Wednesday, April 29, 2020

The Morning Call--Direction?


The Morning Call

4/29/20

The Market
         
    Technical

The Averages  (24101, 2863) retreated modestly yesterday---but enough for the  S&P to fall back below its 4/17 high.  With the Dow having been unable to successfully challenge its own 4/17 high, that keeps directional momentum in question.  Levels to watch are the 4/17 highs on the upside and 4/14;4/21 lows on the downside.

            It is the machines that are buying.

TLT rose yesterday, though GLD and UUP sold off.  The net result is an uncertain investor take on the need for safety.

            Tuesday in the charts.

    Fundamental

       Headlines

            Yesterday’s data releases were negative.  Month to date retail chain store sales, the March trade deficit, March wholesale inventories, April consumer confidence and the April Richmond Fed manufacturing index were less than anticipated.  The only positive number was February’s Case Shiller home price index.

Nouriel Roubini is concerned about the long term.

            Overseas, only one stat.  March Japanese unemployment was in line.
           
            European banks brace for default tsunami.

            The coronavirus
           
            Alarmist policies are the enemy of employment.
           
            80% of the population have little to nothing to fear.


                        Has the recovery started already?

                        The Fed

                        The FOMC warps up its scheduled meeting today which will be followed by  the usual policy statement release and the periodic news conference.  The net result will likely be the reiteration of its current ‘whatever it takes’ policy. 

            What it might do.

            It peeps out of its foxhole.

The third major wealth transfer in twenty years.

Oil

The steep selloff in oil continues.


                        Bottom line.  the stats are horrible and will remain so for the near future.  We expected that.  But the questions are how fast will they recover, by how much and what is that worth?  Much about the speed and magnitude of recovery isn’t knowable right now unless the assumption is that conditions return to the way they were pre-coronavirus within a reasonable timeframe.  And that may happen; but I don’t think it is prudent to be paying current valuations based on that assumption. 

            That said, the Fed is pushing money into the financial system and investors are using that liquidity to buy stocks (the Fed ‘put’) just as they have for the last decade.  As long as that remains the modus operandi, stock prices will have an upward bias.’

                When Warren was a quant.

            Dividend massacre.

    News on Stocks in Our Portfolios
 
C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW): Q1 GAAP EPS of $0.57 misses by $0.12.
Revenue of $3.81B (+1.6% Y/Y) beats by $250M.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP): Q3 Non-GAAP EPS of $1.92 beats by $0.03; GAAP EPS of $1.90 beats by $0.02.
Revenue of $4.04B (+5.5% Y/Y) beats by $10M.

Sherwin Williams (NYSE:SHW): Q1 Non-GAAP EPS of $4.08 beats by $0.19; GAAP EPS of $3.46 misses by $0.21.
Revenue of $4.15B (+2.7% Y/Y) beats by $40M.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD): Q1 GAAP EPS of $2.43 misses by $0.03.
Revenue of $8.75B (-5.5% Y/Y) misses by $500M.

Economics

   This Week’s Data

      US

            April consumer confidence came in at 86.9 versus forecasts of 87.9.

            The April Richmond Fed manufacturing index was reported at -53 versus estimates of -42.

                Weekly mortgage applications declined 3.35 while purchase applications rose 11.6%.

                The initial Q1 GDP growth estimate came in at -4.8% versus expectations of -4.0%; the price index was +1.4% versus +1.2%.

     International

            March EU YOY consumer credit growth was +3.4% versus consensus of +3.6%; corporate credit rose 5.4% versus +2.2%.

            April EU consumer confidence came in at -22.7, in line; business confidence was -1.81 versus -1.24; economic sentiment was  67.0 versus 74.7; services sentiment was -35.0 versus -27.0; industrial sentiment was -30.4 versus -25.7.

            April German CPI was up 0.3% versus projections of flat.

    Other

            The end of the US China relationship?

            The downside to banning Chinese science students from US universities.

What I am reading today

            What being a Conservative means.

            Mortgage chaos when it is time to repay.

                        Pentagon releases UFO video footage.



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