Market Returns
The recovery in global risk assets and currencies is a temporary oversold bounce. It is not supported by signs that global growth is on the mend. Consequently, we are not willing to embrace more risk in our currency strategy just yet.
Markets see long-term global growth prospects as having deteriorated materially, with policymakers unwilling or unable to do much about it. Meanwhile, recent economic data - U.S. notably - hasn't been that bad. A divergence between what matters to Wall Street versus Main Street explains the disconnect. Accelerating wage growth, lower commodity prices, and cheaper rates are positives for households - but not for many Wall Street sectors. Stay neutral global equities. T-bonds are a "hold" for now. The dollar's selloff is overdone.
Indonesia has been fighting the Impossible Trinity, a battle that cannot be won. The central bank will continue printing rupiahs and the currency will depreciate further. Eventually rupiah depreciation will push up interbank rates, and Indonesia's credit cycle and economic growth will stumble. Continue shorting the rupiah, underweighting Indonesian stocks and sovereign credit, and shorting long-term (5-year) local government bonds.
Greater safety for European taxpayers and bank depositors necessarily means more risk for bank equity and bond investors. We provide some detail, and also initiate two new short-term positions.
While the oil market looked right through the Russian-Saudi production-freeze announcement earlier this week, we believe these states may be attempting to put lipstick on the proverbial pig, to provide a plausible narrative to explain the physical reality of lower oil production in a sub-$30/bbl world.
Value in the U.S. Treasury market is rapidly deteriorating, and the 10-year Treasury yield is now consistent with our fair value projections. Investors should shift from an above-benchmark to a benchmark duration stance.
Reduce portfolio duration to neutral, while also cutting exposure to European bonds (both in the core and Periphery) and Canadian government bonds.
U.S. dollar softness may be sparking a subtle shift in sub-surface dynamics, to the benefit of select deep cyclical industries. Switch from rails into electrical equipment, and take profits in data processing.
A rebalancing of oil supply and demand will lead to higher crude prices later this year. The Canadian dollar and Norwegian krone will benefit, but it is still too soon to buy these currencies versus the U.S. dollar. For now, we prefer to play the long side in the CAD and NOK <i>via</i> cross trades.
Plunging commodities have been driven by increased supply and falling investor demand, not a major downshift in physical demand. Stay neutral global equities. The earnings outlook remains uninspiring, but bottoming oil prices and continued monetary stimulus support valuations. The selloff in global bank shares reflects NIRP-related "income statement worries", not "balance sheet concerns" linked to deteriorating credit quality. Downgrade Treasury notes to neutral. The rally in bonds has brought 10-year yields near our long-standing, out-of-consensus target of 1.5%.