[Market Outlook] Inflation, Dollars and Interest Rates Cooling, Stocks Up Big. What's Next?

5 Steps You Should Take to Position Yourself [Company Logo] Inflation, Dollars and Interest Rates Cooling, Stocks Up Big. What's Next? 5 Steps You Should Take to Position Yourself By Keith Schneider and Donn Goodman [image] Readers of our Market Outlook and followers of MarketGauge will now be referred to as our Gaugers. Hope you are having a good weekend Gaugers. For any and all Veterans that we count among our readers, Thank You for your service as we keep Veterans in our thoughts and prayers. This past week saw the CPI numbers come out indicating that inflation has begun to cool. On Thursday morning (8:30 EST) the release of October's CPI was expected to come out at 0.6%. When released the number was actually 0.4% and the market took off like a rocket ship. Year-over-year inflation went from 8.2% in September to 7.7% and investors celebrated a possible slowing (pivot) of future Fed interest rates (also covered in [last week's Market Outlook](=)). Our take: folks 7.7% is still a very hot number, and don't count on Chairman Powell and company slowing down the pace of interest rate hikes anytime soon. They have made their opinion (and hawkish posture) very apparent. They have renumerated numerous times that they will not stop raising rates until inflation is trending towards 2% YoY. We do not believe they have any reason to pivot as yet. However, the market had a different take and the dollar had it's biggest two day decline (Thursday-Friday) since 2009. 10-year interest rates had a significant retracement and rates eased with the new information. We went from a 4 print on the 10-year to a 3 print by day's end on Friday. See charts of the US Dollar (DXY) and the TNX (10-year rates below): The Dollar (DXY) Chart broke its steep trendline this past week: [image] The ETF that trades the US dollar (UUP) had quite the fall. See the graph for UUP and TNX (10-year Treasury Rates) having fairly big price drops below: [image]() The "Cooling Off" of the Dollar and Interest Rates was a welcome sign that the economy is indeed "slowing down". The lower October CPI print motivated traders to cover shorts and put new money to work. It was the 15th best daily return on the SPY in history. At week's end, the Nasdaq was up 8.4% in just two trading days (Thursday & Friday). It was Nasdaq's biggest gain since December 2008 . However positive that news is, it is important to note that just like in December 2008, we are still in a bear market. See the Nasdaq Composite chart for the past two months below: [image] This week saw a real turn of events as 2022's best areas underperformed and those areas hardest hit this year had huge rallies. See chart below: [image] For a long time now (since early 2022) Mish has been commenting on the metals (Gold, Silver, Copper). Her most recent comments a week or so ago when she last appeared on [Fox Business News can be watched here](. Mish has told many readers and watchers of her TV appearance to "watch the Dollar". She has long held the opinion that when the US Dollar breaks its steep incline (see above) that the metals could move dramatically. Gold was up over $100 an ounce this past week. Copper soared even higher on a % price move. The metals made these moves higher as a result of the US Dollar and interest rates beginning to "cool off" as Mish has been continuing to suggest through her national TV appearances. See the Gold charts below: [image] The following chart shows the relationship of Gold to UUP (the US Dollar ETF). One of our favorite technical indicators produced by Decision Point, is the PMO (Price Momentum Oscillator). We are about to get a significant crossover on that indicator, suggesting that Gold (GLD) has momentum and could rally further. It has been among the best performers currently in Mish's Premium Trading Portfolio. [image] Trouble in Crypto Land We also would like to point out that this past week the Cryptocurrency platform FTX imploded (went bankrupt) and resulted in huge losses of investor capital as well as users of their platform. It may change the blockchain technology business in the short term with positive and negative ramifications. Many pointed out that this was a "Bear Stearns" type of meltdown and could have long-term effects on the emerging blockchain technology industry. We would like to point out that when events like this occur, they tend to make non-paper assets like gold, copper, and silver attractive assets. This may have also fueled the rally in gold this past week. FTX was a large sponsor of major league sports as well as possessing the naming rights of the Miami Heat arena and a long-term sponsor of MLB Umpires. You may want to [read about the dramatic and significant effect the collapse of FTX may have on the sports world here.]() Seasonality and the Election Cycle Last week we discussed seasonality and the favorable 4-year cycle that portends some tailwind for investors. [You can read last week's issue here.]() The midterm election has passed and some of the following charts may kick in. Similar to our article last week, we caution you NOT to go "all in" by implementing these historical conclusions. History may not always repeat, but it usually does rhyme in some way. We likely have a different market environment this year, given the continuing high inflation narrative and the Fed's persistence on their hawkish path. Additionally, we really don't have election conclusions at this time as several of the states have not yet decided who they will be sending to Washington. [image] [image] [image] After reading all this, you may be inclined to want to get aggressive and put more capital to work. Again, we caution you that BEAR MARKET rallies are often mistaken for NEW BULL Markets. They are not. We may have a long way to go yet. Why? We have not seen the effect of recently announced job layoffs and the expected contraction in revenue, profit margins, and inevitably declining earnings that may be forthcoming. Recently Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street houses began to lower their earnings expectations for 2023. As you are all aware, the market (S&P 500) factors in the earnings expectations 12-24 months out. Given Goldman's (and other's) expectations for 2023 earnings of approximately $220 a share, it was a bit surprising to see the huge market rally this past week. That is why it is a bear market rally-shorts running for cover. Let us give you a rough estimate of what market valuations based on Goldman's per-share earnings expectations might look like in the near term. If earnings of $220-$230 (consensus opinion) is the actual earnings per share number in 2023, (numbers listed are for the fair value of the S&P 500), assigning different Price to Earnings ratios can provide an S&P 500 number for valuation. Remember that in the latter part of 2023, the market will begin to factor in 2024's earnings. [image] While we have no idea how dramatic the effect of higher interest rates are having on the economy and, therefore, what P/E we should use. Historically, coming out of an economic slowdown (and if we actually see a recession) P/E's tend to be low to mid-teens. Past recessions have seen these P/E ratios get to 12 or less before beginning to recover and head higher. This is also why the range for the S&P from Wall Street firms from Morgan Stanley to Bank of America, Wells Fargo, UBS and others are anywhere from 2800 to 4100 on the S&P 500 index for early next year. Much of it will depend on how high interest rates go and if earnings continue to grow. Today, earnings are expected to grow by approximately 5% in 2023. Don't count on it. We believe that there will not be any earnings growth next year and perhaps even a contraction of 5-10%. The same reason Warren Buffet is still not buying stocks The legendary investor is still on the sidelines. He is considered a "value" Investor. According to the metrics that he and his staff of analytical money managers use, stocks are not in the "value zone" and "at this time do not present good valuation prospects." The combined market capitalization of the universe of U.S. stocks as constructed by the Wilshire 5000 index totaled $38 trillion as of this week's close. That amounts to 148% of the 25.7 trillion value of U.S. gross domestic product at the end of the third quarter. [image] The ratio is now at levels that prevailed in the run-up to the first wave of the pandemic when hardly anyone would have thought stocks offered true value. From previous comments Buffet has delivered, he said that he likes stocks when the percentage in the above chart is in the 80% area. While his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway is still making acquisitions, the company's cash pile at the end of September was $109 billion, compared with $105.4 in June. In other words, he and his staff are NOT currently finding any value in the market of stocks. Moreover, for all the time we spend writing about the decimation of wealth from 2022's stock market decline, the price-to-book ratio for the S&P is still VERY high at 3.8x and even more punitive at 5.8x for the Nasdaq 100. With 2-year Treasuries offering a yield of 4.5% and below average dividends on the S&P of 2%, we still have an expensive market no matter what exuberant analysts and prognosticators might tell you. See the chart below: [image] 5 Steps to Position Yourself - Heed caution. If you put on trades make sure that your positions implement stops and targets. Be ready to take a quick profit if warranted. - Watch our Risk Gauges and check with Big View often for market summary information. - Eliminate some of the noise. I have spoken with several subscribers this week who read and listen to multiple sources for market information. They are paralyzed because they don't know what to do. Try and hone down the experts and advisors to just a couple, if that many. We want you to rely on us. Let us know what you need from us to make good or better decisions. - Stop watching the market so closely. Unless you are actively trading, it might be better to "tune it out." This past Wednesday the market fell hard (The Dow down more than 500 points) and you may have been concerned we would go lower the remainder of the week. Then Thursday, the market was up more 1,000 points and you would have not only been shocked and surprised but felt the opposite in emotions. Why put yourself through this? - Get ready. Things will improve. Make sure you have the strategies that you need to make $ in the upcoming positive and better market.[Click here to reach out to Rob Quinn our Chief Strategy Officer](=) to make sure that you have the trading tools and investment strategies that will help propel your portfolio higher in 2023. Use the links below to continue this week's text and video market insights from Big View. [Click here to continue to the FREE analysis and video.]( [Click here to continue to the PREMIUM analysis and video](. Best wishes for your trading, Keith Schneider CEO MarketGauge P.S. When you’re ready, here are 3 free ways we can help you reach your trading goals… - [Book a call with our Chief Strategy Consultant](=), Rob Quinn. He can quickly guide you to the resources that you'd like best. - Get the foundational building blocks of many of our strategies from Mish's book, [Plant Your Money Tree: A Guide to Building Your Wealth](), and accompanying bonus training. - [Review quick descriptions]() of our indicators, strategies, services and trading systems here. Get more - follow us here... Twitter [@marketgauge](=) and [@marketminute]( and [Facebook]() To stop receiving this go [here.]( Got Questions?Office hours 9-5 ET (New York time) Email: info@marketgauge.com Live Chat: Go to bottom right corner of our [home page.](=) Call: 888-241-3060 or 973-729-0485 There is substantial risk of loss associated with trading any securities including and not limited to stocks, ETFs, futures, and options. Only risk capital should be used to trade. Trading securities is not suitable for everyone. No representation is being made that the use of this strategy or any system or trading methodology will generate profits. 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