With month-end behind us, we close out August with the S&P500 +2.9% – its 7th consecutive monthly gain and the 3rd with returns over 2%.
This run of form is perhaps only overshadowed by the ASX200 which has closed higher for an 11th straight month.
We head into September with an air of cautious optimism. No one would be shocked to see the start of a 5% to 10% pullback and everyone is asking the question, but few are positioned for it. One questions whether the market could even talk itself into it.
Seasonality is one of those mystical forces people talk about from time to time. For me, it’s something to consider as part of a framework (but not in isolation), especially where in the past 15 years September has been the worst month of any month for US stock market returns.
S&P 500 returns over 10 years
We can look back to the late 1920s and average returns per week to see that, on average, the second half of September has two of the three worst weeks.
With global data rolling over and the much-anticipated August US payrolls and September FOMC meeting coming up (23 Sept) – anything is possible and if seasonality is our guide, then it will pay to stay nimble. As always, be open-minded to direction, follow the tape and look for the signs that increase probability or a quick-fire drawdown.
Watch the S&P 500 for its influence on broad markets
Like many, I look at the S&P500 closely. Not always to trade the index, and at Pepperstone we tend to see more activity in the NASDAQ and the Dow Jones than the S&P 500. But aside from being the world’s institutional equity benchmark, the S&P500 guides the Fed, and it is one of the main tools they watch to see if the market agrees with their policy mix.
It’s clear that the Fed will taper its asset purchase program later this year (my guess in November) and should the S&P500 crater, they’ll tell us they plan to increase it again. If the market plods higher and the VIX stays sub-20% and credit spreads don’t widen, then they’ll soldier on. Tapering isn’t tightening but it does increase the vulnerabilities.
Moves in the S&P 500 also matters because if equity volatility picks up then it will spill over into higher vol in the FX markets too.
Assessing the warning signs
There is very little at this stage flashing code red – the recent trend since mid-August has been for consumer names to outperform staples. Small caps are outperforming large, higher beta stocks are working vs low volatility names and cyclical’s are not giving any glaring reason to be concerned despite the US and global data flow coming in consistently below estimates.
Ratio analysis – warning signs
The NYSE put/call ratio sits at 0.66, which is in line with the 1-year average. 30-day implied volatility (VIX) in the S&P500 trades at 16.48%, near 52-week lows and 30-day realised volatility is eyeing new lows at 8.26%.
Why buy volatility when it’s realising so low?
Correlations are towards the 15th percentile of the 12-month range. Great for active stock pickers.
We also see that after a positive trend through April to mid-August the CHF and JPY (trade-weighted) have rolled over a touch recently and there are reasons to own these unless there is a risk-off vibe.
All these factors tell me the same thing effectively. Currently, the market is not positioned for a 5% correction to come any time soon. Investors want to be in equity, but they head into quality (cash flow, solid balance sheets and high ROE).
Perhaps seasonality will kick in? But, whether it does, or not, the S&P500 remains the market to watch closely. A break of its 50-day Moving Average could be key across asset classes.
This article is brought to you in association with Pepperstone. All opinions expressed in this article are from the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of The Armchair Trader.
