US 500

The robust rally in the first half of the year set high expectations, particularly in the technology sector. While some sector rotation into energy and financials occurred last week, it wasn't sufficient to prevent a broader market decline. Disappointing earnings from key players like Alphabet and Tesla have led to revised investor expectations.

Another turbulent session on Wall Street saw the Dow Jones snap a 6-day winning streak, the VIX rise to a 12-week high and drag ASX 200 futures down accordingly.

While the tech sector's struggles have dominated headlines, it's crucial to note that the broader stock market's performance is not solely dependent on the "magnificent 7" group of tech stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its fourth consecutive record high on Wednesday, driven by sector rotation. The small-cap Russell 2000 index has also posted substantial gains lately, spurred by last week's inflation report showing consumer prices falling to 3.0% year-over-year in June.

Supporting stocks today was news of another weaker-than-expected inflation report. Treasury yields fell as a slowdown in producer prices measure of inflation bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve to cut rates this year.

It is the second week in a row that open interest on VIX futures notched up a volatile swing, according to the latest COT report. If the VIX can remain low, perhaps we'll see the S&P 500 reach new highs, unless US economic data deteriorates too quickly and rings recessionary bells.

I suspect we're seeing the early moves of a pullback of appetite for risk in general, which saw traders push Wall Street indices and gold lower on Wednesday thanks to weak treasury demand. And it seems to be paving the way for the next leg higher for the USD.

With a lack of any fresh bullish stimulus and following months of solid gains, we could see a bit of a correction. So, in my opinion, the S&P 500 outlook is not looking too great at current levels and without a sizeable correction.

We have four full trading days left in the month, and odds favour another bullish month for US indices. However, price action on the daily timeframe has alerted me to a potential pullback, while VIX futures and market positioning are also sending smoke signals to be aware of.

Can the stock market rally continue after a strong performance in the first quarter? As we start Q2, Chinese PMIs, German CPI and US non-farm payrolls are among the upcoming week’s highlights. S&P 500 technical analysis shows strong bullish trend, pointing to further strength.

The S&P 500 tapped 5k for the first time ever. But do traders have the appetite to extend its trend heading into the weekend? For now, our focus is on a bull flag pattern on the ASX 1-hour chart.

The S&P 500 reached a fresh record high and stopped just 5 points short of the 5,000 milestone thanks to strong earnings. But futures charts and market positioning suggest the S&P cash market could break higher.

The key question today is whether we are near at least a temporary peak in the ongoing phase of the rally, or if we persist in moving forward despite apprehensions about valuations, the developments in the Red Sea, and the postponement of interest rate cuts.

S&P 500 outlook: Hawkish repricing of rate cuts could undermine overstretched equities. Fed Governor Chris Waller says 3 rate cuts appropriate (not 6 the markets are after) which is potentially bearish news. S&P 500 technical analysis suggests index is near extremely over stretched levels.

Today’s payroll data reiterated the run of strong labor market data with wages growing at 4% a key concern for the Fed. Futures markets reduced the probability of early rate cuts, but traders made few changes to their bullish stance on equities, bonds, gold or the dollar.

The Dow Jones has quickly shaken off yesterday’s late losses is challenging record highs despite the comedown of the Fed minutes yesterday. The market remains optimistic over the state of the US economy, supported by today’s various jobs sector data releases; the flip-side is that too much strength could slow the pace of interest rate cuts with the Fed “likely at or near its peak rates” according to December policy meeting minutes yesterday. The Bitcoin rally will be tested pretty soon, as the SEC is intended to approve (or not) Bitcoin ETFs.

Oil prices appear to have found support at $70 per barrel, with news of US stock building, further OPEC+ production cuts and Middle East tensions spurring buying action. The Fed’s December meeting minutes were cagey on the outlook for interest rates in 2024. JOLTS labor market data pointed to further weakness, good news for inflation.

Equity, bond, and gold investors are pricing in large rate cuts in 2024, starting in March, but this week’s jobs data could spoil the fun. A bullish December for stocks might have pulled forward the typical January rally, spurred by the belief that the Fed is about to pivot. US Treasuries sold off in morning trade, with worries about the appetite to digest the major volume of new issues. There is some risk of disappointment in the interest rate outlook, notably with commodity prices indicating persistent inflation so there is less chance of a rate-cutting bonanza.