further upside in the dollar and yields.
But the big jumps in both will come when the market realizes the Fed is more hawkish than it currently expects, and that likely won’t happen until we see more inflation or proof of actual fiscal stimulus.
Regardless, barring an economic set back the trend higher in the dollar and rates is close to resuming, and investors should be positioned accordingly.
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