This week’s Bespoke Report newsletter is now available for members.
In this week’s report, we highlight Tech’s ongoing weakness, take a look at dozens of “re-open” consumer stocks, analyze inflation readings, and much more. To read the report and access everything else Bespoke’s research platform has to offer, start a two-week free trial to one of our three membership levels. You won’t be disappointed!
This week, we’re sharing a quick update on the global macro backdrop, with a review of cross asset performance, global equity markets, COVID vaccinations, payrolls data, earnings results from the current season, the outlook for earnings going forward, extremely strong PMI readings, a booming housing market and its interest rate exposure, uncompelling credit market valuations, tight commodity markets and surging price pressure, the role of crypto in driving equity market risk appetite, the outlook for Fed policy, some trade ideas, and more.
This week’s Bespoke Report newsletter is now available for members.
To read the report and access everything else Bespoke’s research platform has to offer, start a two-week free trial to one of our three membership levels. You won’t be disappointed!
This week’s Bespoke Report newsletter is now available for members.
If you’ve been following the market this week, you’ve probably heard the ‘frustration’ on the part of investors and commentators regarding the equity market’s inability to rally this week on what can only be characterized as great earnings, especially from the Fab Five of Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Facebook (FB), and Microsoft (MSFT). Despite the tremendous results, the stocks didn’t necessarily perform uniformly well. On a median basis, the five stocks were up 2.27%,, but both AAPL and MSFT were down over 2%. Was it the greatest week for stocks? No. Could it have been worse? Definitely.
Heading into the week, one of the main concerns for the market was whether we would be able to get through the week unscathed as the five largest companies, representing more than a 20% of the entire S&P 500’s market cap, were all on the earnings calendar. Over the last ten years, there have only been four other weeks where all five companies reported in the same week, and all of them were tough for the broader market with weekly declines ranging from a loss of 0.21% in the week ending 5/1/20 to a decline of 5.64% in the last week of October. This week, the S&P 500 was only up 0.05%, but we’re not complaining.
In the case of AAPL, we heard a number of ‘analysts’ claim that the reason for its decline was that the results were too good. Really? By that logic, does it mean that if Apple missed estimates and guided lower, the stock would have traded higher? Come on. Markets and stocks are a two-way street. Sometimes they go up and sometimes they go down. Don’t’ get greedy.
As usual, this week’s Bespoke Report covers the major forces that are driving equity markets right now. To read the report and access everything else Bespoke’s research platform has to offer, start a two-week free trial to one of our three membership levels. You won’t be disappointed!
This week’s Bespoke Report newsletter is now available for members.
At 1 PM ET on Thursday, the S&P 500 was trading up nicely on the day and then suddenly dropped on news headlines that President Biden’s upcoming infrastructure/tax hike proposal would include an increase in the capital gains tax on high earners from ~20% up to ~40%. It was curious that the market fell at all on this headline given that this type of tax hike was something Biden ran on during his campaign, but nevertheless, major US indices continued to fall for the remainder of the trading day to finish down roughly 1% on the day.
The worries — at least as far as the market is concerned — didn’t last long. 26 hours later at the close on Friday, the S&P 500 tracking SPY ETF closed exactly 1 cent below the level it was trading at as of 1 PM ET on Thursday!
Overall, US index ETFs were slightly lower on the week but remain up 3-6% in April and 8-20% YTD. Most sectors finished the week lower, although Health Care, Industrials, and Materials managed to post gains. China (ASHR) had a strong week, up 4.4%.
As usual, this week’s Bespoke Report covers the major forces that are driving equity markets right now. To read the report and access everything else Bespoke’s research platform has to offer, start a two-week free trial to one of our three membership levels. You won’t be disappointed!
Policy stimulus continues to run at full tilt, and has carved off some of the worst possible forward outcomes for the economy and markets. Meanwhile, interest rates have been falling after a meteoric rise in Q1, while the bull market in commodities continues to run. Manufacturing activity gauges are roaring and retail sales are soaring. What does all of this mean for investors looking ahead to the rest of the year given the already-impressive move higher for stocks in 2021?
We discuss in detail along with an earnings round-up, review of recent economic data, a look at housing, and more in this week’s Bespoke Report.
This week’s Bespoke Report newsletter is now available for members.
To read the report and access everything else Bespoke’s research platform has to offer, start a two-week free trial to one of our three membership levels. You won’t be disappointed!
This week’s Bespoke Report newsletter is now available for members.
To read the report and access everything else Bespoke’s research platform has to offer, start a two-week free trial to one of our three membership levels. You won’t be disappointed!