Market at Crossroad & Potential Catalysts

Over the past few weeks, we are seeing several consolidation patterns popping-up in different markets. Consolidation usually signals in-decision or brief pause before resumption of the underlying trend. However, markets also consolidate in a sequence of 1s and 2s before a significant move in a new direction.

It appears like we are experiencing both the cases in different areas, where market is tracing out a sequence of 1s and 2s, and is waiting for a catalyst to break out of this consolidation. Following charts show this pattern:

Bonds: Since July Bond prices have been increasing but in an overlapping manner. This suggests that either this is a corrective move and we will see a move down soon, or we will soon see above June highs.

Gold: Over the past 4 days, Gold has placed in 4 inside days above the downtrend line and near the resistance. Inside days show indecision - a point where buyers and sellers are not comfortable making the move. Although most of sideways consolidations result in a move in the direction of the trends, next few days will be telling in terms of the move.

Stocks: SP500 is stair stepping down. Like other instruments, this stair-step pattern would either give way to a substantial decline in the near future or would turn out to be a correction in the broader up trend.

Even though stock market sentiment has come down recently, it remains elevated. On the other hand sentiment for Bonds and Gold is rising but not very optimistic yet. Proprietary timing indicators suggest that next turn date is few weeks away in the stock market. Therefore, if the market declines, other assets could rally but they need a catalyst to move away from current sideways indecision.

Need for Catalyst
Today's Jackson Hole speeches by Janet Yellen (Fed Chair) and Mario Draghi (Chair ECB) could be the catalyst that the market is waiting for.

If it is the trigger and if the markets start moving in 3rd wave out of this consolidation, logical move would be a rally in Gold and Bonds, while decline in Stock Market. Stock market is over-valued and has been rising for over a year, so this move is very possible. A decline in the stocks will be attributed to debt-ceiling debate and numerous other distractions from Washington by fundamental analysis but essentially it will be a natural part of the market rhythm.

We have underscored this observation multiple times that financial news media distracts investors. It can lead to early exit and pre-mature entry into investment positions. As a result, one of the lessons that we learned through 2016 is (Investing Lessons)

Lesson 1: There are no guarantees but being persistent is the key to long-term success

Long-term investing is regarded as the secret ingredient for many successful investors. Time is a very powerful commodity. If you give time to a successful business model or investing strategy, and combine it with dedicated and passionate management team, it will give you amazing long-term results.

Another reason why long-term returns are much more important than short-term returns is because when a portfolio achieve critical mass, one’s personal savings will not have that big an impact on the growth of portfolio. For example: $100K invested today will grow to 1M @ 20% return in ~13 years. At that point 100K will not have as much value because @20% / year an investor will experience a $200K increase without adding any more funds.

Thirdly, investing is a game of nerves and patience, whether in the stock market or any other endeavor like small business, start-ups through Angel/Venture investing, or Private Equity. The only difference with stock market based investing is that you have the opportunity to exit early because the market provides excessive liquidity, which provides peace of mind for many investors.

Long-term investment positioning and persistence provides investor with the focus needed to successfully withstand periods of draw-down because major moves take place after big draw-down periods. We will discuss additional lessons in the next post.

How to Position? 

Most of the readers would agree that the markets are at a critical juncture. However, knowing this is one thing and acting on this information is totally different. So far in 2017, we have mentioned several big moves on this blog and on twitter but doubt if effective trading was performed around this analysis by the readers.

Effective, long-term and consistent trading requires discipline and an edge in the market to adjust findings as market situations change. At this critical time, we are using proprietary models to expose clients to positions that have the highest success probability.  Performance - H1 2017 

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2017 Investment Themes

There are many prominent investment themes for 2017. Investment themes help investors understand the broader investment landscape based on historical performance of different asset classes and their current catalysts. This analysis helps in properly positioning one's portfolio to take advantage of the winds of change.

US Stock Market

SP500 and DJIA have experienced an amazing 1 year rally. Since Feb 2016, markets are up ~30%. With such a sharp rally, it won't be wrong to expect a sideways/downward market correction. Since corrections can come in different forms, sideways correction with time will help in digesting last year's gains just like a sharp fall in prices.

Lofty price levels can be supported by equally good earning numbers, which can provide further fuel for the rally. However, with the uncertain political dynamics in the U.S. we should be prepared for any sudden decline in the US stock prices like 1987 market crash - not a certainty but a word of caution.

Note: Next earnings will be reported in mid-April 2017


Emerging Markets

On the other hand, emerging markets finished a 5 year long correction in 2016. As US markets rallied, emerging markets corrected from 2011 to 2015. Since bottoming in 2016, emerging markets have rallied and looks like they have formed an inverted head and shoulders pattern. Once they breakout, emerging markets could go up to there 2011 highs. Therefore, this is an area to keep in mind.

Precious Metals

Gold had been declining since 2013. It bottomed in early 2016 and then rallied sharply. However, since mid-2016, Gold has again experienced a major pullback. However, we think that this pullback is a buying opportunity and would result in higher prices. 

Following chart shows a potential inverted head and shoulders pattern being formed by gold. Once this pattern is complete, gold can make an advance towards all-time highs around 1900. However, the first target would be to reach July 2016 highs. Therefore, gold is an area which one should keep on his/her radar for investment opportunities.

Precious metals are also influenced by the US dollar. US dollar has rallied very significantly over the last two years or so. Therefore, as the US Dollar corrects, it will provide fuel for a rally in the precious metals complex.

Bonds

Bond have been in a long-term bull market. In fact, its one of the biggest bull markets in history of bond prices. However, the bond price cycles are turning and so are the prices. Now the question is whether the Bond Bull has ended or it still has some life left.

Bond prices started declining in mid 2016 and have reached a critical area. Prices should reverse to the upside soon or they will mark the end of the Bond bull, which can be disastrous for the debt-laden global economy. We will keep a tab on the Bond market to understand clues for the future of the US economy.

Investment Options

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Bond Market Buy Signals

After experiencing a sharp decline in the last ~2 months, bond markets is now consolidating. In fact, today it managed to rally above a critical level. If bonds can hold near this level for the next few days, intermediate trend would turn up.

This decline has resulted in multiple bond indicators turning bullish i.e. sentiment turning so pessimistic that it is now bullish. Three widely followed sentiment indicator readings are given below:

1- Hulbert Sentiment Index:
The blue line below represents bond yields. Bond yields move in the opposite direction to the bond prices. Red line indicates the sentiment towards bonds. At this point, it appears that the sentiment is as negative as we have seen in ~2 years. Therefore, there is a good wall of worry to support a bond rally.

2- Bund Sentiment
Bunds are German bonds. Bunds were among the bonds that went into negative yield territory. While they were negative, everyone was bullish on the future of Bunds. However, very few realized that it was more close to the end of the Bunds rise. On the contrary, right now investors are very bearish on Bunds. This suggests that this a good time to increase exposure to bonds

3- Bond Sentiment NDR indicator
According to NDR services, bond sentiment is now extremely pessimistic, which supports the argument that the Bond decline is over-extended and we should anticipate a rise in Bond prices:

Bond Market Trend
While we are seeing some very pessimistic sentiment readings, these are coming at a time when the Bond market remains in a bull market according to our proprietary Market Classification Model. Therefore, the prudent trade right now would be to add or maintain longs in the bond market.

Keep in mind that bond market has been rallying for over 30 years, and yields have been declining for the same period. This trend will eventually come to an end. The question is whether it has already ended or will end with one for decline.

In either case, bond yields will not go up right away. They will go up if the economy continues to improve and Federal Reserves raises interest rates couple of times. Fed's changes to short-term interest rates does not directly impact the longer-term interest rates because those rates are driven by market expectation.

In the next blog post, we will discuss the bond market structure and both Bull and Bear scenarios. Poor bond market is in no one's favor and the central banks will try their utmost to ensure interest rate rise remains in control. From an investment perspective, we might see 1 or 2 more opportunities to fund big capital purchases at a lower interest rate.

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Bonds Market Analysis and Impact

After a dynamic and super-charged start of 2016, the long-term bond prices, as measured by TLT, are at the same level where they started the year - 120.6 vs 120.7 (shown below).

 
Above chart shows the amazing ascent and first six months and the sharp decline over past 4 months. Today's news is full of negative articles about the bond market rout, and potential consequences.

Bond market is the life blood of modern economies. There is hardly any developed country in the world that is debt free. Countries issue debt/bonds to implement development projects and repay any interest/payments that are due on existing obligations.

United States is a unique case where the government cannot just keep issuing bonds to raise money without any checks and balances. These checks and balances help keep the government debt in control, which supports the dollar and increases confidence among the lenders that they will get their money back.

This check/balance process is known as the debt-ceiling. Without confidence in the system, creditors might start hesitating in purchasing government treasuries, which could lead to higher bond yields, making it more difficult for US to finance future needs.

Orderly, rise and fall of treasury yield is very normal because it is governed by economic realities and Fed's actions. But sudden sharp rise, can be catastrophic for the overall economy. That being said, we are in a long-term downtrend in the bond yields, which will reverse one day in the near future.

Long-term view
In early 1980s, long-term treasuries were yielding 14%. They went as low as 2% in July 2016 - amazing time to refinance or make a big purchase at next to no interest rate.

However, this kind of decline will not last for ever. Typically, there is a ~30 year bond market cycle and right now we are near the bottom of the yield cycle. Following chart shows the yield decline structure.

Now the question is whether this trend has ended or does it have one last decline left in it? 

From a fundamental perspective, it is difficult to rationalize how the inflation can pick-up with oil, gold and other commodities being hit with higher dollar. If dollar rallies, it will pressure inflation and as a result, yields would come down.

Short-term View
From a short-term perspective, bond market has become extremely oversold. The sentiment is conducive to a sharp rally, as investors start to rationalize higher yields through new post-election economic realities. DSI sentiment is also extremely subdued.

Note - Election or no-election, economic realities don't change randomly. Rather, their interpretation changes but in the end everything cancels out in the direction of the primary trend

Following chart shows the near-term structure of the bond market. There are two ways to decipher this structure, but both ways suggest that this is a corrective structure. Below chart shows both the wave counts.

We will continue to monitor the bond market as we approach next month's Fed FOMC meeting. Fed might not raise the rates after an election surprise, which could give a boost to bond market.

Last Word
A collapse of the bond market will be a very bad scenario for investors and the economy. Abrupt rise in interest rates can destroy US abilities to pay existing obligations and could lead to a significant market impact. This impact might start from the US but could quickly spread through out the world. And once such a spiral starts, it is almost impossible to halt it in the middle.

If you are an investor with a substantial portfolio in bonds, you need to carefully watch for trend change in the bond market. Our proprietary Market Classification Model remains in a bull market for Bonds.

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