Displaying items by tag: volatility

(New York)

The market has been very bearish lately, with last week seeing the worst declines for the S&P 500 since march. The market fell 4.6% last week. This may seem like just another bout of volatility, one in a series we have had this Fall. However, the market’s fear gauge, the VIX, suggests that this selloff is different. The VIX just recently hit levels close to during October’s rout, but what is different this time is that it has sustained its momentum in a way that hasn’t happened since 2016. “This shows that unlike October, investors no longer see the market correction as a temporary dislocation, but rather driven by more persistent macro risks”, says Credit Suisse.

FINSUM: The market is continuing to reflect a comment we made yesterday—that the problems plaguing stocks are not simple to resolve, so is easy to see how prices could continue to fall for some time.

(New York)

This market is going against all precedent. December is usually a strong month for stocks, with momentum usually dominating trading. However, everyone knows this month has been brutal, continuing the strong volatility and losses that have plagued the market since October. The same old problems are dogging the market too—rising rates, a trade war, and the threat of recession. What has really gotten worse is that part of the rate curve has inverted, which seems to have really spooked investors globally. Last week the S&P 500 saw it worst performance since March, falling 4.6% for the week.

FINSUM: Here is a question for our audience: what is going to stop this market from falling? There are so many factors pushing the market down, none of them easy to resolve. This makes us worry that there is no floor on prices right now. Even the Trump-Xi “truce” didn’t save things.

(New York)

The stock market has had an undeniably rough quarter. We are currently in the midst of the second big rout in the last two months and indices and markets are essentially flat for the year. However, things are actually much worse than flat if you dig slightly deeper. Get this—forward looking P/E ratios are down a whopping 17% this year. In fact, the fall recently has been one of the worst in decades on a valuation basis. In 2008, valuations only slid 18%, just one percentage point more than this year. It is the third biggest drop in valuations since 1991.

FINSUM: This is a very ominous sign in our opinion, as shares have plunged even as stellar earnings have come out. Classic case of buy the rumor (2017), sell the news (2018).

(New York)

Here is a big warning. Goldman Sachs says that with bonds and stocks falling, and the outlook remaining poor, cash will be king. The bank thinks that stocks will only rise by single digits in 2019. In the words of Goldman analysts, led by David Kostin, the chief of Goldman’s research arm, “We forecast S&P 500 will generate a modest single-digit absolute return in 2019. The risk-adjusted return will be less than half the long-term average. Cash will represent a competitive asset class to stocks for the first time in many years”.

FINSUM: Goldman basically think T-bills are a great buy right now and we have a hard time disagreeing. The yields on short-term holdings are very favorable and quite rate insensitive.

(Washington)

The midterm elections are finally in the rearview mirror, and generally speaking, the results are exactly what the market expected. That means it may be time for a rush back into stocks after the turmoil of the last month. One analyst put it this way, saying “Following this week’s volatility and the FANGs selloff this week, we’re likely to see traders getting back in and buying the dip. The elections have been a win for both the Republicans and the Democrats, and this will bring balance to the market”.

FINSUM: We do suspect investors will breath a sigh of relief. Firstly, things went according to plan, but secondly, a split Congress is in some ways the best case scenario for stocks.