A thread on Sept slide and how it's come when several cycles turn weaker:
Options appear to be part of the trigger. The equity P/C ratio fell to a 20-yr low on 9/2 but the index P/C was near its 20-yr avg. @NDR_Research 1/x
Equity/index P/C difference likely due to out-of-money call buying of mega-cap Growth stocks. Market makers hedged, partly at index level. The result was a spike in the $VXN.
Spread between implied vol (VXN) and realized $NDX vol was highest since 2015. 2/x
Implied/realized vol spikes usually comes after DECLINES, not rallies.
Chart shows $NDX returns before & after implied/realized vol >20. Only time NDX up more 6M prior was in 1999.
I'm not saying this is a 1999 replay, but it shows how weird the action was. 3/x
Regardless of the catalyst, several cycles were at points when stocks usually pause.
1st, rallies coming out of recessions are similar (on avg!) for first few months. Around months 4-5, gains slow in U recoveries vs Vs. Our macro team thinks it's a U that ended in April 4/x
2nd, the biggest correction in the first 9 months of a cyclical bull market comes around the 4.5-month mark (on avg!). That puts the pullback a little behind schedule. 5/x.
3rd, stocks tend to be weak in the two months before presidential elections. Uncertainty increases as the election comes into focus. Pullbacks tend to be stronger when the incumbent party has lost. 6/x
4th, our $SPX Cycle Composite peaked on Sept. 8. It combines the 1-, 4-, and 10-yr cycles.
Don't focus too much on the exact date, but seasonality is becoming a headwind. 7/x
Our sentiment composite hit its highest level since Jan 31 on Sept 2. It's now in its neutral zone.
From here, watch the technical damage as the extreme optimism of early Sept is worked off. If technicals contained, it will likely be a bull correction, as the four cycles imply.
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The @NDR_Research SPX Cycle Composite is pretty bullish on 2025, esp. 1H. Why?
First, what is the Cycle Composite? An average of 3 historical price patterns: 1yr, 4yr (post election yrs), and 10yr (yrs ending in 5). Think of it has history's view of what 2025 can look like? 1/4
The 1 yr and 4 yr are intuitive. Fund flows & IPOs follow seasonal patterns, as does gov’t policy around pres. elections.
Why the 10 yr? The Kondratieff cycle shows the economy goes thru 10yr boom and bust waves. Years ending in 5 are by far the best for the SPX, on avg. 2/4
Only 2 recessions in year 5s. 1945 (demilitarization) & 1975 (ended in March 1975).
SPX has declined only once in a year 5 since 1895. That was in 2015, also the only year 5 that includes an @NDR_Research defined cyclical bear market. 3/4
Funny what of my research gets picked up and what doesn't. On Monday we featured this table showing that the year after the S&P 500 has logged at least 50 record highs, stocks have been weak.
I get it. Simple sells. Being bearish sells (up to a point). @NDR_Research 1/3
But factoids are not research. Nuance matters. The logic behind the study is by the time the market logs so many records, it has not only recovered from a bear but the bull is mature. Trees don't grow to the sky.
But bears don't die of old age, either. They need a catalyst. 2/3
Of the 7 cases, only 2 were weak right away. 3 were strong 1H, weak 2H (1929 crash, 2015 oil & Chinese growth, 2018 Fed tightening), 2 were solid all year.
My takeaway is we enter 2025 in good shape but potential negative catalysts are out there (inflation, EPS slowdown). 3/3
A 🧵on the election and markets:
Biden/Trump is a rematch no one wants, but Biden in particular has an approval rating issue. At 41%, he has the lowest of any president seeking reelection at this point in the year. The median for incumbents who won is 55%. @NDR_Research 1/5
Taking Biden's reelection bid out of the equation, presidential approval acts like any sentiment indicator. A low % implies pessimism, which tends to be bullish for stocks.
For approval rating there's a "no bad it's bad" zone but Biden's approval would need to fall 6 points. 2/5
The start of election years tends to be weak. Stocks have done better when the incumbent party has gone on to retain the White House. It's a chicken-and-egg argument. A strong economy helps stocks and therefore helps the incumbent. 3/5
The Fed is preparing the markets for a rate cut. Cuts have been bullish on avg. The DJIA has been flat before the 1st cut & up 15% a year later.
Context matters, esp. vs the economic cycle. (Btw, we use the DJIA for more history but trends are similar w/SPX). @NDR_Research 1/5
When the Fed has avoided recession, stocks have ripped higher, +24% 1 yr later.
When the economy has been in recession within a year of the 1st cut, the DJIA has weak beforehand but +10% 1 yr later. Most of the gains came in months 8-12. Why? Again, context matters. 2/5
Historically the Fed waited until near the end of the recession, after much of the damage was done.
When the Fed cut early in recession, stocks were mixed for months before rallying.
When the Fed cut before recession, the DJIA fell for 10 more months, on avg. 3/5
We're entering the ❤️ of earnings season, so here's a 🧵on where we are in the cycle. 1. The bull market has left the early sentiment-driven phase when "P" rises > "E" and entered the earnings-driven phase (e.g., EPS growth needed for bull to continue). @NDR_Research 1/6
@NDR_Research 2. SPX trades not off EPS growth but the change in the growth rate. Consensus is calling for EPS growth to accelerate in CY24, which would be bullish.
Investors have learned that analysts are often too optimistic, so it's TBD if their positive outlook comes to fruition. 2/6
3. A risk to consensus estimates are that they are back-end loaded. Single quarter y/y SPX operating EPS growth is expected to spike from <10% in Q1 & Q2 to 20% in Q3 & 18% in Q4. Comps play a role but that's baking in a soft/no landing scenario. 3/6
We published our 23 charts of 2023. A sample: 1. File 2023 under the market doing what is needed to prove the majority wrong. Recession and new lows were consensus in Jan. Not only did econ data exceed expectations, but the economy grew ⬆️trend & SPX gained 24%. @NDR_Research 1/5
2. Partly due to the dour economic outlook, the market was ahead of the Fed in expecting rate cuts. A year ago fed funds futures expected the first cut in mid-2023. Powell followed through on his promise for higher for longer and is preparing for a mid-2024 first cut. 2/5
3. Most surprising chart of the year? With focus on the Fed, many missed the massive fiscal stimulus. An 8.8% social security COLA increase, lower capital gains taxes, filing delays, and interest expenses contributed to the biggest policy stimulus outside war or recession. 3/5