S&P500 Vulnerabilities: from Money Supply to Sectoral ImbalancesAs much as we try not to repeat ideas here, occasionally, an opportunity emerges to harp on the same point.
As we have previously laid out the bear case for the S&P 500 from a historical volatility behavior perspective, this week we will zoom in on other metrics showing why we think the S&P may struggle from here.
The first and most interesting measure, in our opinion, is the S&P 500 when adjusted by the money supply. Once again it appears to have peaked and is on the path of reversal now. The S&P500 / Money Supply has reached these levels not once, not twice but thrice, stopping at the same level before reversing. More importantly, overall, we see the S&P 500 clearly climbing up in line with the level of money supply.
Money supply has been on a decreasing trend since the start of the Federal Reserve hikes. While the downtrend has been paused momentarily with money supply slightly increasing in early 2023 it now seems to have resumed the downward path. This could spell bad news for equities given that the S&P has broadly followed money supply and the clear resistance observed on the S&P 500 / Money Supply chart.
As yields creep higher, investors will eventually second guess whether it still makes sense to put more into the equities when cash now yields more. The 6-month treasury yield is now higher than the S&P 500 earnings yield, a phenomenon not experienced since the turn of the millennium. A federal reserve resolute in keeping rates higher for longer might just be the kicker for investors to turn to these shorter dated treasuries while waiting out equity volatility.
With a series of better-than-expected economic data, the Federal Reserve once again gains greater headroom to maintain its higher for longer stance, which is causing discomfort in the equities market. All eyes will be on the Non-Farm Payrolls numbers coming out tomorrow for further confirmation if the US economy can indeed take this regime of higher rates.
Within the S&P 500, the Technology sector remains the significant outperformer compared to other sectors like Financial, Consumer Staples and Energy. With the Technology Sector / Financial Sector ratio extending far beyond the trend from 2017.
The combination of money supply metrics, yield comparisons, and sectoral imbalances, among other factors, makes a compelling case for a bearish outlook on the S&P 500. For investors seeking targeted strategies, CME E-MINI Select Sector Futures offers a refined approach, allowing for an overall bearish view on the S&P 500 while building positions in certain sectors through a relative value strategy. To express the bearish view on the technology sector relative to the financial sector, we can take a short position on the E-MINI Technology Select Sector Futures and a long position on the E-MINI Financial Select Sector Futures. Given the contract size differences, to roughly match the notional, we will need 3 E-MINI Financial Select Sector Futures at the current level of 405 to match 2 E-MINI Technology Select Sector Futures.
3 x E-MINI Financial Select Sector Futures Notional = 3 * 405 * 250 USD = $303,750
2 x E-MINI Technology Select Sector Futures Notional = 2 * 1678 * 100 USD = $335,600
Each 0.1 index point move in the E-MINI Technology Select Sector Futures is $10, while each 0.05 index point move in the E-MINI Financial Select Sector Futures is $12.5.
The charts above were generated using CME’s Real-Time data available on TradingView. Inspirante Trading Solutions is subscribed to both TradingView Premium and CME Real-time Market Data which allows us to identify trading set-ups in real-time and express our market opinions. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
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Reference:
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