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Why Are Stocks So Resilient (And Can It Last?)

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What’s in Today’s Report:

  • Why Are Stocks So Resilient (And Can It Last?)
  • Last Week’s Key Event (It Wasn’t Mexican Tariffs)
  • Weekly Market Preview (Four Big Events This Week, Not Just the Fed)
  • Weekly Economic Cheat Sheet (All About the Fed)

Futures are fractionally higher following a weekend full of  articles on trade and the Fed but none of them shifted the current market outlook.

There were multiple stories on U.S./China trade and they were mixed (some positive, some negative).  The bottom line remains that the best hope for the G-20 summit is a resumption of negotiations and promises of no new tariffs.

There was no notable economic data over the weekend.

The Fed meeting is just over 48 hours away so barring any major surprises on U.S./China trade, markets should be relatively calm into that meeting.

But, that said, there is an important economic report today, Empire Manufacturing (E: 10.0), which will give us the first look at economic activity in June and this report could confirm or deny the U.S. economy is again losing positive momentum, although it’ll take a big miss or beat vs. expectation to materially move stocks.

Tom Essaye Quoted in MarketWatch on June 13, 2019

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Tom Essaye, founder of the Sevens Report Research, partly credited expectations for further economic supportive measures from China for the market’s gains. “Chinese Vice Premier Hu called for more stimulus…” Click here to read the full article.

Tom Essaye Quoted in Yahoo Finance on June 12, 2019

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The Sevens Report’s Tom Essaye said this week that the trade war is one of several key uncertainties creating volatility in the market. A major divide seems to exist between market expectations for three…Click here to read the full article.

Tom Essaye Quoted in CNBC on June 12, 2019

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“Momentum can carry this market higher especially into the Trump/Xi G20 summit, but the bigger (and longer-term more important) question regarding…” says Tom Essaye. Click here to read the full article on CNBC.

Stock Buyer on the stock exchange floor

Fed Expectations (What’s The Best Scenario?)

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What’s in Today’s Report:

  • The Right Fed Expectation for This Market
  • More Proof There’s No Chinese Buyers Strike for Treasuries (That’s a Positive)

Futures are modestly lower following a night of bad micro and macro-economic news.

On the micro front, Broadcom (AVGO), a major semi-conductor company, missed earnings and provided ugly guidance for 2H ‘19, citing the trade war as a major negative on demand.

On the macro front, Chinese economic data was on balance disappointing as Fixed Asset Investment and Industrial Production both missed estimates, although Retail Sales was a mild beat.

Looking ahead to today, the major number is the Retail Sales report (E: 0.7%), and the market would welcome a slightly disappointing number as it would further solidify the expectations for a Fed rate cut in July, and likely spur a rebound this morning. We also get Industrial Production (E: 0.2%) and Consumer Sentiment (E: 98.4) this morning as well.

Tom Essaye Quoted in International Business Times on June 11, 2019

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“This rally is not fundamentally backed. Instead what we are seeing is a bunch of people getting swung around and now they are chasing stocks higher,” said Tom Essaye. Click here to read the full article.

New York Stock Exchance

Dr. Copper Update

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What’s in Today’s Report:

  • Dr. Copper Update
  • CPI – The Case for a July Rate Cut Got A Bit Stronger Yesterday
  • China & Treasuries: No Signs of a Buyers Strike (Yet)
  • Oil Outlook – Supplies Keep Rising.

Futures are marginally higher following a busy night of news, but none of it shifted the current market outlook.

If there is a “reason” for the gains this morning it’s hopes for more Chinese stimulus as Chinese Vice Premier Hu called for more stimulus to help the economy, although no specifics were given and China’s already been aggressively stimulating the economy for months – so this isn’t exactly incremental news.

Geo-politically, Brent crude oil surged 3% after two tankers were attacked via a torpedo and mine strike overnight in the Gulf of Oman (near the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz).  It’s unclear who is responsible at this point but that’s obviously increasing tensions in an already unstable part of the globe.

The remaining big event for the week comes tonight via the Chinese economic data, so today will be spent watching the headlines for any trade updates, while on the economic front we get Jobless Claims (E: 216K) and Import & Export Prices (E: -0.3%, 0.1%), but neither should move markets materially.  Finally, there is a 30 Yr. T-Bond Auction at 1:00 p.m. ET and we’ll be watching to see if there are any signs of a Chinese “buyers strike” for Treasuries (so far, it’s not happening).

Tom Essaye Quoted in CNBC on June 11, 2019

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Tom Essaye was quoted in CNBC on June 11, 2019. “You had a market that became very pessimistic and then all of a sudden we had the Fed’s dovish rhetoric and no Mexican tariffs, and that’s basically causing a squeeze…” Click here to read the full article.

Trader on the NY Stock Exchange Floor

Deteriorating Economic Data

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What’s in Today’s Report:

  • Economic Breaker Panel – Deterioration in June

S&P futures are down roughly 10 points as the recent melt-up rally continues to be digested ahead of key inflation data in the U.S. while trade headlines were negative overnight.

Trade sentiment deteriorated over the last 12 hours as expectations of a G20 deal are fading while protests in Hong Kong over an extradition bill pressured the Hang Seng to fall nearly 2%.

Economically, Chinese CPI and PPI met estimates overnight while Japanese Machine Orders rose 5.2% vs. (E) 0.5% helping the Nikkei outperform with a loss of just 0.35%.

Today’s focus will be on inflation data due out ahead of the bell: CPI (E: 0.1%). There are no other notable reports due to be released and no Fed officials are scheduled to speak today.

The digestive tone will likely continue as the blistering rally of the last week was overdone however the “pain trade” remains higher and if the CPI print is soft, we could see another run back to and potentially through 2900 in the S&P today.

Market Scenario Update (Good/Bad/Ugly)

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What’s in Today’s Report:

  • How Good Was Last Week? (Good/Bad/Ugly Scenario Update)

It is a risk-on morning with U.S. stock futures tracking international equity markets higher after China announced a new wave of stimulus measures overnight.

The PBOC explained that the program would support infrastructure investment through special bond issuance which helped mainland China shares rally 2.6% on the session.

Economically, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index was 105.0 vs. (E) 102.0. in May despite the elevated trade tensions, which helped S&P futures extend pre-market gains during the last hour.

Today, the calendar is relatively quiet although there is one inflation figure due out ahead of the open: PPI (E: 0.1%) and even though it is a lesser followed report, a “hot” print could still cause an uptick in volatility after the melt up we have seen over the last week.

There are no Fed officials scheduled to speak today which will leave investors looking for any further updates on the trade war, but even though the market is near-term overbought, no news is good news as sentiment is very positive and momentum alone could help stocks continue higher today.