Real Estate
Dear client, Next Monday instead of sending you a Weekly Report we will be hosting a live webcast at 10am EST, addressing the recent market moves and discussing the US equity market outlook. Kind Regards, Anastasios Highlights Portfolio Strategy The passing of the mega fiscal package, turning equity market internals, the collapse in net earnings revisions all underscore that we may have already seen the recessionary equity market lows. Investors with higher risk tolerance and a cyclical 9-12 month time horizon will be handsomely rewarded. Firming operating metrics, the defensive nature of tech services at a time when macro data are about to nosedive, compel us to boost the S&P data processing index to overweight. Grim macro data, the rising threat of a debt deflation spiral, poor operating metrics and lofty valuations, all warn that the path of least resistance is lower for REITs. Recent Changes Boost the S&P data processing index to overweight today. Last week we obeyed our rolling stops in our cyclically underweight position in the S&P homebuilders index and cyclically overweight positions in the S&P hypermarkets and S&P household products indexes for gains of 41%, 26% and 5%, respectively.1 Feature The SPX had a streak of three green days last week as congress finally passed a $2tn fiscal easing bill. In fact the last time the S&P 500 had two consecutive green days was right before its February 19 peak. Our view remains that the risk/reward tradeoff for owning equities is favorable for investors with higher risk tolerance and a cyclical 9-12 month time horizon, as we highlighted last Monday in our “20 reasons to start buying equities” part of our Weekly Report.2 As a reminder, during the Great Recession, equities troughed 20 days after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 took effect on February 17, 2009. Thus if history rhymes, an equity market bottom is likely near if not already behind us. Does this mean the SPX has definitively troughed? Not necessarily, but our playbook/roadmap calls for a retest and hold of the recent lows as we have been highlighting in recent research.3 Keep in mind that S&P 500 futures (ES) have fallen over 36% from peak to trough. This is similar to the median fall during recession bear markets dating back to the Great Depression. Most importantly, comparing the two most recent iterations is instructive in attempting to figure out what is baked in the cake. Namely, in the 9/11 catalyzed recession and subprime mortgage collapse catalyzed recession, EPS got halved. Similarly, equities fell 50% from their respective peaks. If we use that assumption – i.e. a recessionary equity bear market fall predicts the eventual profit drubbing – then what the ES futures clocking in at 2174 discounted is that trailing EPS will fall from $162 to $104 and forward EPS from $177 to $113 (Chart 1). Chart 1Joined At The Hip While we have no real visibility on EPS, our sense is that we will not fall further than what was already discounted in the broad market. If we are offside and a GFC or Great Depression ensues, then profits will get halved to $81 and the SPX will fall to 1700. Another simple way of looking at the EPS drawdown is by considering $162 as trend EPS. Then for every month that the economy is shut down roughly $13.5 get shaved off EPS. Thus, triangulating both approaches, a $104 EPS level has discounted a shutdown lasting 4 months and 10 days. This is a tall order and we would lean against such extreme pessimism. Meanwhile, analysts are scrambling to cut estimates the world over. Not only SPX net earnings revisions (NER) are at the lowest point since the GFC, but so is the emerging market NER ratio. The Eurozone and Japan are following close behind (Chart 2). Once again the speed of this downward adjustment suggests that a lot of bad news is already priced in now depressed NER. Chart 2Bad News Is Priced In Chart 3Market Internals Ticking Higher Moreover, equity market internals underscore that we may have already seen the recessionary equity market lows. Chart 3 shows that hypersensitive small caps have been outperforming their large cap peers of late, chip stocks are sniffing out a reflationary impulse and even emerging markets are besting the SPX. Finally, the best China proxy out there, the Aussie dollar, corroborates the bullish signal from all these indicators and suggests that this mini “risk-on” phase can last a while longer (third panel, Chart 3). Nevertheless, the spike in the TED spread (Treasury-EuroDollar spread, gauging default risk on interbank loans) was quite unnerving last week. While we have shown in the past that equity volatility and credit risk are joined at the hip, this parabolic move in the, up to very recently calm, TED spread disquieted us. We will keep on monitoring it closely as the coronavirus pandemic continues to unfold (Chart 4). Chart 4Disquieting Another significant risk that this crisis has exposed is the massive non-financial business debt uptake that has taken root during the ten-year expansion (top panel, Chart 5). We deem investors will be more mindful of debt saddled companies going forward, despite the government’s sizable looming bailout of select severely affected industries from the coronavirus pandemic. Stock market reported data also corroborate the national accounts’ debt deterioration data (bottom panel, Chart 5). Chart 5Watch The Debt Burden… The yield curve has already forewarned that a significant default cycle is looming (Chart 6) and this time is not different. Chart 6…A Default Cycle Looms Importantly, both the equity and bond markets have been sending these debt distress signals for quite some time now (Chart 7). Chart 7Distress Signals Sent A long Time Ago What interest us most from a US equity sector perspective is identifying weak spots that may come under intense pressure in the coming weeks as the economy remains shut down likely until Easter Sunday. Chart 8 shows the current level of net debt-to-EBITDA for the overall non-financial equity market, and the 10 GICS1 sectors (we use telecom services instead of communications services and exclude financials). In more detail, the bar represents the 25 year range of net debt-to EBITDA and the vertical line the current reading for each sector (Appendix 1 below showcases the net debt-to-EBITDA time series for the GICS1 sectors). Chart 8Mind The… Chart 9 goes a step further and juxtaposes EV/EBITDA with net debt-to EBITDA on a two dimensional map. Real estate and utilities clearly stand out as the most debt burdened sectors, with a pricey valuation (For completion purposes Appendix 2 below delves deeper into sectors and shows net debt-to-EBITDA for the GICS2 sectors). Chart 9…Outliers Frequent US Equity Strategy readers know that we believe the excesses this cycle have been in the commercial real estate (CRE) segment of the economy, where prices are one standard deviation above the previous peak and cap rates have collapsed to all-time lows fueled by an unprecedented credit binge (Chart 10). This week we reiterate our underweight stance in the S&P real estate sector and boost a defensive tech services index to an overweight stance. Chart 10CRE: The Epitome This Cycle’s Excesses Reality Bites We continue to recommend investors avoid the S&P real estate sector. For investors seeking defensive protection we would recommend hiding in the S&P health care sector instead, as we highlighted in our mid-March report.4 Chart 11 shows a disturbing breakdown in the inverse correlation between the relative share price ratio and the 10-year Treasury yield. While it makes intuitive sense that this fixed income proxy sector (i.e. high dividend yielding) should move in the opposite direction of the competing risk free yielding asset, at times of tumult this correlation reverts to positive (top panel, Chart 11). In other words, fear grips investors and they frantically shed REITs despite the fact that interest rates collapse. Why? Because these are highly illiquid assets that these REITs are holding and investors demand the “return of” their capital instead of a “return on” their capital when volatility and credit risk soar in tandem (see TED spread, Chart 4). While CRE prices remain extended and vulnerable to a deflationary shock (bottom panel, Chart 11), there is no real price discovery currently as no landlord would dare put any properties for sale in this market starved for liquidity. With the exception of distressed sales, we deem that the “mark to model” mantra will make a comeback, eerily reminiscent of the GFC. Using an example of how all this may play out in the near-term is instructive. As the economy remains shut down, a tenant may forego a rent payment to a landlord and if the landlord is levered and starved of cash, he/she in turn may miss a debt payment to the outfit that holds his mortgage, typically a bank. Chart 11BreakdownAt first sight this may not seem as a big problem on a micro level as the bank may have enough liquidity to withstand a delinquent borrower’s no/late payment. If, however, the bank is itself scrambling for cash, it will foreclose and then put this asset for sale in order to recover some capital. This will put downward pressure on the underlying asset’s price that all borrowing was based upon and a debt deflation spiral ensues (Chart 12). Chart 12Debt Deflation Warning The biggest problem however arises from the bond market. If these deflating assets are all in a CLO or concentrated in a select REIT, then our current financial system setup is not really equipped to handle a failure/delay of payment. This is especially true if some bond holders have hedged their bets and bought CDS on these bonds and demand payment as a “default clause” will in practice get triggered. The longer the economy remains shut down, the higher the credit, counterparty and default risks will rise. Therefore, given that the real estate sector has an extremely high reading on a net debt-to-EBITDA basis (Chart 8), we are concerned about the profit prospects of this niche sector in the coming months. Moreover, the economy is in recession and the recent Markit services PMI is a precursor of grim data to follow. Historically, REITs move in the opposite direction to the PMI services survey and the current message is to expect a catch down phase in the former (Chart 13). Adding insult to injury, the supply response especially on the multi-family construction side is perturbing. In fact, multi-family housing starts have gone parabolic hitting 619K recently, the highest reading since 1986! Such a jump in supply is deflationary and will weigh on the relative share price ratio (multi-family starts shown inverted, bottom panel, Chart 13). Chart 13Tiiimber Finally, lofty valuations warn that if our bearish thesis pans out in the coming months, there is no cushion left to absorb a significant profit shock that likely looms (Chart 14). Chart 14No Valuation Cushion In sum, grim macro data, the rising threat of a debt deflation spiral, poor operating metrics and lofty valuations, all warn that the path of least resistance is lower for REITs. Bottom Line: Shy away from the S&P real estate sector. The ticker symbols for the stocks in this index are: BLBG: S5RLST – CCI, AMT, PLD, EQIX, DLR, PSA, SBAC, AVB, EQR, FRT, SPG, WELL, ARE, CBRE, O, BXP, ESS, EXR, DRE, PEAK, HST, MAA, UDR, VTR, WY, AIV, IRM, PEG, VNO, SLG. Boost Data Processing To Overweight We have been offside on the data processing tech sub-index and today we are booking losses of 39% and boosting exposure to overweight. Data processing stocks are a services-based defensive tech index that typically thrive in deflationary and recessionary environments, according to empirical evidence (Chart 15). We are currently in recession, thus a deflationary impulse will grip the economy and investors will flock to defensive tech stocks when growth is scarce. Tack on the spike in the greenback, and the disinflationary backdrop further boosts the allure of these tech services stocks (third panel, Chart 15). Beyond the recessionary related tailwinds, data processing stocks should also enjoy firming relative demand. While the two bellwether stocks, V and MA, will suffer from the decrease in consumption that requires physical visits and from select services outlays that are severely affected by the coronavirus, online spending by households and corporations should at least serve as a partial offset. Chart 15Time To Buy Defensive Tech Chart 16What’s not To Like? Already, industry pricing power gains have been accelerating at a time when overall inflation has been tame. This will boost revenues – and given high operating leverage and high and rising profit margins – that will flow straight through to profits (Chart 16). While relative profit growth and sales estimates may appear uncharacteristically high and unrealistic to attain, this is what usually transpires in recessions: sell side analysts trim SPX profit and revenue forecasts more aggressively than they do for the defensive data processing index (Chart 17). In fact, given that we are still in the early stages of recession, we expect a further surge in relative EPS and sales estimates in the coming months. Chart 17Seeking Growth When Growth Is Scarce Chart 18Risk: Lofty Valuations However, there is a key risk to our bullish stance in this tech service index: valuations. Relative valuations are still pricey despite the recent fall from three standard deviations above the historical mean to half that, according to our relative valuation indicator. Technicals have also corrected from an extremely overbought reading, but a cleansing washout has yet to occur (Chart 18). Netting it all out, firming operating metrics and the defensive nature of tech services at a time when macro data are about to nosedive, compel us to boost the S&P data processing index to overweight. Bottom Line: Boost the S&P data processing index to overweight today from previously underweight for a loss of 39% since inception. The ticker symbols for the stocks in this index are: BLBG: S5DPOS – ADP, V, MA, PYPL, FIS, FISV, GPN, PAYX, FLT, BR, JKHY, WU, ADS. Anastasios Avgeriou US Equity Strategist anastasios@bcaresearch.com Appendix 1 Chart A1Appendix A1 Chart A2Appendix A2 Appendix 2 Chart A3Chart A4 Footnotes 1 Please see BCA US Equity Strategy Daily Report, “Housekeeping” dated March 26, 2020, available at uses.bcaresearch.com. 2 Please see BCA US Equity Strategy Weekly Report, “The Darkest Hour Is Just Before The Dawn” dated March 23, 2020, available at uses.bcaresearch.com 3 Please see BCA US Equity Strategy Daily Report, “Gravitational Pull” dated March 12, 2020, available at uses.bcaresearch.com. 4 Please see BCA US Equity Strategy Weekly Report, “Inflection Point” dated March 16, 2020, available at uses.bcaresearch.com. Current Recommendations Current Trades Strategic (10-Year) Trade Recommendations Size And Style Views June 3, 2019 Stay neutral cyclicals over defensives (downgrade alert) January 22, 2018 Favor value over growth May 10, 2018 Favor large over small caps (Stop 10%) June 11, 2018 Long the BCA Millennial basket The ticker symbols are: (AAPL, AMZN, UBER, HD, LEN, MSFT, NFLX, SPOT, TSLA, V).
Highlights Financial markets have experienced two weeks of wild swings: Following the negative 5-standard-deviation weekly move in the S&P 500 two weeks ago, the index moved at least 2.8% in each of last week’s first four sessions. 10- and 30-year Treasury yields made one all-time low after another. The coronavirus has arrived in the United States: It would appear inevitable that the coronavirus is going to spread across the US; the unknowns are how long it will spread, how deadly it will be, and how much it will impact the economy. Confronted with these unknowns, markets shot first and left asking questions for later. The selling may have gone a little far. The Fed and the Democratic candidates for president were in the news last week, … : The Fed made its first intra-meeting rate cut since the financial crisis was raging, cutting the fed funds rate by 50 basis points instead of waiting for its regularly scheduled March 17-18 gathering. Super Tuesday upended the chase for the Democratic presidential nomination, as our geopolitical strategists foresaw. … and we offer our quick read on their market impact: We expect that the Fed’s rate cut will be modestly positive for markets and the economy, while Joe Biden’s move to the head of the Democratic pack greatly diminished a risk that would otherwise have troubled investors all the way to November 3rd. Feature US equities have endured a rollercoaster ride over the last two-and-a-half weeks. From its all-time intraday high of 3,393.52 on February 19th, to the February 28th intraday low of 2,855.84, the S&P 500 corrected by 15.8% in just seven sessions. The brunt of the decline occurred two weeks ago, when the index lost 11.5% in its fourth worst week in the last six decades. The decline amounted to more than a negative 5-standard-deviation event, and took its place among what we now consider to be landmark episodes in US stock market history (Table 1). Table 1Socialism + Pandemic = History (But Not The Good Kind) The epic rout followed a weekend of distressing news. First, the coronavirus (COVID-19) slipped its Asian bonds, popping up fully formed in Italy and Iran in a sobering demonstration of its global reach. Second, Bernie Sanders had seemingly solidified his grip on the Democratic presidential nomination by trouncing the rest of the crowded field in the Nevada caucuses with nearly twice the share of the vote that he captured in his Iowa and New Hampshire wins. We therefore characterize the February 28th intraday low as the coronavirus/Sanders bottom. The former is still running around freely, but the latter has been largely contained. COVID-19 will surely be with us for a while longer, and may yet push the S&P 500 below its February 28th low, but it will have to do so without help from Bernie Sanders. Joe Biden reclaimed front-runner status following his tremendous Super Tuesday performance, and support for him coalesced with remarkable speed, relieving investors’ acute concern about a Sanders presidency. The primary campaign is still in its early stages, and the gaffe-prone Biden is capable of multiple stumbles between now and the nominating convention, but a general election without a self-declared socialist bent on ending health insurance as we know it will provoke considerably less market anxiety. The Rate Cut Equities had been pining for a rate cut, beginning last week’s surge upon the news that central bankers would be joining the G-7 Finance Ministers on their hastily arranged Tuesday morning conference call. After an immediate 2.5% pop upon the announcement of the intra-meeting cut, however, the S&P 500 sagged and wound up ending Tuesday’s session nearly 2% lower than its pre-cut level. The dismal market reception, and Powell’s own halting, tepid responses to questions at the press conference to discuss the rationale for the move left investors wondering if the Fed had made a mistake. We neither know nor care if it will turn out to be good policy, but we expect that the rate cut will lend support to risk assets over our 12-month investment horizon. Why would the Fed use monetary policy to try to combat a public health crisis, or any supply shock? Monetary policy tools were not made to fight public health crises. They will not speed the development of an antidote, make medical care more widely available, or make up for a lack of preparedness at the public health agencies leading the effort to blunt COVID-19’s spread. They also are not particularly well-suited to combat supply shocks. They cannot resolve global supply bottlenecks, put more people back to work in China, South Korea and Italy, or create and distribute all the test kits and protective clothing that medical professionals sorely need. It is within the Fed’s power, however, to try to keep COVID-19’s second-order economic consequences from taking root. Negative headlines, deserted shopping districts and runs on products like hand sanitizer and face masks can drag down business and consumer confidence. Falling confidence can weigh on consumption and investment, hobbling output, stifling employment growth, and raising the specter of a negatively self-reinforcing dynamic in which layoffs lead to less consumption, which feeds more layoffs, and less investment, etcetera. If the Fed can bolster the spirits of consumers and businesses, it can help to contain COVID-19’s adverse economic impact. Won’t this move leave the Fed with less ammunition down the road? Yes, it surely will, especially if the Fed would prefer to stick to conventional policy tools to combat the next recession. Last week’s cut may postpone the start date of that recession, however, affording the Fed a chance to execute a series of rate hikes before it arrives. For an investor with a timeframe that doesn’t exceed twelve months, it may not matter, provided the increased accommodation successfully reduces near-term recession risk. Do you think this move will be effective? At the margin, yes, we think it will. First of all, it will contribute to the mortgage-refinancing wave that has been building since the beginning of the year (Chart 1). With an average 3.45% 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate, data provider Black Knight estimates 11 million borrowers could save at least 75 basis points by refinancing their existing loans.1 If the average rate were to fall to 3%, as it would if the spread between mortgage rates and Treasury yields simply eases back to the 2% neighborhood (Chart 2), the pool of potential refinancers would expand to 19 million. Reduced mortgage payments put more money in homeowners’ pockets and will help support consumption at the margin. Chart 1Mortgage Refis Were Already Ramping Up, ... Chart 2... And There Will Be Even More Activity Once Mortgage Spreads Normalize Lower rates will also increase demand for new-home purchases, which have positive multiplier effects, and other big-ticket consumer goods. They will also support investment at the margin, as hurdle rates fall, and more opportunities are projected to generate a positive net present value. Potential homebuyers may be less prone to attend open houses or conduct home searches if COVID-19 spreads, and skittish managers may be less prone to invest, but easier monetary conditions do promote economic activity. Finally, a Fed that is demonstrably committed to easing monetary conditions to mitigate COVID-19’s potential negative impacts may help shore up business and consumer confidence. It will take confidence to keep gloomy virus headlines from becoming a self-fulfilling recession prophecy. As Figure 1 illustrates, the Fed does have the means to boost demand in financial markets and the real economy. Figure 1Monetary Policy And The Economy What will it mean for markets? It may encourage investors to pay more for each dollar of a corporation’s earnings, helping to cushion equities from falling earnings projections (the Confidence/Risk Taking channel in Figure 1), though we think a surer outcome is that it will keep the search for yield at a fever pitch. Life insurers, pension funds and endowments can no longer rely on highly-rated sovereign bonds to deliver the income to meet their fixed obligations, but have very little leeway to allocate away from fixed income. They have therefore been forced to venture further and further out the risk curve (Figure 1’s Portfolio Balance Effect), which has had the effect of providing an ample supply of funds for less-than-pristine borrowers. Under zero- and negative-interest-rate policy (ZIRP and NIRP, respectively) just about any borrower aside from brick-and-mortar retailers and thinly capitalized oil drillers can attract a line of would-be lenders out the door and around the corner simply by offering an incremental 50-75 bps of yield. Since no borrower defaults, or goes bankrupt, as long as there is a lender willing to roll over its maturing obligations, extraordinarily accommodative monetary policy has had the effect of limiting default rates. We expect that the Fed’s move back in the direction of ZIRP will continue to squeeze spreads and ease financial conditions. That’s far from an ideal fundamental basis for owning spread product, and it won’t keep credit outperforming forever, but we expect it will allow spread product to continue to generate positive excess returns over Treasuries and cash over the next twelve months. Recession Prospects There is no doubt that the probability of a recession is rising. COVID-19 is already exerting intense pressure on the airline and hotel industries, and strapped small businesses will find themselves in its crosshairs soon. It is certainly possible that a recession could sneak up on us while we focus on our assessment of the monetary policy backdrop. But just as COVID-19 survival rates are heavily influenced by a patient’s intrinsic condition, the economy’s prognosis may be a function of its pre-outbreak status. To assess the economy’s vital signs, we begin with housing, the major economic segment with the greatest interest-rate sensitivity. If monetary policy is less accommodative than we’ve estimated, the housing market might be gasping for air, but it appears to be as fit as a fiddle. Permits and starts turned sharply higher in the middle of last year (Chart 3, top panel), following the sales component of the NAHB survey (Chart 3, bottom panel) and purchase mortgage applications (Chart 3, middle panel). Homes are already quite affordable, relative to history (Chart 4, top panel), and they’re bound to get even more affordable as mortgage rates fall. Chart 3Housing Charts Are Up And To The Right Across The Board Chart 4Homes Are Amply Affordable Nothing in the available data indicates that housing is running too hot. Residential investment’s contribution to GDP has flipped from barely negative to modestly positive (Chart 5), and there are no signs that its current course is unsustainable. Unsold inventories and the share of vacant homes are at 25-year lows (Chart 6), and starts and permits are only just catching up with the multi-year average of household formations, suggesting that the market has been undersupplied since the crisis excesses were worked off. The overall takeaway is that the housing market is in the early days of an overdue recovery that has plenty of room to run. Chart 5Residential Investment's Current Pace Is Easily Sustainable, ... Chart 6... And The Housing Market Still Looks Undersupplied Chart 7The Labor Market Is Strong Table 2No Sign Of Recession Here February’s employment situation report, ignored by markets in the throes of Friday's selloff, suggests that the labor market, and by extension the economy, was in fighting trim before COVID-19 took root in American soil (Chart 7). February’s net job additions far surpassed consensus estimates, and the figures for January and December were revised appreciably higher (Table 2). With the three-month moving average of net additions coming in one-third higher than expected, the report was nothing short of tremendous. The March release is sure to be worse, and the all-time record streak of expanding monthly payrolls may well come to an end, but the patient was in an awfully robust state before it encountered the virus, and that bodes well for its immediate future. The Democratic Primaries Super Tuesday turned out to be super for US financial markets. With all of the Democratic party’s machinery now at the service of Joe Biden, the probability that frightening left-tail outcomes might emerge from the general election has been dramatically reduced. Markets can live with a Biden-Trump contest no matter how it turns out. Although we thought that markets were exaggerating the potentially negative conditions that would ensue under President Sanders, they would have been subject to rolling bouts of angst every time his general election prospects rose. Though our geopolitical strategists unwaveringly saw the former vice president as the Democratic frontrunner, theirs was a decidedly minority view. Following the Nevada caucus, Sanders was viewed far and wide as the presumptive nominee. Although a Biden administration would presumably be less market-friendly than the current administration, he himself is a card-carrying member of the establishment and wouldn’t do anything that would upset the apple cart. From an investment perspective, Biden is the candidate that would Make America Predictable Again, and even if re-election is markets’ preferred outcome, the prospect of a Biden presidency is hardly frightening. Investment Implications Although our conviction level has fallen in the face of COVID-19 uncertainties, we hold to our view that a soft patch is more likely than a recession, and a correction is more likely than a bear market. We remain constructive on risk assets because we think the selling has gotten overdone. There may well be more of it, and the S&P 500 could reach its 2,708.92 bear-market level before we can publish again next Monday, but we will be buying it in our own account all the way there. We think the most plausible worst-case scenario is a sharp but short recession, produced by a nasty supply shock that frightens households and businesses enough that they cease to consume or invest. The demand strike would imperil indebted businesses that suffered the biggest revenue declines: airlines, hotels, restaurants, retailers, thinly capitalized oil producers and a range of small businesses. They would shrink their workforces and many would default on their loans. That would be bad, as all recessions are bad, but it wouldn’t be a replay of the crisis. Credit extended to the sorts of borrowers listed above, ex-small businesses, is well-dispersed throughout the economy via corporate bonds and securitizations. The exposures the SIFI banks and their large- and mid-cap regional bank cousins have retained will be easily absorbed by the layers of additional capital mandated by Dodd-Frank and Basel 3. It seems to us that markets are pricing in a significant probability of something much worse than a run-of-the-mill recession, and we think that sets up an attractive risk-reward profile for investors in risk assets. We reiterate our risk-friendly recommendations, though we now recommend that fixed-income investors maintain benchmark duration positioning. We failed to appreciate the potential scope for a decline in long yields and are correcting course now. Doug Peta, CFA Chief US Investment Strategist dougp@bcaresearch.com Footnotes 1 Boston, Claire and Raimonde, Olivia, “A 30-Year Mortgage Below 3%? Treasury Rally Offers Bargain Loans,” Bloomberg, March 5, 2020.
Yesterday, BCA Research's China Investment Strategy service concluded that land and home sales are likely to pick up in 2020 thanks to government expenditure. Investors should not expect large fluctuations in housing prices, but growth in home sales…
Highlights At the current rate of work resumption, March’s PMI should rebound to its “normal range” from February’s historic lows. If so, our simple calculation, using China’s PMI figures and GDP growth in Q4 2008 as a template, suggests that China's economic growth in Q1 2020 should come in at around 3.2%. Chinese stocks passively outperformed global benchmarks in the last two weeks. The likelihood of a stimulus overshoot in the next 6-12 months continues to rise, supporting our view that Chinese stocks will actively outperform global benchmark in the coming months. Cyclical stocks have significantly outperformed defensives lately. While this is consistent with our constructive view towards Chinese equities in general, the magnitude of a tech stock rally in the domestic market of late appears to be somewhat excessive. As such, investors should focus their sector exposure in favor of resources, industrials, and consumer discretionary. The depreciation in the RMB against the dollar will come primarily from a stronger dollar rather than a weaker RMB, and the downside in the value of the RMB should be limited. Feature Despite the past week’s plunge in global equities due to the threat of a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese stocks have outperformed relative to global benchmarks. This underscores our view that epidemic risks within China are slowly abating, and China’s reflationary response to the crisis will likely overcompensate for the short-term economic shock. Tables 1 and 2 highlight key developments in China’s economy and its financial markets in the past month. On the growth front, both the February official and Caixin PMIs dropped to historic lows as a result of the virus outbreak and nationwide lockdown. On the other hand, economic data from January confirmed that pre-outbreak activity in China was on track to recovery. Daily data also suggests that production in China continues to resume. Moreover, monetary conditions have significantly loosened and fiscal supports have materially stepped up. Chinese equities in both onshore and offshore markets dropped by 2% and 7% respectively (in absolute terms) from their January 13 peaks. Nevertheless, they have both significantly outperformed global equities, particularly in the past week. Equally-weighted cyclical stocks versus defensives in the onshore market have also moved up sharply, driven by a rally in the technology sector stocks. While the outperformance of cyclical stocks is consistent with our constructive view towards Chinese stocks, the magnitude appears to be excessive. Thus, we would advise investors positioning for a cyclical recovery in China to favor exposure in resources, industrials and consumer discretionary stocks. Table 1China Macro Data Summary Table 2China Financial Market Performance Summary In reference to Tables 1 and 2, we have a number of observations concerning developments in China’s macro and financial market data: Chart 1Inventory And Production Shortages Are A Bigger Near-Term Concern Than Weaknesses In Demand February’s drop in the official PMI below 40% is reminiscent of November 2008, which was the height of the global financial crisis. The raw material inventory sub-index of the PMI in February fell to a record low, a clear indication of strain in China’s manufacturing sector. While the finished goods inventory sub-index ticked up slightly compared with January, factories will likely run out of existing raw materials to produce goods if transportation logistics do not return to normal soon (Chart 1). A higher number in the new orders sub-index relative to production output also suggests the pressure on the supply side will intensify if the virus outbreak in China worsens and continues to disrupt manufacturing activities. This will in turn undermine the effectiveness of Chinese policy response. Daily data from various sources suggests Chinese industrial activities continue to pick up. Between February 10 (the first official return-to-work day after an extended Chinese New Year holiday) and February 25 (the cutoff date for responding to PMI surveys), daily coal consumption in China’s six largest power plants was only about 60% of consumption compared from the same period last year (adjusted for the Lunar Year calendar). This is in line with the 35.7 reading in February’s manufacturing PMI, versus 49.2 a year ago. In the last four days of February, however, coal consumption reached nearly 70% of last year’s consumption. This figure is in keeping with a 10 percentage point increase in the rate of work resumption of enterprises above-designated size in China’s coastal regions.1 If energy consumption and work resumption rates reach about 90% by the end of March compared with Q1 2019, then PMI in March should pick up to 45% or higher. A 45% or higher reading in March’s PMI will imply economic impact from the virus outbreak is mostly limited to February. A simple calculation using China’s GDP growth in Q4 2008 as a template suggests that China's economic growth in Q1 2020 should come in at around 3.2% in real terms. This is in line with the estimate from BCA's Global Investment Strategy service.2 As we pointed out in November last year,3 China is frontloading additional fiscal stimulus in Q1 2020 to secure the economic recovery, which started to bud prior to the virus outbreak. The increase in January’s credit numbers confirms our projection. The monthly flow in total social financing in January (with only three work weeks effectively) reached above RMB 5 trillion. This figure exceeded that in January 2019, the highest monthly credit number last year. Local government bond issuance in January was almost double that a year ago, and a total of 1.2 trillion local government bonds were issued in the first two months of this year - a 53% jump from the same period last year. This suggests that fiscal stimulus has indeed stepped up in 2020. Money supply in January was slightly distorted by the earlier Chinese New Year (it fell in January this year instead of February as in most years) and the COVID-19 outbreak. M1 registered zero growth from a year ago, whereas it grew by 0.4% in January 2019.4 Normally, during the month of the Chinese New Year, households have more cash in deposits whereas corporations have less as they pay pre-holiday bonuses to employees. This seasonality factor causes the growth rate in M0 to rise and M1 growth to fall. The seasonality was exacerbated by the nationwide lockdown on January 20 this year, as many real estate developers reportedly suffered from a significant reduction in home sales and delays in deposits for down payments. Household consumption in the service sector during the Chinese New Year was also severely suppressed. This explains near-zero growth in M1 and a larger-than-expected increase in household deposits in January (Chart 2). We expect the growth in both M0 and M1 to start normalizing in March, as production and household consumption continue to resume. While we do not expect large fluctuations in housing prices, we think growth in home sales may accelerate from Q2 2020. There are early signs that the government is starting to relax restrictions on the real estate sector, on a region by region basis. Land sales remain a major source of local governments’ income, accounting for more than half of total revenues as of last year. Chart 3 shows that as government expenditures lead land sales, a major increase in fiscal stimulus and local government spending means that a significant bump in land sales will be needed in 2020. A strengthening supply of land, coupled with the unlikelihood of large fluctuations in property prices, suggests that there will be more policy supports to the real estate sector and more incentives to boost housing demand. Chart 2Corporates Are Short On Cash Chart 3Land And Home Sales Likely To Pick Up In 2020 In the past two weeks, China’s equity market has registered a near-vertical outperformance in both investable and domestic stocks relative to global benchmarks (Chart 4). While this recent outperformance was passive in nature, our policy assessment supports future active outperformance. The recently announced pro-growth policy initiatives increasingly resemble those rolled out at the start of the last easing cycle in 2015/2016. These policy initiatives increase the odds that the upcoming “insurance stimulus” will overcompensate for the short-term economic shock, and will likely lead to a significant rebound in corporate profits in the next 6-12 months. This supports our bullish view on Chinese stocks. Chart 5 also shows that, unlike during the 2015’s “bubble and bust” cycle, both the valuation and margin trading as a percentage of total market cap in China’s onshore market remain materially lower than 2015. Equally-weighted cyclical sectors continue to outperform defensives in both China’s investable and domestic markets, particularly the latter where stock prices in the technology sector were up 12% within the past month. While the outperformance of cyclical stocks relative to defensives is consistent with our constructive view towards Chinese equities in general, the magnitude appears to be somewhat excessive. Given this, we would advise investors positioning for a cyclical recovery in China’s economy to focus their sector exposure in favor of resources, industrials, and consumer discretionary stocks. Chart 4Chinese Stocks Strongly Outperformed Global Benchmarks Over The Past Two Weeks Chart 5Onshore Market Trading Does Not Seem Overly Leveraged China’s three-month repo rate (the de facto policy rate) has fallen significantly in the past month, roughly 30bps below its lowest level in 2016 (Chart 6). China’s government bond yields have also reached their lowest level since 2016. While corporate bond yield spreads in other major economies have picked up sharply in the past month, the reverse is happening in China. This suggests that the market is pricing in further easing and the notion that policy supports will be effective in preventing a surge in corporate bond default rate. From a global perspective, yield spreads on China’s onshore corporate bonds have been elevated since 2016. This indicates that investors have long either priced in a much higher default rate among Chinese corporate bond issuers, or demand an unjustifiably large risk premium (Chart 7). Since we expect Chinese policymakers to continue easing, risks of a surge in China’s corporate bond default rate remain low this year. As such, until we see signs that the Chinese authorities are reverting to a financial de-risking mode, we will continue to favor onshore corporate versus duration-matched government bonds. Chart 6Monetary Policy Now More Accommodative Than 2015-2016 Chart 7Chinese Corporates Pay High Risk Premium For Their Bonds, Even At A Relatively Low Default Rate Chart 8The RMB Likely To Continue Outperforming Other EM Currencies As we go to press, the Federal Reserve Bank has just made a 50bps cut to the Fed rate, the first emergency cut since the global financial crisis. The USD weakened against the Euro, the Japanese Yen, as well as the RMB immediately following the rate cut. While this reflects the market’s concerns of a worsening virus outbreak and the rising possibility of an economic slowdown in the US, the USD as a countercyclical currency will likely appreciate against most cyclical currencies as the virus continues spreading globally. Hence, the depreciation in the RMB against the dollar will come primarily from a stronger dollar rather than a weaker RMB, and the downside in the value of the RMB should be limited. The continuation of resuming production in China and the expectations of a Chinese economic recovery in Q2 will support an appreciation in the RMB against other EM currencies (Chart 8). Qingyun Xu, CFA Senior Analyst qingyunx@bcaresearch.com Jing Sima China Strategist jings@bcaresearch.com Footnotes 1 http://app.21jingji.com/html/2020yiqing_fgfc/ 2 Please see Global Investment Strategy Weekly Report "Markets Too Complacent About The Coronavirus," dated February 21, 2020, available at gis.bcaresearch.com 3 Please see China Investment Strategy Weekly Report "Questions From The Road: Timing The Turn," dated November 20, 2020, available at gis.bcaresearch.com 4 M1 is mainly made up by cash demand deposits from corporations, whereas M0 is mainly deposits from households Cyclical Investment Stance Equity Sector Recommendations
An analysis on Hong Kong is available below. Highlights The correction in EM risk assets and currencies will be larger than during the SARS outbreak. A number of market indicators that are pertinent for EM assets are sending a disconcerting message. The trouble is that they have relapsed from already low levels. We are closing our long position in EM stocks to manage risk and continue recommending underweighting EM equities and credit versus their DM counterparts. Stay short EM currencies versus the US dollar. A new trade: Go short Hong Kong banks / long Taiwanese banks. Feature Chart I-1Global Equity Correction: SARS- And Coronavirus-Episodes It is tempting to compare the potential impact of the current coronavirus outbreak on the global economy and financial markets with that of SARS in the spring of 2003. The correction in global equities due to the SARS outbreak lasted only a couple of days during April 2003, and global share prices sold off by only 2.5% (Chart I-1). During that period, the EM equity index dropped by 4% and emerging Asian bourses by 8% in US dollar terms (Chart I-2). Presently, the drawdowns in global stocks and EM share prices have been 2.5% and 4%, respectively. Thus, the magnitude of the current correction is on a par with what occurred during the 2003 SARS outbreak (Charts I-1 and I-2). Further, in 2003, share prices bottomed when the number of registered new SARS infections – on a rolling fortnight basis – declined (Chart I-3). This was true both worldwide and in the case of Hong Kong. Chart I-2EM And Asian Stock Corrections: SARS- And Coronavirus-Episodes Chart I-3Number Of New Cases And Share Prices: Global And Hong Kong However, such simplistic comparisons between SARS in 2003 and the current coronavirus outbreak are uninformative. There are striking economic differences between these two episodes. The impact on both the Chinese and global economies will be larger today compared with the effects of SARS. This is true even if the spread of the coronavirus is contained soon and the number of infections and deaths peaks earlier and at much lower levels compared to the SARS outbreak. The rationale behind the meaningful impact on Chinese and global growth is two-fold: The safety measures undertaken by the Chinese authorities, including the extension of the Lunar New Year holiday period and imposition of limits on travel – are much greater than their response in 2003. These efforts might contain the spread of the virus and save human lives, but they will likely dampen economic activity in the near term. The importance of the Chinese economy in the world and hence its impact have grown immensely since early 2003. Overall, the current correction in EM risk assets and currencies will be larger than the one during the SARS outbreak. China’s Share Of The Global Economy: Today Versus 2003 Table I-1China’s Importance Now And In 2003 China’s economy is much more important to global aggregate demand and growth today than it was in 2003 (Table I-1). Specifically: China’s GDP at purchasing power parity accounts for 19.3% of world GDP compared to 8.3% in 2002 before the SARS outbreak occurred. In nominal US dollar terms, the mainland currently accounts for 17% of global GDP versus 4.3% in 2002. We use 2002 because the SARS outbreak occurred in early 2003, so China’s share of world GDP in 2002 is the more accurate measure of the country’s importance in early 2003. Chinese imports of goods and services make up 13.5% of global trade at present, significantly greater than their 4.5% share in 2002. The mainland’s share of consumption of various industrial metals has surged, from between 10-20% in 2002 to 50-60% presently (Table I-1). For copper, it has soared from 18% in 2002 to its current share of 53%. China’s iron ore imports have risen from 21% of the global total in 2002 to 64% presently. The nation’s oil consumption presently accounts for 13.5% compared with 6.6% in 2002. Total semiconductor sales in China currently constitute 34.6% of global semiconductor sales versus 5% in 2002. Personal computer sales in China make up 20% of worldwide sales compared with 2.4% in 2002. Mobile phones sales in China constituted 11% of worldwide sales in 2002. Today, smartphone sales account for 29% of global sales. Finally, in the past 12 months, passenger car sales in China were 21.5 million units, or 34.5% of the global total. In 2002, China’s share in global passenger auto demand was only 7.3%. Other relevant differences between China’s economy then and now include: Chart I-4China's Leverage In 2003 And Now First, leverage among companies and households was low in 2002 compared with the current debt bubble. Aggregate local currency indebtedness of companies, households and the various levels of government stood at 120% of GDP in 2002, compared with 260% currently (Chart I-4). Even a temporary reduction in cash flows of enterprises due to shutdowns and a plunge in demand will weigh on their ability to service debt. This could in turn temporarily curtail their appetite for new investments and hiring. Second, by 2003 China had just completed a major overhaul of its state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and banks. As a result, the nation was in the early stages of a structural economic boom driven by higher productivity growth. Presently, neither SOE reforms nor deleveraging are meaningfully advanced (Chart I-4, bottom panel). Consequently, China is still in a structural decline in terms of productivity growth. Third, China entered the World Trade Organization in late 2001, and by early 2003 it was enjoying an FDI inflow boom and was on the verge of rapidly increasing its market share in global trade (Chart I-5). Presently, both multinational and Chinese producers are moving their production and supply chains out of China in response to US trade protectionism. Chart I-5China's Global Export Market Share In 2003 And Now Finally, enterprises and organizations were not forced to shut down because of the SARS virus in the spring of 2003. Consequently, the hit to economic activity in the spring of 2003 was mild, as shown in Chart I-6A and I-6B. In contrast, the government today has extended the Chinese New Year holidays by a few days, and some companies will be operating on a part-time basis for a couple of weeks. It is impossible to forecast the evolution of the outbreak, but the odds are that a hit to economic activity in China due to the coronavirus outbreak is likely to be worse than during the SARS episode. Chart I-6AChina: Cyclical Variables During SARS Outbreak Chart I-6BChina: Cyclical Variables During SARS Outbreak On a positive note, the Chinese authorities will certainly augment their stimulus, especially fiscal spending, to counteract the negative impact of the shutdowns on the economy. However, it remains to be seen how long it will take for these stimulus efforts to filter through the economy and offset the drag from poor sentiment. Market Signals Are Disconcerting There are several financial market signals that are often important in terms of gauging primary trends in EM risk assets and currencies: Chart I-7Industrial Metal Prices Are Back To Their Cyclical Lows Base metal prices in general and copper prices in particular have relapsed to their cyclical lows (Chart I-7). In short, industrial metal prices are not confirming a durable recovery in global manufacturing and China/EM domestic demand. Industrial metal prices are leveraged to China’s growth as well as closely correlated with EM ex-China currencies (Chart I-8). This is a bearish signpost for EM exchange rates. Notably, Korea’s bond yields are drifting lower, casting doubt on the sustainability of the nation’s export growth (Chart I-9). The latter is a good barometer of global trade. EM assets are very sensitive to global trade and as such remain at risk. EM small-cap stocks have failed to enter a cyclical bull market, despite investor enthusiasm for EM financial markets following the US-China Phase One trade agreement. Their much-muted rebound is not confirming a broad-based recovery in EM/China growth and improvement in EM domestic fundamentals. Chart I-8EM Currencies: Rebound Has Faded Chart I-9Korean Bond Yields And Global Manufacturing Chart I-10EM Risks Are Tilted To The Downside Similarly, the rebound in our Risk-On/Safe-Haven currency ratio has faded and this indicator has rolled over (Chart I-10). It correlates well with EM share prices, and presently heralds further downside in the latter. The disconcerting message from these market indicators is that they – unlike the S&P 500 - are not correcting from very overbought levels, but have relapsed and are gapping down from already low levels. Economic data from China and Asia in the coming months will be weak due to coronavirus-related disruptions. Therefore, investors cannot rely on economic data to gauge the direction of the business cycle, Instead, market signals and market-based indicators might become the predominant tools for gauging financial markets directions. Investment Strategy Last week we recommended investors consider going long EM volatility. The levels of EM and DM currencies’ implied volatility were at all-time lows (Chart I-11). We are reiterating this recommendation. Notably, the previous historical lows in EM and DM currencies’ implied volatility occurred just before major bear markets in EM share prices (Chart I-11). Hence, the odds of a major drawdown in EM share prices are considerable. We gave the benefit of the doubt to the market action and went long EM stocks on December 19, 2019. Given the latest market action, indicators and uncertainty over the Chinese/Asian business cycle, we are closing the open position in EM equities. This trade has been flat since its initiation. The EM equity index in US dollar terms is hovering above major technical support lines (Chart I-12). If this level is decisively broken, the downside could be substantial. Alternatively, if EM share prices find support around these levels, it would signal a budding major bull market. We will monitor market action and indicators and adjust our strategy accordingly. Chart I-11A Record Low Vol = A Major Top In Risk Assets Chart I-12EM Stocks: Will Long-Term Technical Support Hold? Although we upgraded our view on the absolute performance of EM stocks in December, we have continued recommending underweighting EM versus DM. In recent weeks, we have been arguing that we will upgrade EM stocks and credit from underweight to overweight relative to their DM peers if EM share prices and currencies demonstrate resilience amid a correction in global risk assets. So far, they have not been resilient – EM equities have sold off more than their DM peers (Chart I-13) and the weakness in EM currencies has been broad-based. For now, investors should continue underweighting EM equities and credit versus their DM counterparts. The odds of a breakdown in EM currencies are rising. Investors should continue shorting a basket of EM currencies versus the US dollar. Our favored shorts are BRL, CLP, COP, IDR, MYR, PHP, KRW and ZAR. Finally, EM local currency bond yields as well as sovereign and corporate credit spreads are either at record lows or at extremely low levels (Chart I-14). EM sovereign credit spreads appear elevated because the index includes de-facto defaulted sovereigns like Argentina, Venezuela, and others. EM currency trends hold the key for these asset classes. If EM currencies break down, as we expect, EM domestic bond yields will rise, and sovereign and credit spreads will widen. Chart I-13EM Equities Versus DM: New Lows Ahead? Chart I-14Too Much Complacency In EM Local Bonds And Credit Markets Arthur Budaghyan Chief Emerging Markets Strategist arthurb@bcaresearch.com Hong Kong: Into Uncharted Waters The Hong Kong economy is in recession and its equity prices – stocks domiciled in Hong Kong and included in the MSCI Hong Kong equity index – have underperformed considerably. Is it time to turn positive on Hong Kong equities? We continue to recommend underweighting Hong Kong-domiciled stocks, because the heavyweight sectors – financials and property – remain at risk. The basis is that Hong Kong’s interest rates will likely creep higher as capital outflows persist. Higher borrowing costs will weigh on this highly leveraged economy. Capital Flows And Interest Rates The currency board system mandates the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to maintain a pegged exchange rate with the US dollar. With an open capital account and a fixed exchange rate, the HKMA has little control over interest rates. Chart II-1Banks Excess Reserves AT HKMA And Interest Rates Capital outflows exert depreciation pressure on the currency, forcing the monetary authorities to sell their foreign currency reserves to defend the exchange rate peg. This drains commercial banks’ excess reserves at the central bank, thereby tightening interbank liquidity and lifting interest rates (Chart II-1). In brief, interbank rates need to rise to inhibit capital flight. For now, we expect the heightened socio-political uncertainty in Hong Kong to linger. This will hurt economic growth, thereby depressing economic sentiment and return on capital. In turn, this will continue to spur capital outflows. The latter will exert upward pressure on interest rates. Overall, this could unleash a feedback loop of deteriorating growth conditions, capital outflows and higher interest rates. While it is doubtful that Hong Kong will experience a full-blown crisis, the most likely scenario is a slow leakage of capital out of the city and gradually rising interest rates. A mirror image of capital outflows from Hong Kong is foreign capital inflows in Singapore. In particular, foreigners’ Singapore dollar deposits rose by S$6.8 billion from May to November 2019, and foreign currency deposits in Singaporean banks increased by S$9 billion during the same period (Chart II-2). Chart II-2Non-Residents Deposits In Singapore Confirm Capital Flight Out Of HK Real Estate Blues Hong Kong’s property market is under stress from both falling income/cash flow and slowly rising interest rates. Odds are that various segments of the Hong Kong property market – especially the retail, commercial and high-end residential – have entered an extended downturn. The protests and the coronavirus outbreak have all but halted tourism, especially from the mainland. Mainland Chinese visitors accounted for 75% of total arrivals a year ago, and their spending accounted for over 10% of personal consumption expenditures in Hong Kong. Tourists from the mainland are not expected to return soon due to both Hong Kong’s protests and the travel limitations due to the coronavirus outbreak. Hong Kong’s domestic demand is also anemic, and will stay so given poor business sentiment and a weakening labor market. In a nutshell, the value of retail sales in November plunged by a record 23.6% from a year earlier (Chart II-3). Contracting consumption has resulted in sharply rising vacancies and pushed retail property rents and prices off the cliff for the first time since 2008 (Chart II-4). Retail sector rents and prices have on average deflated by 10% from last year. Consistently, high-street rents have also fallen by about 18% in 2019. In short, rising vacancy rates of retail properties herald further rent decline. Chart II-3HK: Retail Sales Have Collapsed Chart II-4HK Retail Properties: Vacancy, Rents And Prices Hong Kong’s office market is also at risk, with vacancy rates climbing (Chart II-5). Office property prices have dropped by 8%, and prime grade A property prices have plunged a whopping 20% from a year earlier (Chart II-5, bottom panel). Multinational companies and financial firms have been relocating to reduce their rental costs. In the third quarter of this year, office vacancies in the center of Hong Kong reached 7.4%, their highest in 14 years. With respect to Hong Kong‘s residential market, it is a mixed bag. On average, home prices have so far declined by only 3% from their peak in 2019. (Chart II-6, top panel). That said, luxury residential prices have already plunged by 27% from a year ago (Chart II-6, second panel). The residential sector’s resilience in the middle- and low-ends can be explained by strong end-user demand and lack of speculative purchases over the past three years due to the government’s anti-speculative measures. For example, the number of residential transactions involving stamp duties – a proxy for foreign purchases – has fallen sharply since Q4 2016 due to tougher regulations. Chart II-5HK Offices: Vacancy, Rents And Prices Chart II-6HK Residential Vacancy, Rents And Prices Chart II-7HK: Retail Yields And Interest Rates Even only marginally higher interest rates will be sufficient to hurt real estate. Rental yields on all types of properties are very low and close to borrowing costs (Chart II-7). There is not much of a valuation buffer if borrowing costs rise or rents deflate. In a nutshell, the high-end property market as well as commercial real estate are vulnerable. Importantly, the Hong Kong authorities cannot use lower interest rates to help the economy, leaving fiscal policy as the sole tool. The government has accumulated enormous fiscal surpluses, and it will ramp up spending to stimulate the economy. The authorities have so far announced three tiny fiscal stimulus packages amounting to only 0.8% of GDP in aggregate. This is clearly insufficient to jump start the business cycle amid lingering headwinds. Nevertheless, government expenditures account for only 10% of GDP, and any reasonable jump in spending in the coming months will not be sufficient to preclude a downtrend in the broader economy. Banks Holds The Key Chart II-8HK-Domiciled Banks: Profit Outlook Is Downbeat Hong Kong-domiciled bank share prices are at risk from a deceleration in loan growth, rising non-performing loans (NPLs) and a drop in their net interest rate margins (Chart II-8). Banks’ domestic loans are concentrated in real estate: About 55% of domestic loans consist of lending to property developers and mortgages. Such a high concentration of real estate lending makes Hong Kong banks vulnerable to a property market correction. If banks begin tightening lending standards, the game will be over. At the moment, bankers might be relaxed as they are comparing the current episode with short-lived corrections in the property market and the economy in 2008, 2013 and 2015. However, odds are that this downturn will be more severe. As the economic stress heightens, banks might begin tightening lending standards. In such a case, property prices and construction activity will sink, feeding back into the economy. Notably, this process seems to have started, as evidenced by bank tightening of credit standards for small businesses (Chart II-9). Importantly, the debt service ratio for Hong Kong’s nonfinancial sectors is among the highest in the world (Chart II-10). Provided all outstanding mortgages are floating-rate, any rise in interest rates will increase borrowing costs. Coupled with shrinking nominal incomes, debtors – both households and companies – will struggle to service their debt. Chart II-9HK Banks Have Been Tightening Credit For Small Businesses Chart II-10HK Private Sector: Debt-Service Ratio Is the Highest Investment conclusions We continue to reiterate our underweight position in Hong Kong equities within emerging markets, global and Asian equity portfolios (Chart II-11). The Hong Kong currency peg will be maintained for now, even at the cost of rising interest rates and debt deflation in the real economy. We discussed the Hong Kong exchange rate outlook in a special report last June, and the main points of that analysis remain valid. The HKMA has an enormous amount of foreign exchange reserves to defend the currency peg. However, the cost of defending the exchange rate will be higher interest rates. The latter will hurt Hong Kong’s highly leveraged economy in general and its property market in particular. As a bet on property market travails, we continue to recommend being short Hong Kong property stocks and long Singapore real estate equities (Chart II-12). The macro justification for this trade is the ability of Singapore to drop interest rates and tolerate currency depreciation, and Hong Kong’s inability to do so. Finally, as a new trade, we recommend shorting Hong Kong-domiciled banks relative to Taiwanese banks. As discussed, Hong Kong banks are exposed to rising borrowing costs, weakening real estate and rising NPLs. Chart II-11Continue Underweighting HK Stocks Chart II-12Stay Short HK Property / Long Singapore Property Stocks We chose Taiwanese banks because they are defensive in nature – i.e., they will likely be a low-beta play within the Asia equity universe. Lin Xiang, CFA Research Analyst linx@bcaresearch.com Footnotes Equities Recommendations Currencies, Credit And Fixed-Income Recommendations
In December, US housing starts surged to their highest level in 13 years. Housing starts are a noisy series, but the 41% annual growth rate was undeniably phenomenal. Moreover, it was driven by both single family and multifamily units. Such a pace of…