Wednesday, April 29, 2026

The Morning Call---just how strong is the earnings outlook?

 

The Morning Call

 

4/29/26

 

The Market

         

    Technical

 

            Tuesday in the charts.

            https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/oil-everything-else-down-horde-headlines-hammers-narratives

 

Summary: Anxiety ahead of the hyperscalers' reporting had traders on edge and there was plenty to trigger FAFO over FOMO as OpenAI's 'miss' triggered one of the biggest momo meltdowns in years. Oil hit its highest since the blockade began (initial ceasefire talks end) and everything else fell (stocks, bond prices, gold, crypto) except the dollar (and VIX). As Goldman's Delta-One desk-head noted earlier, caution is warranted as it's increasingly hard to ignore the fact that stocks are at/near record highs while bonds/oil are defiantly NOT...

 

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

 

            Gold caught in the middle.

            https://www.bespokepremium.com/interactive/posts/think-big-blog/gold-caught-in-the-middle

 

            Charts of the week.

            https://www.carsongroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/ChartsoftheWeekApr20-24-1.pdf

 

            Counterpoint.

            https://www.advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/2026/04/28/extreme-earnings-forecasts-mask-market-risk

 

Wednesday morning setup: S&P futures are flat with Nasdaq outperforming ahead of a huge day for tech. Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, representing nearly 20% of S&P market cap, report after the close, with traders focused on capex. The group has a combined options implied move of more than $750 billion of market cap in either direction. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures are unchanged; Nasdaq futures rise 0.3% amid dip buying following strong results from Seagate, after the index slipped more than 1% in the previous session, and the sector outperformed in Europe and Asia. In premarket trading, semis are again seeing a strong bid post-earnings, Mag7 names are flat to down, Cyclicals are leading Defensives driven by Energy / Industrials / Materials. Treasury yields rose along with the dollar ahead of the Fed’s latest interest-rate announcement at what is likely Jerome Powell’s final meeting as chair and where the Fed will keep rates unchanged. WTI crude rose $103 while Brent jumped above $114 a barrel - approaching the highest since the start of the Iran war - after the US signaled it would stick with a naval blockade of Iranian ports, leaving the Strait of Hormuz impassable. The key overnight news came from Trump’s threat of extending the US blockade, which is boosting oil, pushing Brent to the highest in a month, but for now Equities are blissfully interpreting this as an “escalate to de-escalate” situation. Bond yields are near session highs, above 4.36% ahead of today's Fed decision with no changes expected in an 11-1 vote, though there will likely be multiple questions probing Powell’s intent to leave the Board or to finishing his term which runs into 2028, or perhaps stay on until all investigations are concluded. US economic data calendar slate includes March readings for wholesale inventories, durable goods and housing starts are due at 8:30 a.m. ET. FOMC rate decision is at 2 p.m., followed by a press conference at 2.30 p.m. Bank of Canada rate decision is due at 9:45 a.m.

 

    Fundamental

 

       Headlines

 

              The Economy

 

                        US

 

Weekly mortgage applications declined 1.6% while purchase applications were up 1.1%.

 

Month to date retail chain store sales were up 7.7% versus +6.7% in the prior week.

 

The February housing index was 0 versus consensus of 0.2.

 

The February Case Shiller home price index was up 0.4% versus expectations of -0.2%.

 

February housing starts fell 0.3% versus forecasts of -5.2%; March housing starts were up 10.8% versus -0.7%; February building permits were up 10.9% versus -1.9%; March building permits were -10.8% versus -0.7%

 

March durable goods orders were up 0.8% versus predictions of +0.5%; ex transportation, they were up 0.9% versus +0.4%.

 

The April Richmond Fed manufacturing index came in at 3 versus estimates of 2.

https://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/2026/04/28/richmond-manufacturing-index-reaches-20-month-high

 

The April consumer confidence index was 92.8 versus projections of 89.0.

                          https://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/2026/04/28/consumer-confidence-edged-up-again-despite-spiking-prices

 

                        International

 

                          April German CPI was up 0.6% versus consensus of +0.7%.

 

The April EU economic sentiment index was 93.0 versus expectations of 95.2; the April industrial sentiment index was -7.7 versus -7.2; the April services sentiment index was 0.9 versus 3.5; the consumer confidence index was -20.6, in line.

 

                        Other

 

                          UAE quits OPEC.

  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-28/uae-to-leave-opec-and-opec-next-month-to-pursue-new-strategy?utm_source=website&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=copy

 

                                                  The farm crisis---problems tend to come in batches.

                          https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/us-farmers-are-facing-two-historic-catastrophes-same-time-2026

                       

                          Goldman lowers consumer spending outlook.

                          https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/goldmans-state-us-consumer-outlook-gets-more-grim

 

            Iran

 

              Overnight news.

              https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/iran-believes-it-can-outlast-us-based-munitions-markets-midterms-while-trump-not-open

 

            Monetary Policy

 

              A perfect storm awaits Warsh.

              https://www.capitalspectator.com/a-perfect-storm-awaits-warsh-at-the-fed/

 

            Fiscal Policy

 

              Government limited by debt is the ultimate inheritance.

              https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2026/04/28/a_government_hamstrung_by_past_debts_is_the_ultimate_inheritance_1178971.html

 

              Counterpoint.

              https://cafehayek.com/2026/04/tamny-is-mislead-on-government-debt-by-a-collectivist-assumption.html

 

            Inflation

 

              ECB’s latest survey points to stagflationary pressures.

              https://talkmarkets.com/article/ecbs-latest-surveys-point-to-rising-stagflationary-pressures-1777368430

 

              Home sales and rents show almost no inflationary pressures.

              https://bonddad.blogspot.com/2026/04/repeat-home-sales-new-rents-continue-to.html

 

              Treasuries not adhering to the inflation Warsh wants.

              https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/treasuries-are-not-adhering-inflation-warsh-prefers

 

Summary: Ten-year yields are higher today as oil rises and are creeping back towards their recent closing highs around 4.40%-4.43%. Treasuries traders also care about the left of the decimal point of inflation. Except in their view that is much closer to three than the two Warsh would like it to be.

 

            The Financial System

 

              The credit bubble everyone is ignoring.

              https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-credit-bubble-everybodys-ignoring-e457c0ae?st=hkWe49&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

 

     Investing

 

            In praise of dividend paying stocks.

            https://www.morningstar.com/portfolios/why-ive-changed-my-mind-about-dividend-paying-stocks

 

            A short history of bubbles.

            https://www.albertbridgecapital.com/post/til-death-do-us-part

 

    News on Stocks in Our Portfolios

 

 

What I am reading today

 

            The basics of becoming wise.

            https://dariusforoux.com/the-basics-of-becoming-wise/

 

 

Visit Investing for Survival’s website (http://investingforsurvival.com/home) to learn more about our Investment Strategy, Prices Disciplines and Subscriber Service.

 

 

 

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