August’s CPI report dealt a fatal blow to market hopes for a 50-basis-point cut next week. Nevertheless, futures traders are betting that the Fed would lower rates by 250 basis points in the next one year, beginning with 25 basis … Continued
Equity bulls agonizingly failed to turn a potentially lucrative technical setup on the S&P 500 to their advantage. The Russell 2000 already has not been able to escape a two-plus-year range and the Nasdaq 100 has of late transitioned from … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of September 3, 2024. 10-year note: Currently net short 1,002.8k, up 88.4k. The economy produced a weaker-than-expected 142,000 non-farm jobs in August, even as the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2 percent, as … Continued
The S&P 500 has been sideways at 5640s the last seven sessions. A likely breakout needs cooperation from tech, which is beginning to lag. Early last month, the S&P 500 breached a rising trendline from last October’s low. It kept … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of August 27, 2024. 10-year note: Currently net short 914.4k, down 123.7k. Fed funds futures traders continue to raise rate-cutting bets. Until last week, they expected 100 basis points of cuts in the … Continued
It is early, but tech is beginning to lag. This is taking place even as the Fed is getting ready to begin an easing cycle. Historically, stocks tend to rally into this and then head lower. Tech is beginning to … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of August 20, 2024. 10-year note: Currently net short 1.04mn, up 177.9k. “The time has come for policy to adjust.” The quote is from Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve chair, in his keynote address … Continued
With mixed macro messages, small-caps, which tend to have high domestic economic exposure, struggle to gain traction. The Russell 2000 remains under its November 2021 high. The sell-side is very optimistic about next year’s earnings, but it is prudent to … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of August 13, 2024. 10-year note: Currently net short 860.2k, up 84k. FOMC minutes for the July (30-31) meeting will come out Wednesday. The Federal Reserve held the fed funds rate steady at … Continued
The S&P 500 had not even dropped 10 percent from its record high from last month that there were calls for a 75-basis-point cut in an emergency Fed meeting. Three decades of the so-called Fed put have distorted the markets … Continued