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CPI Preview: Good, Bad, & Ugly

What’s in Today’s Report:

  • CPI Preview: Good, Bad, & Ugly
  • WTI Crude Oil Chart – Futures Pinned In Tight Range at $80/bbl

Stock futures are rising in sympathy with overseas markets on the back of dovish commentary by new BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda and favorable economic data overnight that is easing “hard landing” worries.

Economically, Chinese CPI rose just 0.7% vs. (E) 1.1% and PPI dropped -2.5% vs. (E) -2.3% while Eurozone Retail Sales fell -3.0% vs. (E) -3.5%. In the U.S., the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index came in at 90.1 vs. (E) 89.0. The mostly better than expected data is helping rekindle hopes that a soft landing may be achieved.

There are no other notable economic reports today which will leave focus on a 10-Yr Treasury Note auction at 1:00 p.m. ET and the sole Fed speaker today: Goolsbee (1:30 p.m. ET) as traders are largely looking ahead to tomorrow’s CPI report.

Tom Essaye Quoted in Forbes on April 7th, 2023

Labor Market Adds 236,000 Jobs In March—Lowest Since 2020—As Economists Worry Recession May Be ‘Underway Now’

The revisions fueled recession concerns that intensified this week, with “every major data point”—including jobless claims, manufacturing activity and construction spending—signaling the economy is slowing down and pushing some experts to worry it may be slowing down too quickly, says Sevens Report founder Tom Essaye. Click here to read the full article.

Tom Essaye Quoted in Yahoo Finance on April 6th, 2023

Why speculative AI stocks like C3.ai and BigBear.ai are seeing monster volatility

“Basically I think there’s some regulation concerns, not so much in the governmental sense yet, but perhaps industry regulations. That’s just injecting some fundamental uncertainty into the whole space, and given the valuations and popularity of the AI names, it’s resulting in some wild gyrations!” Sevens Report Research founder Tom Essaye says. Click here to read the full article.

Tom Essaye Quoted in BNN Bloomberg on April 6th, 2023

U.S. stocks rise amid hopes for ‘just right’ jobs print

As investors have aggressively priced in rate cuts this year, a “too hot” payrolls number would undermine those expectations, while a “too cold” report would add to concerns about a hard landing, according to Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded The Sevens Report newsletter. Click here to read the full article.
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Analysts at Sevens Report Quoted in MarketWatch on April 6th, 2023

Oil tallies a third straight weekly gain after OPEC+ production cuts

“Bottom line, the fundamental dynamics of the oil market changed this week with OPEC+’s announced production cut, which they said was geared towards regaining control of the markets and spooking speculators out of the market,” said analysts at Sevens Report Research, in a Thursday note. Click here to read the full article.

Current Market Assumptions (Why Stocks Remain Resilient)

What’s in Today’s Report:

  • Current Market Assumptions (Why Stocks Remain Resilient)
  • Why Jobless Claims Jumped Last Week
  • Weekly Economic Cheat Sheet:  Inflation is the Key This Week (CPI on Wed, PPI on Thurs)
  • Weekly Market Preview:  Do Stagflation Risks Rise?

Futures are little changed following a mostly quiet weekend of news as investors digest the “Just Right” jobs report and look ahead to CPI on Wednesday and the start of earnings season on Friday.

Friday’s jobs report was “Just Right” with job adds rising 238k vs. (E) 230k and wages gaining 4.2% vs. (E) 4.3% y/y. The report is helping to slightly ease the hard landing worries from last week.

Today should be a mostly quiet day of trading as European markets are closed for the Easter holiday and there are no notable economic reports and just one Fed speaker, Williams at 4:15 p.m. ET, as investors will look ahead to Wednesday’s critical CPI report and the start of bank earnings on Friday.

 

It’s Not Too Late to Send Clients A Quarterly Letter!

If you are behind, please let us help!  Our Q1 ’23 Quarterly Letter was delivered to subscribers last Monday along with compliance backup and citations, and we’re continuing to hear from advisors how happy they are with the quality of the letter and how much time and work it’s saved them.  We also have not had one compliance rejection! 

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Jobs Report Preview (Two Sided Risks)

What’s in Today’s Report:

  • Jobs Report Preview:  Two Sided Risks
  • EIA Analysis and Oil Update
  • Why Yesterday’s Service PMI was a Negative for Markets

Futures are little changed following a mostly quiet night of news as markets digest this week’s underwhelming economic data ahead of the jobs report and long weekend.

Economic data overnight was better than expected as the Chinese Composite PMI beat estimates (57.8 vs. (E) 55.0) as did German Industrial Production (2.0% vs. (E) 0.0%).

Regional banks remained stable overnight following WAL’s update on deposit statistics yesterday.

Today focus will be on Jobless Claims (E: 201K) and a speech by Fed president Bullard (10:00 a.m. ET).  Investors will want to see claims move higher, above 200k, to signal some moderation in the labor market, while we can expect Bullard to be hawkish, although keep in mind he does not represent the consensus at the FOMC (and as such his comments shouldn’t move markets, unless they’re a dovish surprise).

Why Wasn’t “Bad” Data “Good” for Stocks Yesterday?

What’s in Today’s Report:

  • Why Wasn’t “Bad” Data “Good” for Stocks Yesterday?
  • JOLTS and Factory Orders Takeaways

Stock futures are modestly lower this morning while short duration yields are on the rise amid some hawkish central bank developments but soft economic data overnight.

Internationally, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised rates by 50 bp vs. (E) 25 bp to 5.25% citing inflation that is still too high while RBA Governor Lowe pushed back on hopes that their rate hiking campaign is over. In Europe, the Eurozone Composite PMI fell to 53.7 vs. (E) 54.1.

Today, market focus will remain on economic data with the ADP Employment Report (E: 200K), International Trade in Goods and Services (E: -$68.7B), and ISM Services Index (E: 54.4) all due to be released this morning. Investors will be looking for further signs of moderation in the labor market (but not a collapse) and easing price pressures in the ISM report in order to restore optimism about a soft landing.

Additionally, the Fed’s Mester will speak at 8:30 a.m. ET and her recent comments about Fed funds pushing beyond 5% have contradicted what rates markets are pricing in for this year, so a reiteration of that view could push yields higher and weigh on equities.

 

Sevens Report Quarterly Letter Is Available Now!

Our Q1 ’23 Quarterly Letter was delivered to subscribers on Monday along with compliance backup and citations, and we’re already getting feedback about how it is saving advisors time and helping them communicate with their clients in this volatile environment!

You can view our Q4 ‘22 Quarterly Letter here.

To learn more about the product (including price) please click this link.

If you’re interested in subscribing, please email info@sevensreport.com.

Tom Essaye Quoted in Forbes on March 30th, 2023

Dow Jumps 200 Points As Lack Of ‘Drama’ Spurs Gains

“To say a lot has transpired in the markets over the past three weeks would be an understatement,” Sevens Report analyst Tom Essaye wrote in a Thursday note to clients. Click here to read the full article.

Tom Essaye Quoted in Barron’s on March 29th, 2023

Markets Pop as Banking Fears Ease, Tech Stocks Rally

“The UBS move is easing some of the angst surrounding the recent turmoil in the banking sector,” wrote Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research. Click here to read the full article.