Tuesday, July 7, 2026

The Morning Call---Misreading the data on margin debt

 

The Morning Call

 

7/7/26

 

The Market

         

    Technical

 

            Monday in the charts.

            https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/one-bubble-after-another-bitcoin-bid-semis-slip-oil-gold-dip

 

Summary: After a long weekend - following an ugly week - stocks bounced (in their seasonally normal manner to start July) but early momentum/memory gains faded somewhat. Bitcoin bounced back bigly after early weakness (shrugging off the tech reversal on Trump comments). Bonds and the dollar whipsawed higher then lower to end unch along with oil. Gold down as ETF outflows continue. After Thursday's ugliness post-payrolls, a long weekend of refreshment and patriotism had the buyers stepping back in with big-tech (Nasdaq) leading the way, but all the majors higher with The Dow topping 53k for the first time...

 

Monday 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

 

            Misreading the data on margin debt risk.

            https://talkmarkets.com/article/margin-debt-risk-the-ratios-that-mislead-investors-1783330812

 

            Bitcoin according to Elliott Wave Theory.

            https://talkmarkets.com/article/bitcoin-completes-five-wave-decline-recovery-toward-67k-now-in-focus-1783330078

 

Tuesday morning setup: Stocks fell as fresh volatility hit chipmakers after blowout earnings from Samsung Electronics were still not good enough (the company missed some buyside estimates) and left investors wanting even more, and sent its stock tumbling as much as 11%, forcing another 20 minute halt of the Kospi. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures were down 0.2% and Nasdaq futures fall 1%, with chip stocks sliding in premarket trading (both Micron and Sandisk dropped more than 5%), following a tech led selloff in Asia, while SpaceX is joining the index today, potentially leading to positioning adjustments across global tech. European stocks are little changed. Meanwhile, Brent crude futures rise 1.5% and are back above $73 a barrel following another Iran attack on a Qatari LNG ship crossing the Strait of Hormuz near Oman. European natural gas futures are up around 4%. Bonds trade heavy as a result with a decline in Treasuries pushing US 10-year yields up 3 basis points to 4.50%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index inches higher with modest moves across the G-10 complex. Precious metals fall as does Bitcoin. US economic data calendar includes ADP weekly employment change (8:15am), May trade balance (8:30am) and June New York Fed 1-year inflation expectations (11am).

 

    Fundamental

 

       Headlines

 

              The Economy

 

                        US

 

Month to date retail chain store sales jumped 11.5% versus +10.5% in the prior week.

 

The May trade balance was -$77.6 billion versus predictions of -$78.5 billion.

 

The June final services PMI was reported at 51.2 versus forecasts of 51.4; the June final composite PMI was 51.9 versus 52.2.

https://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/2026/07/06/sp-global-services-pmi-june-2026

 

                          The June ISM services index was 54.0, in line.

                          https://bonddad.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-economically-weighted-ism-indexes.html

 

                        International

 

May Japanese household spending rose 3.7% versus expectations of +1.4%; May YoY cash earnings were up 3.2% versus 3.4%; the May preliminary leading economic indicators were 116.8 versus 116.9.

 

May German industrial production was up 0.9% versus estimates of +0.2%.

 

                        Other

 

                        The latest from my favorite optimist.

                        http://scottgrannis.blogspot.com/2026/06/interesting-chart-updates.html

 

                        The latest on US dollar reserves.

                                https://econbrowser.com/archives/2026/07/us-dollar-reserves-us-iran-war-1-month

                       

Oil may be down but container rates are up.

                        https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hormuz-rearview-asia-us-ocean-container-rates-soar-past-7900

                       

            Iran

 

              Overnight news.

              https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/qatari-lng-tanker-hit-iranian-missile-hormuz-chokepoint

 

            Monetary Policy

 

              The bond market is telling the Fed to get on with the rate hikes.

              https://wolfstreet.com/2026/07/04/six-month-treasury-yield-rises-to-4-bond-market-tells-the-fed-to-get-on-with-the-rate-hikes/

 

              Counterpoint.

              https://www.capitalspectator.com/will-markets-start-to-price-in-lower-inflation-risk/#more-25715

 

            AI

 

              AI prices are rising but the payoff is not yet clear.

  https://theweek.com/tech/ai-financial-payoffs-prices-inflation?refid=75FFC898AD6883CBB120FC6A86C62323&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=afternoon_newsletter_20260702&utm_source=afternoon_newsletter

 

              The next AI risk isn’t technology, it’s politics.

              https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2026/07/06/the_next_ai_risk_isnt_technology_its_politics_1192142.html

 

              The end of being drunk on AI?

              https://mrzepczynski.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-end-of-being-drunk-on-ai.html

 

     Investing

 

            The growth in crypto.

            https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2026/07/06/dont_call_67_million_americans_a_fringe_1192530.html

 

            Expected Market sector returns.

            https://talkmarkets.com/article/health-care-offers-the-highest-expected-returns-as-sp-500-targets-15-gain-1783258175

           

            Surging profits estimates raise fear of earnings bubble.

            https://giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/5a6f496a-23ab-4bde-85a1-9b2660602179

 

            Small cap stocks are having their biggest run in decades.

            https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/russell-2000-small-stocks-gains-83fade43?st=ktmYfj&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

 

            The diminishing case for dividend investing.

            https://www.flyoverstocks.com/p/dividend-investing-is-dead

 

    News on Stocks in Our Portfolios

 

 

 

What I am reading today

 

            Phil Mickelson’s long history of misconduct.

            https://www.skratch.golf/news/pro-golf/phil-mickelson-misconduct-women-madison-club-bridges-farms-exits

 

 

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

 

 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment