Wall St Up Friday as Inflation Data Promotes Softer Fed Policy

MARKETS TODAY March 31st, 2023 (Vica Partners)

Good Friday Afternoon,

Yesterday, US equity markets ended higher extending the recent gains. The Nasdaq/FANG+ leading advancers for the 2nd consecutive day. All 11 of the S&P 500 sectors were higher/ Real Estate and Consumer Discretionary outperform, Financials Care lagged. The S&P 500 is up about 2.4% for the week and >6% YTD. The BIG story is mega cap growth as the NY FANG+ is up >36% YTD.

Overnight, Asian markets finished higher with shares in Japan leading the region. The Nikkei 225 up 0.93%, the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 0.59% and China’s Shanghai Composite up 0.36%. %. Premarket, European markets finished higher today with shares in France leading the region. The CAC 40 up 0.81%, Germany’s DAX up 0.69% and London’s FTSE 100 0.15%. S&P futures US were trading at 0.3% above fair-value.

US markets, Key Indices closed higher with Nasdaq/FANG+ leading advancers for the 3rd consecutive day. . All 11 of the S&P 500 sectors were higher/ Real Estate and Consumer Discretionary outperform, Energy lagged. Yields fell while Bloomberg Commodity was sharply higher as UDS Index, Oil futures and Bitcoin we all up. In economic news, personal income was in line with estimates as spending slowed. Most importantly PCE data in both headline/core beat estimates. U.S. consumer sentiment

Takeaways

  • Inflation data out today promotes softer Fed policy
  • Nasdaq/FANG+ mega cap growth lead rally 3rd consecutive day
  • Real Estate outperforms, Energy lags
  • Yields decline
  • Fear & Greed Index rating moderating = 48 Neutral
  • Bloomberg Commodity Index sharply rises
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Pro Tip, The NYFANG+ index comprises some of the largest and most successful technology companies in the world, including Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Netflix. These companies have a proven track record of generating high revenue and earnings growth and have consistently outperformed other sectors over the past decade. Investors also view NYFANG+ stocks as a safe haven investment option in times of economic uncertainty or market volatility. During periods of market turbulence, technology companies have tended to outperform other sectors due to their ability to adapt to changing market conditions and their strong financial positions.

Sectors/ Commodities/ Treasuries

Key Indexes (50d, 100d, 200d)

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S&P Sectors

  • All 11 of the S&P 500 sectors were higher. / Real Estate +1.73% and Consumer Discretionary 1.69%/ Energy +0.32%, Utilities +0.48% underperform.
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Commodities

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US Treasuries

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Notable Earnings This Week (bold denotes today)

  • BioNTech (BNTX), Walgreens Boots (WBA), McCormick&Co (MKC), Carnival Corp (CCL), PVH (PVH), Cintas (CTAS), Lululemon Athletica (LULU), Paychex (PAYX)
  •   Anhui Conch Cement Co (AHCHY), Huazhu (HTHT), Micron (MU), Constellation Software (CNSWF), Concentrix (CNXC)
  • * Strong support – Baidu Inc (BIDU), Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM), Alibaba Group Holdings (BABA), Qualcomm (QCOM), Vale (VALE), Rio Tinto (RIO), Analog Devices (ADI), Palo Alto Networks (PANW)    

Economic Data

US

  • Personal income (nominal); period Feb., act    0.3%, fc 0.2%, prev. 0.6%
  • Personal spending (nominal); period Feb., act 0.2%, fc 0.3%, prev. 1.8%
  • PCE index ; period Feb., act 0.3%, prev. 0.6%
  • Core PCE index; period Feb., act 0.3%, fc 0.3%, prev. 0.6%
  • PCE (year-over-year)’ period Feb., act 5%, prev. 5.3%
  • Core PCE (year-over-year); period Feb., act 4.6%, fc 4.7%. prev. 4.7%
  • Chicago Business Barometer; period March, act 43.8, fc 43.0, prev. 43.6
  • U Mich consumer sentiment (final); period March, act 62, fc 63., prev. 63.4

News

Company News/ Other

  • Exclusive: Elon Musk plans China visit, seeks meeting with premier – Reuters
  • Canada clears C$20 bln Rogers-Shaw deal to create No.2 telecom company – Reuters

Central Banks/Inflation/Labor Market

  • Are Big Profits Keeping Prices High? Some Central Bankers Are Concerned – NY Times
  • ECB’s inflation battle has a 550 bln euro problem – Reuters

China

  • China calls US debt trap accusation ‘irresponsible’ – Reuters
  • US-China chip war: Japan plans to restrict some equipment exports – BBC

Journal

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