Eq: Total Market
(New York)
Not a day after warning about the unstable financial practices of S&P 500 companies, Goldman Sachs has just gone on the record saying that the S&P 500 is set for another round of big gains. The bank raised its year-end forecast for the index to 3,100. Goldman thinks that stocks are currently trading at fair valuations, and that “The dovish Fed pivot has driven the equity market rally in 2019, and we expect low interest rates will continue to support above-average valuations going forward”. The bank contends stocks will rise a further 10% in 2020.
FINSUM: We think stocks are going to move in line with the economy. If growth stays okay, and the Fed stays dovish, we are in for a move higher. We think the best odds are for a bull case.
(New York)
Beyond high valuations and a potentially worrying economy (not to mention a trade war), there is something else investors need to worry about. Goldman Sachs is warning investors that S&P 500 companies are engaging in unsustainable financial payouts. The bank shows that in the year ending in March, companies in the index spent about 104% of their free cash flow on buybacks and dividends. It is the first time since before the Crisis that companies spent more on payouts than they generated in free cash flow.
FINSUM: So far this behavior is not hurting companies because investors are okay with extra leverage given the likelihood of Fed easing, but this is definitely a warning sign of financial excess.
(New York)
The market seems like it is hurdling towards the same conclusion it experienced last year—a big fourth quarter reversal. This time though, it won’t come because of worries over rate hikes, but fears for the economy itself. Stocks have been on an extraordinary run this year with the S&P 500 up over 20% and the Nasdaq up over 25%, but it all looks likely to reverse. P/E ratios have jumped from an average of 13x to over 17x, all at the same time as the global and US economy is looking more vulnerable.
FINSUM: We think a market reversal will likely come in step with economic signals. If a rate cut actually works to stimulate the economy, then it seems much less likely there will be a correction/bear market like last year.
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(New York)
UBS just went on the record warning of a potential bursting bubble in equity markets. The bank’s CEO says that global coordinated central bank easing posed a threat to markets and risked inflating a bubble. “I’d be very, very careful about growing further the balance sheet of central banks”, said CEO Sergio Ermotti. He further explained that current market prices were out of sync with investor sentiment, posing a risk. However, he did say that clients were ready to buy the dips in the market, which was an encouraging sign.
FINSUM: The equity markets remind us a bit of US politics at the moment. There are a lot of people in the middle without a lot of conviction, but those on the sharper ends are driving the whole thing forward.
(Beijing)
There have been a lot of stories, admittedly in this publication too, that have diminished the threat of the current trade war with China for the US economy. In a very direct sense, that may be true, but there is a lot of misunderstanding about the Chinese economy. Most people think that China is currently slowing because of the trade war with the US, but that is not really the case. The much bigger issue is that the country’s credit boom has run its course and the government is running out of options to boost growth. The credit boom was caused by the government needing to stimulate consumer spending in an effort to spur a domestic consumption economy, but credit has more or less reached it limits, and therefore, so has the economy.
FINSUM: If China has a big contraction/meltdown, it will ripple across all the countries who are part of its ecosystem, including all the EMs in the region, Africa, and then ultimately the big developed economies with which it is now inextricably linked.
(Washington)
Markets breathed a big sigh of relief at the G20 a few weeks ago when Trump announced that after meeting with Xi, China had agreed to return to the negotiating table with the US. This sent expectations surging that a trade deal between Washington and Beijing was within reach. However, all that hope seems to have been for nothing, as Trump and China are reportedly having trouble even making it back to the table because of being at odds over Huawei.
FINSUM: To be honest, we think the US and China are so at odds over trade that it is hard to imagine they will be able to resolve these tensions any time soon. Some are even saying this is going to be the Cold War 2.0.