Happy Friday eve, investors. |
Each of the three major stock indexes have had a down month so far. |
Since December, investors have bet the Fed would cut interest rate multiple times this year. Jerome Powell dashed those expectations Tuesday. |
Below, weβre breaking down what comes next for stocks. Plus, weβll get into the IPO market, bitcoinβs slump, and Barclayβs Tesla call. |
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*At a glance: |
| *Pre-market and data as of 10 p.m. ET |
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Wall Streetβs contradictory signals |
| Made with AI by Opening Bell Daily |
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The S&P 500 has opened green and closed red for three days in a row. |
This week, markets have seemingly ignored a relatively upbeat earnings season in lieu of more pressing matters. |
Investors have been focused on a Fed that canβt quite nail its messaging, as well as the threat of further conflict in the Middle East. |
The economic data hasnβt helped: |
March retail sales came in hotter than expected March CPI was hotter than expected |
The above factors have dragged on equities, pushed bond yields higher, and sent oil prices on a roller coaster. |
To JPMorgan strategist Marko Kolanovic, those headwinds are at odds with a stock market thatβs crushed for most of the year. |
His take: |
βFor a market reliant on immaculate disinflation, a dovish Fed reaction function, and diminishing tail risks on growth, the continuation of hot growth and inflation data can bring us to a tipping point where a tighter stock vs bond risk premium finally produces a market correction.β |
If you arenβt familiar with Kolanovic, his research moves markets. |
Investors pay attention to him β particularly when he issues cautionary outlooks. |
But howβs this for a contradiction: Bank of America said global investors havenβt been this bullish in more than two years. |
Thatβs based on the firmβs latest fund manager survey, which polled some 250 heavy hitters in the week to April 11. |
The respondents manage $719 billion in total. |
Some tidbits: |
78% see global recession as unlikely 76% expect 2 or more Fed rate cuts in 2024 The most crowded trade is βlong Magnificent 7β |
Notably, average cash levels fell from 4.4% to 4.2% of assets compared to a month ago. |
Typically when that falls below 4.0%, itβs βclose-your-eyes-and-sellβ time for investors, BofA strategists said. |
And yet, fund managers piled into stocks by the most in 27 months. |
Kolanovic, meanwhile, is more cautious. Heβs underweight on stocks and overweight cash β the opposite of most of the fund managers in the survey. |
To be fair, the survey may have read less bullish if it were instead taken this week. |
Still, the optimism is telling, according to Rhys Williams, chief investment officer at Wayve Capital. |
βMy guess,β he told me, βis fund managers felt good that the market seemed to absorb negative news on [interest] rates well.β |
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Elsewhere: |
The IPO market is showing signs of life. Reddit and other names are trading above their debut stock prices, and Wall Street sees a brighter horizon ahead. (Bloomberg) Bitcoin has tumbled this week ahead of its much-anticipated halving event, which should happen any day now. (CoinDesk) Barclays cut its price target for Tesla. Strategists lowered their outlook for the EV maker by 20%, and they arenβt bullish on Teslaβs earnings call. (Business Insider) |
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Rapid-fire headlines: |
Homebuilding giant DR Horton reports earnings today (Barronβs) Shares of United Airlines jumped 15% Wednesday (Reuters) Trading app WeBull is under scrutiny for China ties (WSJ) US lawmakers will vote on aid for Ukraine and Israel on Saturday (FT) Google restructured its finance team and laid off staffers (CNBC) |
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Last thing: |
| Alexandra Semenova @alexandraandnyc | |
| ''The economy that can't stop; the Fed that won't stop it Each sector still seems impervious to Fed hikes: consumers are strong, corporates have $7tn in cash, and Congress can't stop spending." -BofA | | Apr 17, 2024 | | | | 27 Likes 7 Retweets 2 Replies |
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