Another week of contradictory economic indicators means another hard lesson for Wall Street speculators attempting to control the Federal Reserve, which is heavily reliant on statistics.
Bears suffered as the S&P 500 and Treasuries had their first in-tandem weekly gain in a month, following their withdrawal of funds from credit and cryptocurrency due to concerns about inflation and their relaxation of holdings in stocks.
The improvement was driven by positive remarks made by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and more favorable jobless figures. Divergent economic reports, however, are often turning out to be costly for investors who are betting on the Fed’s next interest rate move, which is purportedly dependent on the economic data.
Which, though? Two-year Treasury rates went above five percent as a result of the largest annual increase in a broad measure of US labor expenses. Three days later, yields dropped again when a Labor Department data revealed the lowest wage growth since 2021.
Mixed Signals in Economic Indicators
According to recent reports, the gross domestic product is slowing down while retail sales are rising. Manufacturing has decreased while industrial production has increased. Claims for unemployment are remaining stable, but hiring has decreased.
One measure of intraday market volatility jumped to its highest level since November, which is guaranteed to confuse traders who believe any input has the ability to affect monetary policy decision making.
Mohamed El-Erian, the president of Queens’ College in Cambridge, went on, “There is a concern that the Fed is unduly data-dependent. And what does that do? It increases the market’s volatility.
Current data indicates that the bulls are ahead, at least for the near term, while some of the market’s froth has vanished as day traders cashed out a portion of their gains.
Most Recent Market Performance
The most significant development this week, according to Lindsay Rosner, head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s multi-sector fixed income investing, was Powell’s statement that rate rises are unlikely. That implies there is a lot of opportunity in yields, especially when combined with the soft landing print this morning.”
This week, the S&P 500 had a 0.6% rise, and a Bloomberg index that tracks returns on US Treasury securities saw a spike, breaking a four-week losing run. The market benchmark’s average 20-day price swings hit their biggest level since November as daily volatility increased.
The S&P 500 saw its largest one-day gain since February following the release of the latest job report, which indicated that the need for labor is slowing down following a string of positive reports this year. It also came after a month-long period during which most investors withdrew from the market.
Investor Behavior
The net inflows into equity and bond exchange-traded funds in April totaled $32 billion, the lowest amount since August 2023. In April, investors withdrew $3.6 billion from one of the largest investment-grade credit exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as Wall Street became wary about longer-duration assets due to rising interest rates. After displaying enthusiasm for weeks, Citigroup’s Levkovich Index, which charts market sentiment by tracking indicators from options trading to short sells and capital flows, recently turned neutral.
In the first quarter, mom and pop investors were making a much-needed recovery; but, they are already displaying signs of exhaustion. According to JPMorgan Chase & Co., which released statistics on flows from options traders with fewer than 10 contracts, demand for bullish call options among retail trades fell to its lowest point this year.
Head of RBC Capital Markets’ derivatives strategy Amy Wu Silverman stated, “There has been a big inflection in options sentiment.” Call euphoria peaked in the first part of March. Right tail has significantly decreased from the YOLO/FOMO that we had previously observed.
Challenges for Economists
Economists also struggle to forecast the direction of economic data and adjust their interest-rate projections on a monthly basis, demonstrating that their lack of conviction extends beyond traders.
The result? Although economic releases indicate uneven growth, Powell has stuck to the data-dependent script this week in formulating monetary policy, leaving fast-twitch traders vulnerable to contradicting data. Even so, a lot of people view the short-term fluctuations as a distraction at a time when premium assets continue to provide respectable returns, which is great news for investors who prioritize income.
According to Brian Rose, senior US economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, “we expect better inflation prints in the months ahead, creating conditions that would allow the Fed to start cutting rates in September.” As part of our investment strategy, we continue to favor quality bonds.