Displaying items by tag: bear market

(New York)

The market had eagerly awaited Fed Testimony before Congress on Tuesday as investors wanted clarity on rising inflation concerns, but it appears investors...see the full story on our partner Magnifi's site

(New York)

The market has been doing great. So great in fact, that many are nervous about a swift correction. Despite this, the market continues to push for new all-time highs each week. Credit Suisse weighed in on the market in a big way this week. To be clear, the bank is not exactly bearish on the market. Their overall position is “We have remained overweight equities on the back of highly supportive policy, a high ERP [equity risk premium], the start of a bond-for-equity switch and huge excess liquidity, while tactical indicators are not yet sending a sell signal”. That said, the bank warned that there was one very “high” risk to the market: the Fed. Credit Suisse thinks there is a good chance that the Fed suddenly gets less dovish in the second half of the year after some good growth in 1H. This would be a dramatic turn for investors and could risk a sharp reversal.

FINSUM: We have to agree with this risk. The huge stimulus and excess liquidity which are flooding the market are major tailwinds, so if they reversed, it would be a shock. The whole set up reminds of us what occurred in Q4 2018.

(New York)

Despite all fears, markets had a fairly strong year in 2020. Why? See the full story on our partner Magnifi’s site.

(New York)

Goldman Sachs has been leading Wall Street in its bullish outlook for 2021. The bank has been forecasting 6.6% GDP growth, a full 2.5% above the consensus forecast. However, the bank just published a note which represents the first backtrack on that call. The bank pointed out that the new strains of COVID could pose a risk to growth. In particular, they explained that if the current vaccines do not give a high degree of protection against the new COVID strains, then the spending boom which they forecasted this year might be delayed to 2022. In the bank’s own words, if the new strains require a new vaccine “Virus-sensitive spending would likely retrench while a new vaccine is developed, and although a new vaccine could be approved in less than five months, the consumption boom would likely be delayed until 2022”.

FINSUM: We are sure they made this admission with some frustration as GS has been quite bullish. That said, they did so because it is very realistic. It should be noted that most authorities say that the current vaccine should cover the new strains.

(New York)

Goldman Sachs went on the record with a bold call last week. They told investors that despite all the fears in the market, a big correction WAS NOT coming. Alessio Rizzi and his team at Goldman say that many indicators are showing a bullish outlook, and that big losses don’t seem likely. According to Rizzi, “more moderate risky asset returns are likely from here, rather than an imminent risk of a sizable correction”. One indicator Goldman cited as very bullish was the ratio between puts and calls. Right now the market is deeply favoring calls, with the ratio nearing the limits of its normal distribution.

FINSUM: So bulls look at this and say “aha, I’m right, the market will rise”; and bears say “exactly as expected, this is a contrarian indicator”! In our opinion, on the whole, there is plenty to be optimistic about.