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Author: jsc

Morning Notes — Closing Levels Matter

Earlier this morning, the S&P 500 briefly traded above the February 19, 2020 intraday record high of 3393. That’s encouraging but the close is what matters to technicians. Old highs act as fairly strong technical resistance and we thought the index would run out of

Morning Notes — Case for Cyclical/ Value Sectors

Thus far, investors haven’t been using growth stocks as a funding source for increased positioning in cyclical/value sectors. Still-light broad equity positioning, record cash balances and an unconvinced investor base (some recency bias combined with more than 3 years of head fakes) are the main

Morning Notes — Outlook

Ten-year Treasury yields hit an eight week high yesterday and 30-year yield broke through the 50 and 100-day moving average that CTAs sometimes use as a trigger. The ~1.40% level also looks like a near-term technical resistance zone. A sustained break above ~1.45% could lead

Morning Notes — Near-Term Outlook

The last two weeks of initial jobless claims came in lower than expected, the July Jobs Report exceeded expectations, July manufacturing/services ISMs were well ahead of consensus and PPI/CPI readings were firmer this week

Morning Notes — Technical Resistance Ahead

The narrative on vaccines has shifted from ‘if’ to ‘when’, which has also shifted the predominant investment theme from ‘COVID winners’ to ‘recovery outperformers.’ You can see this in the price action of airlines, casinos, cruise lines and hotels over the past 5-7 sessions. You

Morning Notes — Near Term Expectations for the SPX

Last week, the S&P 500 broke through another consolidation zone, filled the downside gap from February 24 and ready to test the all-time high of ~3390. Look for the S&P 500 (SPX) to approach 3390 on further improvement in US COVID statistics, with the S&P

Morning Notes — Rotation and Multiple Compression

For the past three months, we’ve argued in favor of cyclical stocks with sustainable dividend yields. These are cyclical companies with 2019 EBITDA numbers at 4x the cost of their dividend. You could cut the EBITDA numbers in half and still have plenty of room

Morning Notes — Stimulus

Mnuchin said he’s trying to complete the fiscal package agreement by the end of the week, which was echoed by Pelosi.  McConnell said he would accept whatever the White House and Democrats agree upon even if that means keeping supplemental Federal unemployment benefits at $600/week. 

Morning Notes — Macro Catalysts Ahead

With the key Q2 S&P 500 earnings metrics now well entrenched and understood, the focus for the balance of the week will shift to macro data.  Tomorrow’s release of July ADP private payrolls and July Services ISM will be important for markets ahead of Friday’s