Stocks have rallied big on hopes of even easier monetary policy. In the very near term, bulls carry the momentum ball. Medium- to long-term, a daunting task likely awaits them. The Fed’s toolkit is inadequate. Plus, its stimulative measures may … Continued
Major US equity indices are a stone’s throw away from record highs. They have done so without much help from foreigners and margin debt. Bulls deserve kudos, but then again, how long can this go on? US indices are within … Continued
The FOMC meets this week. No change in expected. But in the remaining four scheduled meetings, markets have priced in at least two cuts. The Fed has a juggling act in hand. The unemployment rate is near a six-decade low, … Continued
US stocks rallied strongly last week. Bulls enjoy momentum right now. That said, risk-on is not full-on. What transpires at 2890s on the S&P 500 can be a tell near term. May’s employment report was mixed at best and disappointing … Continued
Markets are aggressively beginning to price in at least two cuts in fed funds this year. It is a little too early, but the Fed is beginning to come around to this dovish scenario. It is easy to get convinced … Continued
The Russell 2000 closed Friday right at, or slightly past, crucial resistance. If bulls succeed in decisively take out this ceiling, risk-on sentiment can rise. Failure to do so can lead longs, who are sitting on handsome gains, to lock … Continued
Following futures positions of non-commercials are as of April 30, 2019. 10-year note: Currently net short 287.9k, down 35.9k. The FOMC met this week. Markets were hoping that the Fed would deliver a dovish message. It didn’t. As expected, the … Continued
For the first time in 29 weeks, the Investors Intelligence bulls-to-bears ratio crossed three. Having come after a nearly 26 percent rally in the S&P 500, this likely is not the beginning of a trend. Investors Intelligence bulls jumped three … Continued
The S&P 500 is within striking distance of a new high, even as margin debt is substantially below last May’s record high. Concurrently, unlike in the past, VIX refuses to sustainably drop to high single digits/low double digits. Margin debt … Continued
The 10-year T-yield not only lost a rising trend line from July 2016 but also decade-old support at 2.62 percent. TLT has been on a tear, but is overbought; digestion of the recent gains is the path of least resistance. … Continued