I read recently that over 80% of all the S&P500's assets are now intangible. It's remarkable the impact that sentiment can have on valuations. I don't think anyone can imagine a scenario where stocks crash 84%. But, if history has taught us anything, it's that sentiment, alone, can accomplish this seemingly impossible feat. The perpetual sense of "hope," delivered to market participants through optimistic narratives, on a daily basis, is certainly helping the cause. In a recent report, Jared Woodard, at Bank of America, mentioned that value investing is dead. At the moment, I have to agree with him. But, only as long rates stay low, and sentiment stays high. Based on my own personal experience, it appears that sentiment injections are slowly losing their potency, and effectiveness. The law of diminishing returns is beginning to rear it's ugly head, and when sentiment eventually shifts to the downside, we all know what happens next.
Jobless claims came in better than expected at 712k vs. expectations of 775k, with continuing claims at just over 5.5MM. Pandemic emergency claims continue to rise, and hit an all-time high last week with a print of 4.57MM. The total number of Americans still on some form of unemployment is hovering around 20 million. You won't see that on the news, though. ISM Non-Manufacturing index came in worse than expected at 55.9%, the lowest print since May.
LA has just imposed new lock downs, and I'm getting a sense that California may try to take this state-wide at any moment. Most of Europe is on strict curfews and lock downs, but don't tell that to their stock markets, which are barely changed since the news broke. France is a perfect example; the CAC40 was up the day France imposed new lock downs. Simply astonishing.
The majors were up marginally on the open, after a stalemate in overnight trading. But, the SPY is currently making another all-time high, as we speak, and is sitting around 368 an hour into the morning session. Hourly RSI is sitting just below 70, showing overbought conditions, and the daily RSI is approaching overbought levels, also, with a 66 handle this morning. Clearly the jobless claims print won't be a catalyst for weakness in risk assets today, but November payrolls are out tomorrow and I'm keen on seeing how the "recovery" progressed in November.
Stay tuned for live updates throughout the day, and thanks for your time today guys! If you enjoyed today's analysis, please hit the Like button and subscribe to our profile. The information and analysis shared in this post is not financial advice. Always conduct your own analysis and research. Cheers, Michael.