The Fed will release its June minutes this afternoon, potentially shedding some light on why they paused their rate hikes. But, thanks to plenty of Fedspeak – including Jay Powell’s testimony – we already know that they are as confused and conflicted as everyone else. As always, they are more concerned about markets than anything else.
Futures are off about 0.50% as we approach the open.
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“I can’t believe stocks rallied so strongly into options expiration!” said no one.
Between VIX’s plunge, the euro’s ramp, and the yield curve’s decimation, bears have had no chance – even as fundamentals argued otherwise.
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According to futures and talking heads, there’s a 94% chance that the Fed will pause its rate hikes this afternoon – though perhaps with a hawkish tilt. By our reckoning, equities have piled on at least 6% in the past few weeks in anticipation of this outcome.
Is it justified?
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After establishing a well-formed falling channel and positioning for a bearish 10/20 cross, SPX soared last week on – what else? – another collapse in VIX.
In the process, the 10/20 cross was (at least) delayed and the channel busted. It’s normal activity for the lead up to a Fed meeting. Perhaps “price discovery” should be renamed “price setting.”
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised to see similar goings on in other “markets” such as silver.
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Futures are off moderately on light volume…
… and, surprise!, a rebound in VX futures, but not VIX itself. Oh yeah, Friday is OPEX.
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ES is up 1.3% in the past week. All it took was a 15% beatdown in VIX.
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VIX came within .01 of its previous lows on Friday…
…leaving plenty of doubt as to the algos’ next move. Today, we should see some resolution as moving averages start to roll over.
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March retail sales came in at -1.0% versus -0.4% expected and -0.2% previous. Core slipped 0.3%. Early reaction is that the drop wasn’t enough to forestall another rate hike in May. So far, the futures have taken the news in stride.
But, it remains to be seen whether the algos will view the setup as positively. VIX’s previous bounces off the TL from Jan 2018 have been tough on stocks.
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After closing below its 10-day SMA for the first time in a month, ES is backtesting it…
…on the back of PPI data that essentially echoed yesterday’s CPI print. Headline PPI crashed to 2.7% YoY and -0.5% MoM. Though stripping out food and energy, core PPI fell only 0.1% MoM and increased 3.4% YoY.
As we discussed yesterday, 80% of the MoM decline was due to the sharp drop in gasoline prices.
Also out this morning, credit portfolio managers agree with the Fed’s assessment that the economy is headed for recession. It’s a troubling backdrop as we enter earnings season in the midst of a credit crunch.
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For the first time in over two years, core CPI topped headline. Core, which ignores food and gas prices, climbed 0.4% MoM and 5.6% YoY, while headline came in at 0.1% MoM and 5.0% YoY.
Not surprisingly, futures jumped at the news that headline CPI had dropped. But, our charts still show an important risk just ahead.
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