Market View; World Stock Indexes; Trading Journal

US markets closed with modest losses, despite the sharp drop in oil (-3.90%). This year’s best performer on Wall Street is the Russell 2000 that prolonged the falls on Monday. However, this index had recorded an extraordinary series of 15 consecutive positive sessions. The second reading of GDP for the third quarter showed an expansion of 3.20%, above the previous reading of 2.90% and compared to the forecast of 3%. This is the strongest pace of economic growth in the US since the third quarter of 2014, when GDP rose by 5%.

On the last day of November, the US market was trading higher, favored by higher oil prices. However, attention was also focused on the economic indicators released. According to the ADP employment report, 216,000 jobs were created in November, up from 165,000 expected. On the other hand, household consumption grew by 0.30% in October (vs. 0.40% estimated), while Household income increased 0.60%, the best reading since April and in line with the estimates. Inflation associated with consumption stood at 1.40%, slightly below the expected 1.50% but higher than the 1.20% registered in the previous month. On the other hand, the Chicago PMI index reached 57.6 in November, well above the 50.6 observed in October and the expected 52.5. Regarding the real estate market, real estate purchase and sale contracts increased by 0.10% in October compared to the previous month, and against 1.50% in September. Investors are now waiting for the disclosure of the Fed’s Beige Book.

In the pre-opening, the European equities traded with some losses. At the end of the session one should not exclude an increase in the trade volume in the various markets (equity, bond and currency), with investors positioning themselves for the referendum in Italy on Sunday. The latest polls (published on Nov 18 because of Italian law banning their disclosure in the two weeks leading up to the elections) gave an advantage of between 4% and 6% for No, although the undecided rate was high (around 25%). Since then, there has been a steep increase in Italian yields, an increase in the spread against German yields and a significant drop in the country’s banking shares. Therefore, it is possible that investors have already partially discounted a No victory. On Sunday, the presidential elections in Austria will take place. The elections in Austria and the referendum in Italy precede a year full of political events in Europe, with the elections in France, the Netherlands and Germany, in addition to Brexit. Mario Draghi said recently that “political uncertainty is a dominant factor” in the current situation and that the great unkonown is to know how this uncertainty will affect the economy of the Eurozone, however reassured investors by stating that European banks are better prepared to face Adverse events than before the crisis.

The best way to measure investors’ risk perception regarding Italy is through the evolution of the country’s banking shares, Italian credit default swaps and the differential between Italian and Spanish yields. While the spread between German and Italian yields not only measures the risk of Italy as well as Southern Europe as a whole, the differential between Italian and Spanish interest rates isolates the “southern Europe” or “periphery” effect and Focuses on country risk.

Yesterday, the negative reaction to the outcome of the referendum turned out to be quite limited in time. In fact, the Italian market opened with losses close to 2%, with banking shares accumulating devaluations of almost 5%. The fragility of the FTSEMIB index and its banking sector rapidly spread to other markets. In the debt market, the Euro has reached the lows of the last months and the peripheral yields have risen sharply. This trend, however, lasted less than 30 minutes, when a notable recovery boosted the Milan stock exchange (affecting their European counterparts) and the Euro, while yields in southern Europe eased the losses. On one hand, No’s victory (unlike Brexit and Donald Trump’s election) was the most anticipated scenario for investors. Thus institutional investors had time to prepare for the event. Many of them reduced exposure to Italian equities and debt, and some hedge funds constituted selling positions. After a strong negative response at an early stage, risk assets underwent notable recoveries, frustrating the intentions of many sellers who sold out at that early stage.

The main theme of Thursday’s meeting will be whether the ECB will extend its debt-buying plan and how it will done. This program, which focuses on the acquisition of debt instruments at 80,000 M. € / month, ends in March 2017. According to several declarations from members of the Central Bank, it is very likely that the debt acquisition program will extend Beyond that date. Since the publication of the latest economic forecasts in September, the Eurozone economy has reported a number of improvements, surpassing in some headings not only the economists’ projections but also those of the ECB.

Yesterday European stocks were boosted by the banking sector, notably Italian bonds. The Italian press has published a number of news reports concerning Monte dei Paschi di Siena. According to Reuters, citing an Italian source, the Italian State may acquire a stake of 2000 M. € in the capital of the oldest bank in the world. This news has not yet had an official confirmation. If confirmed, this transaction lowered the bank’s capital requirements to about 2000 M. €. The La Stampa newspaper said that the Italian State could use the European Stability Fund, calling for a plan to support its banking sector in a manner very similar to that required by Spain during the sovereign debt crisis. According to the same source, this program of aid to the transalpine banking would amount to 16000 M. €. The shares of Monte dei Paschi di Siena were valued at 11%.

The American indexes closed higher once again, prolonging the denominated Trump Rally. Last week, this upward movement seems to have entered a new phase. In the weeks following the US presidential election, stock indexes were favored by the positive expectations which investors drew from the measures that the Trump administration is willing to introduce. But more recently, equity markets seem to have entered into more of a dynamic, driven by more intrinsic factors. In an initial phase the Trump Rally was received with surprise and later with skepticism. However, as US indexes hit new highs in succession, many fund managers are forced to increase exposure to the stock market, otherwise they will underperform against their benchmark.

Political developments in Italy will dominate the attention of investors. Yesterday, the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella appointed Paolo Gentiloni as the future Prime Minister. To justify this choice are, among other arguments, the fact that he had a prominent position in the previous executive and of being a person with good relations with the different institutions of the European Union. This latter quality is particularly important considering that the first dossier that the new government will have to solve is the Monte dei Paschi di Siena issue. The solution through public intervention is the most likely from the investors’ point of view.

Although investors are currently focused on the Italian political situation and on the economic prospects that the future Trump administration has created, China remains a relevant variable for the activity of several European companies. In the third quarter of this year, European companies saw a 6.10% drop in profits. However, most analysts estimate earnings growth in 2017 (between 6% and 14%). To this end, emerging markets are an important variable, accounting for 31% of their revenues (compared to 17% of their US counterparts).

In the pre-opening, the European indices have declined slightly. The banking sector will again be in focus. In the last two months, there has been a profound change in investor sentiment in this sector. At the end of the third quarter, given the uncertainties of Deutche Bank and the Italian banking system, there was a certain pessimism about the European banking sector. These factors were compounded by weak prospects for profitability as a result of the increasing and severe regulations, the low level of interest rates and the modest growth of the Euro Zone. As a result of all this, the exposure of institutional investors to the sector was the lowest in recent years. The rise in European yields and the increased risk appetite triggered by the US elections, among other factors, have altered investors’ perceptions. At a conference recently held by UBS, most investors believe that bank shares will be the best-looking investment in Europe in 2017 and the sector is the one with the highest profit-making potential.

As expected, the Fed raised benchmark rates by 0.25% for the range of 0.50% to 0.75%. This decision had already been anticipated and investors’ attention therefore fell on individual projections for future interest rate increases. On average, Fed members anticipate three key rate hikes in 2017, two in 2018 and three in 2019.

The overperformance of cyclical stocks in relation to more defensive stocks has peaked since the beginning of this Bull Market in 2009. One of the causes of the rally in European markets (in addition to the favorable influence of the American markets) has been the strong appreciation of the banking sector. Within this sector the protagonist has been the Italian banking sector which has shown remarkable resilience to a number of negative factors such as the outcome of the referendum and capital increases of Unicredit and Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

US markets closed without major fluctuations, with volume boosted by the maturity of futures and options. However, the news of the seizure of an American drone by China has led to a more defensive stance on the part of investors. This more prudent position translated into a purchase of state bonds, which simultaneously caused the yields to fall. The decline in state yields, which hit the highs this year, boosted interest-sensitive sectors such as real estate and utilities, which prevented major indexes from suffering further losses.

Yesterday the main event of the day was the intervention of Janet Yellen at the University of Baltimore. The President of the Fed stated that the current phase of the labor market is the strongest in the last decade and that it is beginning to see an acceleration in wage growth. With a 4.70% unemployment rate and the economy running at full employment, it becomes increasingly difficult to find workers (especially for those jobs that require more skills), which forces employers to pay higher wages.

Today, a session with a reduced volume should be attended, and so, the lack of liquidity could generate some more pronounced movements. The Dow Jones test at 20,000 points will be the main theme of the day. Also to be added that the US oil reserves will be published at 3.30 pm.

Despite all the financial media coverage of the Dow Jones’ 20,000 points, investors have been pausing in recent days, resulting in a period of consolidation. The year can be considered ended and can also be considered a good year. Faced with a series of unpredictable events, such as Brexit and Donald Trump’s victory, and how the year started (with a strong correction due to the devaluation of the Chinese currency) to achieve gains between 8% and 12%, 2016 was a particularly positive year. It is quite natural that investors choose to take a break, operating in the market just to position their portfolios for the new year.

The American markets closed with contained losses, and the volume continued to suffer a decrease. The session was marked by the publication of macroeconomic data, which did not influence the trend of major indexes but provided investors and economists with useful information about the US economy. GDP growth relative to the third quarter of the year continues to be revised upwards. According to the Commerce Department, the US economy grew 3.50% in that period, surpassing the 3.20% calculated in November and the forecasts of 3.30%. Starts today the period that corresponds to the so-called Santa Claus Rally. This period includes the last five sessions of the year and the first two of the new year. Over the past 30 years, the S & P performed 26 times, with an average gain of 1.74%. However, given the gains made by Trump Rally, the odds of a strong Santa Claus Rally will probably be lower than in previous years.

The Justice Department has fined 7200 M.USD (6300 M. €) for Deutsche Bank for its conduct in the sale of mortgage-indexed assets before the financial crisis, a preliminary agreement that needs to be made official. According to the bank’s accounts published in September, the bank had a provision for legal costs of about 5500 M. €, which does not only involve this case. Analysts estimated that Deutsche Bank would pay a fine between 2000 M.USD and 5000 M.USD.

The banking sector will remain in the spotlight. In an interview published yesterday by the Bild newspaper, German Central Bank President Jens Weidmann warned that for “measures planned by the Italian Government” to succeed, the institution must be “financially healthy in its core business.” He also said that public funds could not be used to cover in advance potential future bank losses.