Friday, October 20, 2023

The Morning Call--What is driving sentiment?

The Morning Call

 

10/20/23

 

 

The Market

         

    Technical

 

            Thursday in the charts.

            https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/yields-soar-oil-roars-stocks-plunge-rollercoaster-session

 

Note: the S&P finished below that lower boundary of its former short term uptrend.  The next resistance level to pay attention to is in the 4200 area---the 200 DMA is ~4231 and the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level is ~4200.  If that area cracks, the next visible major stop is ~3817.  I am not predicting that but (1) the index has made three consecutive lower highs and (2) it is bothersome that the long Treasury continued its free fall yesterday in the face of some dovish comments from Powell.  That suggests that Fed policy is being replaced as the chief factor in market valuation by (1) war in the Middle East, (2) political disfunction in DC or (3) disastrously irresponsible fiscal policy or some combination of the above.  I don’t think it time to run for the hills but it is a time for patience at least until we know how stocks handle the ~4200 level.

              

            Another explanation for the stock/bond sell off.

            https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/china-liquidated-most-us-securities-four-years-prop-plunging-yuan

 

            Volatility in oil and gold.

            https://www.zerohedge.com/the-market-ear/gold-and-oil-volatility-money

 

            Fear is here.  Will there be panic?

            https://www.zerohedge.com/the-market-ear/fear-here-will-there-be-panic

 

    Fundamental

 

       Headlines

 

              The Economy

 

                        US

 

September existing home sales declined 2.0% versus forecasts of down 3.5%.

https://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2023/10/nar-existing-home-sales-decreased-to_19.html

 

Thirty year mortgage rates just hit 8%.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/18/30-year-fixed-mortgage-rate-just-hit-8percent-for-the-first-time-since-2000.html?utm_campaign=What%20I%20Am%20Reading&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=279009170&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--hMmHw48EbqJ_8vqq-vshvQ2HH0ZV-G37cEmVE9WT08Zv4u1vyBqOC8_pCHG-iMXQeUpNvA1_mhOMESGrvvs428EChjg&utm_content=279009170&utm_source=hs_email

 

The September leading economic index was down 0.7% versus predictions of -0.4%.

                          https://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/2023/10/19/leading-economic-index-conference-board-recession-forecasted-2024

 

                        International

 

                          September German PPI was down 0.2% versus estimates of +0.4%.

 

September UK retail sales fell 0.9% versus expectations of -0.2%; ex fuel, they were -1.0% versus -0.4%.

           

                        Other

 

The Fed

 

  Powell’s speech weighed to the dovish side.

  https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/watch-live-will-fed-chair-powell-drop-hawkish-tape-bomb

 

            Inflation

 

              Health inflation’s big hike this year.

  https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/health-inflations-big-hike-this-year-in-charts-2d278f69?mod=hp_lead_pos3&utm_campaign=What%20I%20Am%20Reading&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=278838372&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8q83pvumLcl1CYud2A3O1bFScNIPSO6DysylXDe37Wp0iOlbugKPVLyywG_URjJUHB7dIq0sdjo_tA1bqfcdyf9wcdeA&utm_content=278838372&utm_source=hs_email

 

            Geopolitics

 

              Israel, Iran and war in the Middle East.

              https://warontherocks.com/2023/10/iran-israel-and-war-in-the-middle-east/

 

              Oil price underestimates the risk of a Middle East blowup.

              https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/oil-markets-underestimating-risk-middle-east-blowout

 

                  US embassy in Lebanon tells Americans to ‘get out while you still can’.

              https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-embassy-tells-americans-lebanon-get-out-while-you-still-can-hezbollah-launches-20

 

            China

 

              China crisis risk.

              https://www.wsj.com/world/china/dont-rule-out-a-financial-crisis-in-china-ed048ef9?mod=economy_lead_story

 

              China’s Q3 GDP growth shows recovery is gaining traction.

  https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-q3-gdp-grows-49-yy-above-market-forecast-2023-10-18/?utm_campaign=What%20I%20Am%20Reading&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=278838372&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9oKT88kp2An0nXpn_FvyrAAyxuyelRRWHagRdN955OLzShzjKIW9Tb3tk7Gg_cDN-cauF18lJkMg2h16R6ZcsTMCLoYQ&utm_content=278838372&utm_source=hs_email

 

              Of course, as I have said many times, they lie.

              https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/albert-edwards-explains-why-chinas-strong-gdp-data-was-bold-lie

 

Civil Strife

 

  At last, a counterattack on the ‘woke’ censorship.

  https://www.zerohedge.com/political/dismantle-censorship-industrial-complex-westminster-declaration

 

            The coronavirus

 

              Lessons from the coronavirus pandemic.

              https://politicalcalculations.blogspot.com/2023/10/lessons-from-20-20-hindsight-view-of.html

 

            The Bond Market

 

              Where are the defaults?

              https://mailchi.mp/verdadcap/where-are-all-the-defaults?e=b838bc224f

 

              The price of money is going up.

              https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-19/why-the-price-of-money-is-going-to-stay-high-for-decades?srnd=premium&sref=loFkkPMQ

\

    Bottom line

 

What is driving sentiment (must read).

https://ritholtz.com/2023/10/driving-sentiment/

 

The pain trade into year end.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/heres-pain-trade-year-end-nomura-unravels-bond-bullbear-battle

 

How to invest in times of war.

https://ofdollarsanddata.com/how-to-invest-during-times-of-war/

 

            The trend is your friend.

            https://investorplace.com/smartmoney/2023/10/now-more-than-ever-the-trend-is-your-friend/

 

            Measuring the current drawdown.

            https://www.capitalspectator.com/us-stock-markets-current-drawdown-is-9th-longest-since-1950/

 

    News on Stocks in Our Portfolios

 

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) declares $1.19/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous

 

What I am reading today

 

            Friday morning humor.

            https://babylonbee.com/news/look-at-these-heartbreaking-photos-of-9-needy-millennials-you-can-sponsor-today

           

                        The electorate must have the right to say ‘no’.

            https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/its-a-very-weird-infrastructure-report-isnt-it

 

 

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