Eq: Total Market
(New York)
Investors need to take note, as one of the biggest equity research divisions on Wall Street has just turned overwhelmingly negative on equities. And this is not the “stocks will struggle in coming years” kind of call, it is an argument for right now and published yesterday. The bank has lowered its allocation to stocks, saying that the outlook for markets over the next three months is very poor. Morgan Stanley says equities prices are way too high and expectations for major rate cuts are already priced in, leaving little room for appreciation. They also think valuations are too high given deteriorating manufacturing and economic data.
FINSUM: Morgan Stanley is basically saying that the market is primed for disappointment because all the positive outcomes have already been priced in. Not unrealistic.
(New York)
Here is a data signal most of the market is not paying attention to when it comes to recession forecasting: nationwide capital expenditure, or Capex. Morgan Stanley’s index of capex has shrunk to its lowest level in two years, as the high from the Trump tax cuts wears off for companies and they tighten purse strings. Capex growth is likely to weaken from 11% last year to just 3% this year. According to the deputy CIO of State Street, “Low capex growth is very worrying … You’re starting to see the trade tensions and the macro growth concerns play out in business confidence — companies won’t open a new factory if they think we’re on the cusp of a recession”.
FINSUM: This is a worrying sign but not wholly unexpected given the waning benefits of the tax cuts. However, even though this is expected, it does not mean it won’t hurt the economy.
(New York)
Don’t let the cooling of the trade war between the US and China fool you, the markets are not in a good position, at least that is the position of Bank of America. The bank thinks there won’t be a deal between Washington and Beijing until the US market feels real pain. They think the looming Q3 correction will be the stimulus that gets a deal done because Trump operates under a “no pain, no deal” paradigm. “The markets are likely to view the summit as a modest positive in the short run. But stepping back, we see several reasons for concern”, says Bank of America.
FINSUM: The “no pain, no deal” concept makes a lot of sense to us. The bigger question, though, is what would cause the pain because markets certainly aren’t hurting from the threat of a trade war. Maybe a big earnings miss? (See below)
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(New York)
Earnings recessions don’t always hurt that much, but they don’t help. Just look at the 2015-2016 period, when earnings didn’t perform well. Markets didn’t lose much, but they were mostly flat. Now we are re-entering that paradigm, as many companies are cutting earnings and it looks like the first earnings recession in three years is coming. Earnings are very likely to fall in the second quarter, with average analyst estimates calling for a nearly 3% decline across the board. So far, 20 of the S&P 500’s companies have reported and the average earnings fall has been 15%.
FINSUM: A bigger than expected decline in earnings could seriously change the risk-reward outlook of markets. This seems like an important risk right now.
(New York)
If you are feeling some relief because of the “trade truce” between the US and China, don’t. At least that is what Morgan Stanley and Bank of America are saying. Morgan Stanley explains that the current rally is very reminiscent of what happened last November, just before the market imploded and had the worst December on record. At that time, the US and China had another truce which sent markets rallying. However, bigger tensions loomed larger and set the market up for a historic fall. One of the big issues was that the seeming ”truce” stopped inventory managers from purchasing because there was no more incentive to stockpile.
FINSUM: The most interesting view here is the idea that the markets are trapped between the “Powell Put” and the “Trump Call”. That is the concept that every time markets are doing well, Trump will try to drive a harder bargain with China, and if the market falls, Powell will cut rates. In this way, markets could be trapped in a banded range.
(New York)
America tends to be very US-centric, but right now it would be wise to pay attention to some global economic signals. In particular, manufacturing is starting to look very weak across the world, and the negative wave is already impacting the US. Factory output across Europe and Asia declined in June, and the US’ barely rose. Globally, it was a second straight month of contractions, something that has not happened since 2012. More specific data showed declining sales and production in both China and Germany.
FINSUM: The US has been sprayed with Teflon for most of this bull market, but given the global nature of the trade war, it seems like we may be starting to get sucked into the downturn.