Thursday, April 9, 2026

The Morning Call--I am not chasing this rally

 

The Morning Call

 

4/8/26

 

The Market

         

    Technical

 

            Tuesday in the charts.

            https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/headline-mayhem-leaves-traders-breathless-ahead-trump-deadline

 

Summary: Ahead of Trump's self-imposed deadline, headline roulette reached peak beta today with every utterance triggering a pop or drop in oil (and thus bonds and stocks). At the end of the day, the markets ended 'meh' and stuffed full of hedges with Dated Brent surging to a record high but late-day headlines rescued stocks (and pushed WTI futs down). Bond yields ended lower, gold higher, bitcoin down (but off the lows), and short-term vol spiking.

 

Note: the S&P ended up modestly, negating the trend of lower highs. It was done on anticipation of Trump delaying his ‘doomsday’ threat (which was done). But it remained below its 200 DMA. The $64,000 question now is ‘what have we accomplished other than spending $50 billion to prove we have the biggest Johnson and replacing a radical regime with a more radical regime?’  Finally, I would not chase this rally. Indeed, if I owned stocks that I wanted to sell, this is the time to do it.

            https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/75-gulf-energy-assets-damaged-us-iran-war-supply-shock-intensifies

 

            Tuesday in the technical stats.

            https://www.barchart.com/stocks/momentum

            https://www.barchart.com/stocks/market-performance

            https://www.barchart.com/stocks/sectors/rankings

            https://www.barchart.com/stocks/signals/new-recommendations

 

            Understanding the recent rise and fall of gold prices.

            https://www.apolloacademy.com/understanding-the-rise-and-recent-fall-in-gold-prices/

 

Wednesday morning setup: US futures, global stocks and bonds are sharply higher while oil prices plunge the most in years as a wave of optimism swept through global markets after the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire in exchange for Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz: JPMorgan's Market Intel desk, which moves from Neutral to Tactically Bullish this morning, says to look for a re-risking in the very near-term albeit it with higher energy prices. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures are 2.8% higher while emerging-market stocks rallied the most since 2022; Nasdaq gains 3.5% with Mag7 and Semis seeing significant bids as part of an ‘Everything Rally’ ex-Energy. Yet while the overwhelming mood in markets is relief, the same core challenges remain to find a resolution amenable to both countries and Goldman's Delta-One head says he is selling the rally. Brent plunged 16% to around $93 a barrel. Bonds surged, with 10Y tsy yields sliding 8bps to 4.23% while benchmark UK yields tumbled by 22 basis points. The dollar weakened to a one-month low. Gold and silver gain. The macro data focus today is on the Fed Minutes ahead of PCE and CPI releases later this week.

 

 

    Fundamental

 

       Headlines

 

              The Economy

 

                        US

 

Month to date retail chain store sales were up 7.6% versus +6.9% in the prior week.

 

Weekly mortgage applications declined 0.8% while purchase applications were up 1.0%.

 

The April economic optimism index was reported at 42.8 versus estimates of 48.1.

 

                        International

 

February German factory orders were up 0.9% versus predictions of +0.2%.

 

February EU retail sales fell 0,2%, in line; February PPI was down 0.7%, also in line.

 

The March EU construction PMI came in at 44.6 versus forecasts of 46.6; the March German construction PMI was 45.0 versus 44.5; the March UK construction PMI was 45.6 versus 43.9.

 

                        Other

 

                          How well can we withstand the current oil shock?

                          https://talkmarkets.com/article/how-well-can-we-withstand-this-current-oil-price-shock-1775513348

 

                          The March ISM numbers show stagflationary expansion.

                          https://bonddad.blogspot.com/2026/04/march-ism-reports-show-stagflationary.html

 

                          The latest NY Fed consumer survey.

                          https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/ny-fed-survey-finds-1-year-inflation-expectations-jump-driven-surging-gas

 

                          February consumer credit grew less than anticipated.

                          https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/consumer-credit-grows-less-expected-subdued-credit-card-growth

 

            Monetary Policy

 

              The Fed is walking a tight rope.

              https://www.capitalspectator.com/fed-walks-a-policy-tightrope-as-iran-conflict-clouds-the-outlook/#more-25446

 

            Fiscal Policy

 

              Economic growth is the cause of the national debt, not the solution.

              https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2026/04/07/economic_growth_is_the_cause_of_the_national_debt_not_its_solution_1174534.html

 

            Inflation

 

              Inflation showing worrying parallels to 2022.

  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-04-07/us-inflation-shows-worrying-parallels-with-2022-price-surge?srnd=homepage-americas&sref=loFkkPMQ

 

           

            The Financial System

 

A slow motion bank run? (The thing that the author is missing is that the private credit funds still have the right to cap withdrawals. Even assuming investor wants out, the funds have the right to say no---unlike a bank that has to return a depositors funds.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/opinion/banking-crisis-private-credit.html

 

              On the other hand---

              https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-06/goldman-says-it-s-ready-to-pounce-as-retail-flees-private-credit?sref=loFkkPMQ

 

     Investing

 

            Is Trump about to do what gold bugs never could?

            https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2026/04/07/is_donald_trump_about_to_do_what_gold_bugs_never_could_1174877.html

 

            Update on valuation.

            https://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/2026/04/06/market-valuation-is-the-market-still-overvalued

 

    News on Stocks in Our Portfolios

 

 

 

What I am reading today

 

            Who wrote the Old Testament?

            Who really wrote the Old Testament? These are the theories. | National Geographic

           

                        Quote of the day.

            https://cafehayek.com/2026/04/quotation-of-the-day-5339.html

 

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