7
Jul
2006

Reverse logic reversed

written @ 5pm

Today, non-farm payrolls were weaker than expected and led market participants to rethink their view on interest rate hikes. Currencies moved heavily. The USD immediately shot up from 1.2750 to 1.2850 and the $/Yen hit through 114 (traded above 115 in the morning). Bond prices rose as the market thought of a rather dovish Fed after the economic release. The stock markets went also up on interest rate expectations but not for long as crude oil hit a new high which negatively affects corporate earnings.
Copper prices were puzzling me. On the one hand there were a lot of news about speculative fund buying and on the other hand some market participants commented on the deteriorating fundamentals for the copper price. Copper and crude have moved in tandem the last two years as both markets suffer from supply/demand imbalances. However, on a historical perspective, a high correlation (100d) between the two always preceded a downturn in prices. Political fears are were not on the rise as gold didn't rise much today.
While the story unfolds over time, my view is confirmed by today's events. Growth is slowing and the inflationary impact on the market is increasing which will lead central bankers to push rates beyond a level that ensures maximum growth. Otherwise, the oil bill could become be extremely high (look at copper and check out what happens to a market that suffers extreme shortage) and nobody wants that to happen.
Referring to my prior comment, I am not sure about the amplitude, that a positive surprise would have on the market. After today, I think the market seems more vulnerable to me than assumed.

On a technical side, we are trading at the moment at the peak before the second sell-off in June. I couldn't find many stocks breaking through that resistance level. The stock market trades undecided at the moment and waits for new input to decide on the further direction.
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