Stocks are selling off, but major indices are at/near crucial support, testing the will of the bulls. High-yield spreads are tightening. In Chart 1, the ICE BofAML US high yield BB effective yield is pitted against Moody’s seasoned AAA corporate … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of March 20, 2018. 10-year note: Currently net short 313.3k, up 41.9k. Chairing his maiden meeting as Fed chief, Jerome Powell probably could not have asked for more insofar as markets’ reaction was … Continued
Wednesday, the FOMC met. The fed funds rate went up another 25 basis points to between 1.5 percent and 1.75 percent. One would think this would drive market action. But looking at a diverse set of assets, technicals played a … Continued
Post-February 9 reversal, both the Nasdaq composite and the Nasdaq 100 index went on to surpass the late January highs. Other indices such as the S&P 500 large cap index and the Dow Industrials could not match that feat. The … Continued
Once again, 10-year Treasury yields failed at the top end of a long-term channel, although can push higher near term, creating a trading opportunity in TLT. Close, but no cigar! The 10-year rate came very close to breaking out of … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of March 13, 2018. 10-year note: Currently net short 271.4k, down 90.8k. Once again, 10-year Treasury yields are retreating from important resistance. Caught in a three-decade-old descending channel, the 10-year rate came very … Continued
After healthy growth last three quarters, the U.S. economy is in deceleration, magnitude and duration notwithstanding. On Wednesday, the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model was forecasting 1Q18 real GDP growth of 1.9 percent, revised down from 2.5 percent, reflecting this week’s … Continued
U.S. corporate debt issuance continued to decelerate in February. High-yield spreads are not pointing to stress in the system. After January’s $133.7 billion, February issuance slowed down to $84.3 billion. As a result, the first two-month total, comprised of $184 … Continued
The bull market in U.S. stocks is nine years old. While this alone does not necessarily sound the death knell for this aging bull, this is not a time to remain unambiguously sanguine either. Last Friday, the bull turned nine, … Continued
Here is a brief review of period-over-period change in short interest in the February 16-28 period in nine S&P 500 sectors. XLB (SPDR materials ETF) Post-February 9 low/reversal, XLB (61.32) rallied to test the 50-day moving average, but was rejected. … Continued