June 23, 2021
What You Need to Know Today:
Today the market looks a lot like “before the Fed Wednesday”
Remember way back at the beginning of last week? That is before the Federal Reserve signaled on Wednesday that more of the members of its Open Market Committee were thinking about raising interest rates sooner than previously expected. Re-opening stocks, value stocks, and cyclical stocks led the market. The small cap Russell 2000 was the best performing of the major indexes. Well, they’re back
Nvidia joins small group of “must-own” stocks
If you’re building a portfolio and want e-commerce exposure, you buy Amazon (AMZN). For smartphones, you buy a stake in Apple (AAPL). For electric cars, it’s Tesla (TSLA). There’s a small group of stocks that are “must own” stocks for any growth portfolio because they encapsulate a key growth trend. I’d now add Nvidia to the list.
Special Report: 5 Picks and 5 Hedges for a Falling Market–my last installment on hedging (at least for now)
After Wednesday’s news from the Federal Reserve, we all know that an interest rate increase is coming–even if we don’t know when. Could be 2022. Could be 2023. And even if we don’t know how many increases we’re looking for in that time period. Could be one. Could be two. The need to revise your portfolio to take that change in monetary policy is obvious. But figuring out how and when isn’t by any means straightforward. What gives? And how should be navigate a period that is almost certainly going to end with a reversal of the lower for longer interest rates that have dominated asset prices for decades? Today, for the last installment in my Special Report: “5 Picks and 5 Hedges for a Falling Market” I’m going to take one last run at how to hedge this market and how to position your portfolio for the developing trends. (I don’t have much hope that this will be the last time I’m visiting this topic, of course.)
Today the market looks a lot like “before the Fed Wednesday”
Remember way back at the beginning of last week? That is before the Federal Reserve signaled on Wednesday that more of the members of its Open Market Committee were thinking about raising interest rates sooner than previously expected. Re-opening stocks, value stocks, and cyclical stocks led the market. The small cap Russell 2000 was the best performing of the major indexes. Well, they’re back
Saturday Night Quarterback (on a Sunday) says, For the week ahead expect…
The question for Monday and for the week ahead is whether stocks will pull back further on the Fed news or whether the market’s propensity to bounce back well before a slight dip can turn into even a 5% pullback will reassert itself.
Trick or trend: Options expiration day makes it tough to say what of today’s stock moves mean anything for the longer trend
Stock volume spiked on a quarterly event known as triple witching, when options and futures on indexes and equities expire. As of 11:45 a.m. in New York, volume on S&P 500 Index stocks was almost 50% above the average for that time of day over the past 30 sessions. The quarterly expiration usually coincides with a rebalancing of benchmarks such as the S&P 500, sparking single-day volumes that rank among the highest of the year. Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P, told Bloombertd that the rebalancing in that index alone could force $30 billion of stock trades. More than $2 trillion of S&P 500 options and futures were scheduled to expire Friday, Goldman Sachs estimates. The increased volume today and the jump in volatility for many stocks comes after a extremely calm stretch for the stock market. Measured by the 20-day volatility, the S&P 500’s price swings dwindled to levels not seen since the start of 2020. All this makes it very hard to look at the market reaction to the Fed’s news from Wednesday and today’s price movements and say which indicate a longer-lasting trend in market direction and which are simply a reflection of technical moves by traders closing positions ahead of the expiration or in reaction to the expiration.
Special Report: 5 Picks and 5 Hedges for a Falling Market–my last installment on hedging (at least for now)
After Wednesday’s news from the Federal Reserve, we all know that an interest rate increase is coming–even if we don’t know when. Could be 2022. Could be 2023. And even if we don’t know how many increases we’re looking for in that time period. Could be one. Could be two. The need to revise your portfolio to take that change in monetary policy is obvious. But figuring out how and when isn’t by any means straightforward. What gives? And how should be navigate a period that is almost certainly going to end with a reversal of the lower for longer interest rates that have dominated asset prices for decades? Today, for the last installment in my Special Report: “5 Picks and 5 Hedges for a Falling Market” I’m going to take one last run at how to hedge this market and how to position your portfolio for the developing trends. (I don’t have much hope that this will be the last time I’m visiting this topic, of course.)
Live Market Report (20 minute delay)
| Symbol | Name | Last Price | Jubak's Gain/Loss | Jubak's Gain/Loss % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Nvidia joins small group of “must-own” stocks
If you’re building a portfolio and want e-commerce exposure, you buy Amazon (AMZN). For smartphones, you buy a stake in Apple (AAPL). For electric cars, it’s Tesla (TSLA). There’s a small group of stocks that are “must own” stocks for any growth portfolio because they encapsulate a key growth trend. I’d now add Nvidia to the list.
Special Report: 5 Picks and 5 Hedges for a Falling Market–my last installment on hedging (at least for now)
After Wednesday’s news from the Federal Reserve, we all know that an interest rate increase is coming–even if we don’t know when. Could be 2022. Could be 2023. And even if we don’t know how many increases we’re looking for in that time period. Could be one. Could be two. The need to revise your portfolio to take that change in monetary policy is obvious. But figuring out how and when isn’t by any means straightforward. What gives? And how should be navigate a period that is almost certainly going to end with a reversal of the lower for longer interest rates that have dominated asset prices for decades? Today, for the last installment in my Special Report: “5 Picks and 5 Hedges for a Falling Market” I’m going to take one last run at how to hedge this market and how to position your portfolio for the developing trends. (I don’t have much hope that this will be the last time I’m visiting this topic, of course.)
Today the market looks a lot like “before the Fed Wednesday”
Remember way back at the beginning of last week? That is before the Federal Reserve signaled on Wednesday that more of the members of its Open Market Committee were thinking about raising interest rates sooner than previously expected. Re-opening stocks, value stocks, and cyclical stocks led the market. The small cap Russell 2000 was the best performing of the major indexes. Well, they’re back
Saturday Night Quarterback (on a Sunday) says, For the week ahead expect…
The question for Monday and for the week ahead is whether stocks will pull back further on the Fed news or whether the market’s propensity to bounce back well before a slight dip can turn into even a 5% pullback will reassert itself.
Trick or trend: Options expiration day makes it tough to say what of today’s stock moves mean anything for the longer trend
Stock volume spiked on a quarterly event known as triple witching, when options and futures on indexes and equities expire. As of 11:45 a.m. in New York, volume on S&P 500 Index stocks was almost 50% above the average for that time of day over the past 30 sessions. The quarterly expiration usually coincides with a rebalancing of benchmarks such as the S&P 500, sparking single-day volumes that rank among the highest of the year. Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P, told Bloombertd that the rebalancing in that index alone could force $30 billion of stock trades. More than $2 trillion of S&P 500 options and futures were scheduled to expire Friday, Goldman Sachs estimates. The increased volume today and the jump in volatility for many stocks comes after a extremely calm stretch for the stock market. Measured by the 20-day volatility, the S&P 500’s price swings dwindled to levels not seen since the start of 2020. All this makes it very hard to look at the market reaction to the Fed’s news from Wednesday and today’s price movements and say which indicate a longer-lasting trend in market direction and which are simply a reflection of technical moves by traders closing positions ahead of the expiration or in reaction to the expiration.
Today brings the selling that many expected after Wednesday’s Fed meeting
Yesterday, growth stocks climbed in the face of signals from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday that interest rates increase were coming sooner–as soon as the end of 2022–than expected. That seemed puzzling. May be, one line of thought (mine) had it, investors and traders decided that growth stocks would outrun any increase in interest rates that might take place in 2022 or 2023. Today, we got the selling that many had expected yesterday
Initial claims for unemployment rise to end six-week streak of improving labor market
Initial jobless claims in regular state unemployment programs rose to 412,000 for the week ended June 12. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting 3.425 million new claims.
Yesterday’s Fed projection of an earlier than expected interest rate increase gives a boost today to tech growth stories
The Standard & Poor’s 500 was basically flat with a loss of just 0.04% as of the close today. If you want ACTION!!! you have to look elsewhere: To the NASDAQ Composite, which was up 0.87% as of the close and to the small cap Russell 2000, which was down 1.18% at the finish.
Take that Ford: GM will boost spending on electric and autonomous vehicles by 30% through 2025
General Motors (GM) will boost global spending on electric and autonomous vehicles to $35 billion through 2025. That’s a 30% jump over its last spending plan, Reuters reported today.
Watch my new YouTube video: “Interest Rate Hikes Are Coming”
I’m starting up my videos on JubakAM.com again–this time using YouTube as a platform. The twenty-eighth YouTube video “Interest Rate Hikes Are Coming” went up today.
Today it’s the Dot Plot and not the Fed’s story that sends prices down
The rhetoric was the same after today’s meeting of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee: “Inflation has risen, largely reflecting transitory factors.” But the Dot Plot that tracks projections by the committee’s 18 members told a very different story: There’s more reason to expect an earlier increase in interest rates than back in March.
The Fed edges closer to losing control over the inflation narrative ahead of tomorrow’s Open Market Committee meeting
The Federal Reserve is facing a “can’t win” situation on inflation as chair Jerome Powell prepares his post-meeting statement for tomorrow.
With Fed meeting on tap for tomorrow, stocks slip on disappointing retail sales growth
Retail sales fell by 1.3% in May from April, the Commerce Department reported this morning. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had projected a 0.8% month over month drop. The month to month drop in retail sales was the first drop in month to month sales since February. Retail sales still grew a very solid 23% year over year as the economy continued its recovery from the pandemic recession of 2020.
CEO Dimon says JPMChase is building cash in expectation of higher interest rates
Today, Monday June 14, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon said that the bank is holding around $500 billion in cash in order to benefit from higher interest rates. Dimon told a Morgan Stanley virtual conference that he expects rising inflation will result in higher interest rates over the next 9 months.
After last week’s Treasury rally, Wall Street says short bonds again–for a short-term trade
After a quick jump in bond prices (and decline in yields) forced Treasury short-sellers to buy in order to cover their trade (and avoid further losses), today, Monday June 4, Wall Street strategists are saying that in the short-term the pendulum has swung back too far and it’s now time to go short Treasuries again ahead of Wednesday’s meeting of the Federal Reserve.
Ahead of Wednesday’s Fed meeting, stocks tread water
As of the close on Monday, June 4, the major stock indexes were treading water waiting to here what, if anything, the Federal Reserve might say after the Wednesday meeting of its interest-rate-setting body, the Open Market Committee. (No one really expects the Fed to actually do anything about the monthly schedule for bond purchases or about changing the benchmark interest rate now set at 0% to 0.25%.) The Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 0.18% but the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.25%. The NASDAQ Composite was up 0.74% but the small cap Russell 2000 was lower by 0.54%.
Buying Cyber Security stock CrowdStrike in my Jubak Picks and Millennial portfolios
I posted Friday, June 11, that investors looking for a theme to buy in an expensive market had turned to Cyber Security stocks. Makes sense, I noted, with ransomware attacks running at a fast pace and forecast pointing to even more attacks on corporate and government systems in the months (years?) ahead. I wrote that in this sector I already owned Palo Alto Networks in my Jubak Picks Portfolio where the stock is up 79% since I added this position on June 27, 2019, and in my 50 Stocks Portfolio where it is up 50% since I added this position on January 21, 2020, and in my new Millennial Portfolio where the position is up 0.94% since I added it on May 21, 2021. And that I would be adding another Cyber Security stock, CrowdStrike Holdings, to my Jubak Picks and Millennial portfolios on Monday, June 14
Trick or Trend: Will Wednesday’s data show China’s economy slowing in May from April torrid pace?
On Wednesday, June 16, China will release its official data on economic indicators such as industrial output and retail sales. The numbers are expected to show a slowing from April’s torrid growth but still a very healthy pace of improvement. Which would be a good thing since an over-heating Chinese economy would be one source of potential global inflation, and especially of commodity price inflation.
Saturday Night Quarterback says, For the week ahead expect…
I expect an end to the short-covering in the Treasury market ahead of Wednesday’s meeting of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee. Short-covering in the Treasury market as bond traders unwound bets against Treasuries sent the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note down 11 basis points this week. That’s the biggest weekly decline in a year. Yields on the 10-year Treasury hit 1.43% on Friday, a three-month low.
Investors see a theme to buy in CyberSecurity stocks today
Investors looking for a theme to buy in an expensive market where the Standard & Poor’s 500 hit a new all-time high yesterday today, June 11, looked to Cyber Security stocks. And why not with the newest round of ransomware attacks clearly not the last effort by hackers to break into corporate networks.
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