It seems buyback deceleration continued in 2Q17. Based on results from 85 percent of S&P 500 companies, S&P Dow Jones Indices points out that buybacks are on course for a 10.4-percent decline quarter-over-quarter. Buybacks were $133.2 billion in 1Q17. In … Continued
Last week’s mini sell-off in U.S. equities did not materialize all of a sudden. This was building for a while. The Russell 2000 small-cap index in particular peaked as early as July 25. Investors/traders in general gravitate toward small-caps when … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of Aug 8, 2017. 10-year note: Currently net long 229.8k, up 19k. In the past several months, several Fed officials, including Chair Janet Yellen, have expressed concern over persistently rising stock-market valuations. Using … Continued
Dividends are a good source of income for Americans. Since Great Recession ended, U.S. personal income rose 35 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $16.4 trillion in 2Q17, while dividend income jumped 72.3 percent to $968.8 billion. Dividend … Continued
As of last Thursday, a little over four-fifths of S&P 500 companies reported 2Q17 results. Of the 422 companies, 70.1 percent beat on operating earnings, 20.6 percent missed and 9.2 percent met, as per S&P Dow Jones Indices. In the … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of Aug 1, 2017. 10-year note: Currently net long 210.9k, down 69.8k. So far this year, there have been two rate hikes – and four altogether since the Fed started raising in December … Continued
The Russell 2000 small cap index is dangerously close to breaking down. On Wednesday, it violated a rising trend line from February last year – albeit only slightly. Of the four major indices, the Russell 2000 is the first to … Continued
Amidst 2Q17 earnings and elevated multiples, some signs of fatigue are showing up on major U.S. indices. As of last Thursday, 2Q17 operating earnings of S&P 500 companies were on course for $30.70. In the year-ago quarter, they were $25.70 … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of July 25, 2017. 10-year note: Currently net long 280.7k, down 1.6k. After seven years of keeping the fed funds rate between zero and 25 basis points, the Fed began to hike in … Continued
In U.S. equities, several sentiment measures are flashing red. The difficulty in using these as a signal is that they have been doing so for a while, even as U.S. stocks continue to rally to new and newer highs. Since … Continued