Categories
Commentary

Daily Brief For March 28, 2023

Physik Invest’s Daily Brief is read free by thousands of subscribers. Join this community to learn about the fundamental and technical drivers of markets.

Graphic updated 7:00 AM ET. Sentiment Neutral if expected /MES open is inside of the prior day’s range. /MES levels are derived from the profile graphic at the bottom of this letter. Click here for the latest levels. SqueezeMetrics Dark Pool Index (DIX) and Gamma (GEX) with the latter calculated based on where the prior day’s reading falls with respect to the MAX and MIN of all occurrences available. A higher DIX is bullish. The lower the GEX, the more (expected) volatility. Click to learn the implications of volatility, direction, and moneyness. Breadth reflects a reading of the prior day’s NYSE Advance/Decline indicator. The CBOE VIX Volatility Index (INDEX: VVIX) reflects the attractiveness of owning volatility. UMBS prices via MNDClick here for the economic calendar.

Administrative

Time for something inspiring! Separate from his work at Physik Invest, founder Renato Leonard Capelj is a journalist interviewing global leaders in business, government, and finance. In his desire to learn and apply the methods of those others who are far more experienced, Capelj has a long list of interviews you may find helpful in strengthening your understanding of markets. Check out some recent ones!

March 10, 2023: Portfolio Manager Prefers Option, Bond Overlays To Hedge Big Uncertainty Facing Markets

Capelj spoke with Simplify Asset Management’s Michael Green about cutting investors’ portfolio volatility while amplifying profit potential.

In response to uncertainty, Green says investors can park cash in short-term near-risk-free bonds yielding 5% or more, as well as allocate some capital to volatility “to introduce a degree of convexity,” risking only the premium paid. Alternatively, investors can take a more optimistic long view and position in innovations like artificial intelligence or next-generation energy production.

January 8, 2023: Two Major Risks Investors Should Watch Out For In 2023

Capelj spoke with The Ambrus Group’s Kris Sidial about his market perspectives.

Naive measures like the VVIX, which is the volatility of the VIX or the volatility of the S&P 500’s volatility, are printing at levels last seen in 2017, Sidial explains, noting this would suggest “we can get cheap exposure to convexity while a lot of people are worried.”

“Even if inflation continues, the rate at which it rises won’t be the same. Due to this, CTA exposures likely will not perform as well as they did in 2022, and that’s why you may see more opportunities in the volatility space.”

June 28, 2022: Former Bridgewater Associate Andy Constan Talks Recession Odds, Capturing A Macro Edge

Capelj spoke with Damped Spring Advisors’ Andy Constan about what investors should focus on and how he creates trades that lose him less money.

Constan’s trades are constructed around two- to four-month time horizons and are structured long and short using defined-risk options trades like debit or credit spreads, depending on whether volatility is cheap or expensive.

I want deltas and leverage. My macro indicators give me an edge on price and in the worst case, the loss is limited to 10%, if everything has to go against me all at once. I can be 100% invested and only risk 10%.”

May 16, 2022: 42 Macro’s Darius Dale On His Wall Street Story, The Markets: ‘This Is Not The Financial Crisis’

Capelj spoke with 42 Macro’s Darius Dale about his Wall Street story and perspectives on life and markets.

“We’re tracking at an above-potential level of output in terms of the growth rate of output. We’re also slowing and the pace of that deceleration is likely to pick up steam in the coming quarters.”

By 2023, that process is likely to “catalyze pressure on asset markets through the lens of corporate earnings and valuations you assign to a lower level of growth.”

July 22, 2021: ShadowTrader’s Peter Reznicek On His Early Days, Tips For Success And Evolution

Capelj spoke with ShadowTrader’s Peter Reznicek about his start, perspectives, success tips, and visions for the future.

Reznicek recalled two turning points in his trading career.

The first was learning from expert floor traders involved with the thinkorswim team.

“That was really the genesis of where I started to learn the broken-wing butterflyratio spread and things like that,” he shared.

Floor traders, according to Reznicek, had low capital requirements. As a result, they could put on strategies like the 1×2 ratio — a debit spread with an extra short option — for a low cost.

(See parts 12, and 3 of ShadowTrader’s how-to series on ratio spreads.)

“On the floor, it is either go big or go home,” he chuckled, remarking that ratio spreads were the way of the casino. “You either get rich or they take your house. So, why would you put on any other spread?”

The next big turning point was Jim Dalton, who’s been a member of the Chicago Board of Trade, as well as a member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and senior executive vice president of the CBOE during its formative years.

“I’m still in touch with him on a regular basis and I consider him a friend,” Reznicek said in a discussion on Dalton’s works like Mind Over Markets and Markets in Profile, as well as his use of WindoTrader Market Profile software. “I went to Chicago twice to see him teach live … and I came home from those seminars with five, six, 10 pages of notes. The nuances of profile continue to mold me.”

July 26, 2021: Kai Volatility’s Cem Karsan Unpacks Implications Of Fed Taper, Shift To Fiscal Policy And More

Capelj spoke with Kai Volatility Advisors’ Cem Karsan about the implications of record valuations and the growth of derivatives markets on policy, the economy, and financial markets.

“It’s not a coincidence that the mid-February to mid-March 2020 downturn literally started the day after February expiration and ended the day of March quarterly expiration. These derivatives are incredibly embedded in how the tail reacts and there’s not enough liquidity, given the leverage, if the Fed were to taper.”

July 13, 2021: Ambrus Group CIO On Taking Advantage Of Volatility Dislocations

Capelj spoke with The Ambrus Group’s Kris Sidial to understand how to capitalize on volatility dislocations.

Unlike standard tail-risk funds which systematically buy equity puts, Ambrus’ approach is bespoke, cutting down on negative dynamics like decay with respect to time.

Given dislocations across single stock skew, term structure, and volatility risk premium, Ambrus will position itself in options with less time to maturity, buying protection up to six weeks out.

“The market will underestimate the distribution,” Sidial said in a conversation on Ambrus’ internal models that spot positional imbalances to determine who is off-sides and in what single asset. “We’re buying things that have happened before and we’re looking for it to carry a heavier beta when the sell-off happens.”

So, by analyzing flow, as well as using internal models to assess the probabilities of deleveraging in a risk-off event, Ambrus is able to venture into individual stocks where there may be excess fragility; “I know if stock XYZ goes down five percent, it’s going to go down 10% because this fund needs to deleverage.”

To aid the cost to carry, Ambrus utilizes defined-risk, short-volatility, absolute return strategies.

“I’m basically giving you a free put on the market – with a ton of convexity – with something that offers a payout that’s just more than a regular put,” Sidial summarized. “If the market doesn’t do anything, and we do an amazing job, we’re flat and you made money on all your long-only equity exposure.”

“You had a free hedge the entire time.”

February 1, 2021: Volatility Arbitrage Trader Talks GameStop, Market Microstructure, Regulation

Capelj spoke with The Ambrus Group’s Kris Sidial about the meme stock debacle of 2021.

“You have distressed debt hedge funds that focus on shorting these types of companies. Melvin Capital is the one that is singled out due to the media, but they aren’t the only ones.”

Market participants added to the crash-up dynamics. Retail investors aggressively bought stock and short-term call options, while institutional investors further took advantage of the momentum and dislocations.

“You have this dynamic in the derivatives market where there is a gamma squeeze when people are buying way far out-of-the-money calls, and dealers reflexively have to hedge off their risk,” Sidial said.

“It causes a cascading reaction, moving the stock price up because dealers are short calls and they have to buy stock when the delta moves a specific way.”

The participation in the stock on the institutional side has not received much attention, he said. 

“We’ve noticed that some of the flow is more institutional,” he said in reference to activity on the level two and three order books, which are electronic lists of buy and sell orders for a particular security.

“You have certain prop guys and other hedge funds that understand what’s going on, and they’re trying to take advantage of it, as well.”

This institutional activity disrupted traditional correlations and caused shares of distressed debt assets like GameStop, BlackBerry Ltd, and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc to trade in-line with each other.

“This was not some WallStreetBet user, … if you look at how some of these things were moving premarket, you would see GME drop like 2%, BB’s best bid would drop and AMC’s best bid would drop. That’s an algo.”

The takeaway: although the WallStreetBets crowd is getting most of the blame, institutions are also at fault for the volatility.

Technical

As of 7:00 AM ET, Tuesday’s regular session (9:30 AM – 4:00 PM ET) in the S&P 500 will likely open in the lower part of a balanced overnight inventory, inside the prior day’s range, suggesting a limited potential for immediate directional opportunity.

The S&P 500 pivot for today is $4,003.25. 

Key levels to the upside include $4,026.75, $4,038.75, and $4,049.75.

Key levels to the downside include $3,980.75, $3,955.00, and $3,937.00.

Disclaimer: Click here to load the updated key levels via the web-based TradingView platform. New links are produced daily. Quoted levels likely hold, barring an exogenous development.

Graphic: 65-minute profile chart of the Micro E-mini S&P 500 Futures.

Definitions

Overnight Rally Highs (Lows): Typically, there is a low historical probability associated with overnight rally-highs (lows) ending the upside (downside) discovery process.

Volume Areas: Markets will build on areas of high-volume (HVNodes). Should the market trend for some time, this will be identified by a low-volume area (LVNodes). The LVNodes denote directional conviction and ought to offer support on any test.

If participants auction and find acceptance in an area of a prior LVNode, then future discovery ought to be volatile and quick as participants look to the nearest HVNodes for more favorable entry or exit.

POCs: Areas where two-sided trade was most prevalent in a prior day session. Participants will respond to future value tests as they offer favorable entry and exit.


Definitions

Volume Areas: Markets will build on areas of high-volume (HVNodes). Should the market trend for some time, this will be identified by a low-volume area (LVNodes). The LVNodes denote directional conviction and ought to offer support on any test.

If participants auction and find acceptance in an area of a prior LVNode, then future discovery ought to be volatile and quick as participants look to the nearest HVNodes for more favorable entry or exit.


About

The author, Renato Leonard Capelj, spends the bulk of his time at Physik Invest, an entity through which he invests and publishes free daily analyses to thousands of subscribers. The analyses offer him and his subscribers a way to stay on the right side of the market. 

Separately, Capelj is an accredited journalist with past works including interviews with investor Kevin O’Leary, ARK Invest’s Catherine Wood, FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Lithuania’s Minister of Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė, former Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers, and persons at the Clinton Global Initiative.

Connect

Direct queries to renato@physikinvest.com. Find Physik Invest on TwitterLinkedInFacebook, and Instagram. Find Capelj on TwitterLinkedIn, and Instagram. Only follow the verified profiles.

Calendar

You may view this letter’s content calendar at this link.

Disclaimer

Do not construe this newsletter as advice. All content is for informational purposes. Capelj and Physik Invest manage their own capital and will not solicit others for it.

Categories
Methodology

Successful Traders’ Tips To Beat The Markets

Separate from his work at Physik Invest, founder Renato Leonard Capelj is an accredited journalist interviewing prestigious global leaders in business, government, and finance.

In his desire to learn and apply the methods of those others who are far more experienced, Capelj has a long list of interviews you may find helpful in strengthening your understanding of markets.

March 10, 2023: Portfolio Manager Prefers Option, Bond Overlays To Hedge Big Uncertainty Facing Markets

Capelj spoke with Simplify Asset Management’s Michael Green about cutting investors’ portfolio volatility while amplifying profit potential.

In response to uncertainty, Green says investors can park cash in short-term near-risk-free bonds yielding 5% or more, as well as allocate some capital to volatility “to introduce a degree of convexity,” risking only the premium paid. Alternatively, investors can take a more optimistic long view and position in innovations like artificial intelligence or next-generation energy production.

Michael Green of Simplify Asset Management

January 8, 2023: Two Major Risks Investors Should Watch Out For In 2023

Capelj spoke with The Ambrus Group’s Kris Sidial about his market perspectives.

Naive measures like the VVIX, which is the volatility of the VIX or the volatility of the S&P 500’s volatility, are printing at levels last seen in 2017, Sidial explains, noting this would suggest “we can get cheap exposure to convexity while a lot of people are worried.”

“Even if inflation continues, the rate at which it rises won’t be the same. Due to this, CTA exposures likely will not perform as well as they did in 2022, and that’s why you may see more opportunities in the volatility space.”

Kris Sidial of The Ambrus Group

June 28, 2022: Former Bridgewater Associate Andy Constan Talks Recession Odds, Capturing A Macro Edge

Capelj spoke with Damped Spring Advisors’ Andy Constan about what investors should focus on and how he creates trades that lose him less money.

Constan’s trades are constructed around two- to four-month time horizons and are structured long and short using defined-risk options trades like debit or credit spreads, depending on whether volatility is cheap or expensive.

I want deltas and leverage. My macro indicators give me an edge on price and in the worst case, the loss is limited to 10%, if everything has to go against me all at once. I can be 100% invested and only risk 10%.”

Andy Constan of Damped Spring Advisors

May 16, 2022: 42 Macro’s Darius Dale On His Wall Street Story, The Markets: ‘This Is Not The Financial Crisis’

Capelj spoke with 42 Macro’s Darius Dale about his Wall Street story and perspectives on life and markets.

“We’re tracking at an above-potential level of output in terms of the growth rate of output. We’re also slowing and the pace of that deceleration is likely to pick up steam in the coming quarters.”

By 2023, that process is likely to “catalyze pressure on asset markets through the lens of corporate earnings and valuations you assign to a lower level of growth.”

Darius Dale of 42 Macro

July 22, 2021: ShadowTrader’s Peter Reznicek On His Early Days, Tips For Success And Evolution

Capelj spoke with ShadowTrader’s Peter Reznicek about his start, perspectives, success tips, and visions for the future.

Reznicek recalled two turning points in his trading career.

The first was learning from expert floor traders involved with the thinkorswim team.

“That was really the genesis of where I started to learn the broken-wing butterflyratio spread and things like that,” he shared.

Floor traders, according to Reznicek, had low capital requirements. As a result, they could put on strategies like the 1×2 ratio — a debit spread with an extra short option — for a low cost.

(See parts 12, and 3 of ShadowTrader’s how-to series on ratio spreads.)

“On the floor, it is either go big or go home,” he chuckled, remarking that ratio spreads were the way of the casino. “You either get rich or they take your house. So, why would you put on any other spread?”

The next big turning point was Jim Dalton, who’s been a member of the Chicago Board of Trade, as well as a member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and senior executive vice president of the CBOE during its formative years.

“I’m still in touch with him on a regular basis and I consider him a friend,” Reznicek said in a discussion on Dalton’s works like Mind Over Markets and Markets in Profile, as well as his use of WindoTrader Market Profile software. “I went to Chicago twice to see him teach live … and I came home from those seminars with five, six, 10 pages of notes. The nuances of profile continue to mold me.”

Peter Reznicek of ShadowTrader

July 26, 2021: Kai Volatility’s Cem Karsan Unpacks Implications Of Fed Taper, Shift To Fiscal Policy And More

Capelj spoke with Kai Volatility Advisors’ Cem Karsan about the implications of record valuations and the growth of derivatives markets on policy, the economy, and financial markets.

“It’s not a coincidence that the mid-February to mid-March 2020 downturn literally started the day after February expiration and ended the day of March quarterly expiration. These derivatives are incredibly embedded in how the tail reacts and there’s not enough liquidity, given the leverage, if the Fed were to taper.”

Cem Karsan of Kai Volatility Advisors

July 13, 2021: Ambrus Group CIO On Taking Advantage Of Volatility Dislocations

Capelj spoke with The Ambrus Group’s Kris Sidial to understand how to capitalize on volatility dislocations.

Unlike standard tail-risk funds which systematically buy equity puts, Ambrus’ approach is bespoke, cutting down on negative dynamics like decay with respect to time.

Given dislocations across single stock skew, term structure, and volatility risk premium, Ambrus will position itself in options with less time to maturity, buying protection up to six weeks out.

“The market will underestimate the distribution,” Sidial said in a conversation on Ambrus’ internal models that spot positional imbalances to determine who is off-sides and in what single asset. “We’re buying things that have happened before and we’re looking for it to carry a heavier beta when the sell-off happens.”

So, by analyzing flow, as well as using internal models to assess the probabilities of deleveraging in a risk-off event, Ambrus is able to venture into individual stocks where there may be excess fragility; “I know if stock XYZ goes down five percent, it’s going to go down 10% because this fund needs to deleverage.”

To aid the cost to carry, Ambrus utilizes defined-risk, short-volatility, absolute return strategies.

“I’m basically giving you a free put on the market – with a ton of convexity – with something that offers a payout that’s just more than a regular put,” Sidial summarized. “If the market doesn’t do anything, and we do an amazing job, we’re flat and you made money on all your long-only equity exposure.”

“You had a free hedge the entire time.”

Kris Sidial of The Ambrus Group

February 1, 2021: Volatility Arbitrage Trader Talks GameStop, Market Microstructure, Regulation

Capelj spoke with The Ambrus Group’s Kris Sidial about the meme stock debacle of 2021.

“You have distressed debt hedge funds that focus on shorting these types of companies. Melvin Capital is the one that is singled out due to the media, but they aren’t the only ones.”

Market participants added to the crash-up dynamics. Retail investors aggressively bought stock and short-term call options, while institutional investors further took advantage of the momentum and dislocations.

“You have this dynamic in the derivatives market where there is a gamma squeeze when people are buying way far out-of-the-money calls, and dealers reflexively have to hedge off their risk,” Sidial said.

“It causes a cascading reaction, moving the stock price up because dealers are short calls and they have to buy stock when the delta moves a specific way.”

The participation in the stock on the institutional side has not received much attention, he said. 

“We’ve noticed that some of the flow is more institutional,” he said in reference to activity on the level two and three order books, which are electronic lists of buy and sell orders for a particular security.

“You have certain prop guys and other hedge funds that understand what’s going on, and they’re trying to take advantage of it, as well.”

This institutional activity disrupted traditional correlations and caused shares of distressed debt assets like GameStop, BlackBerry Ltd, and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc to trade in-line with each other.

“This was not some WallStreetBet user, … if you look at how some of these things were moving premarket, you would see GME drop like 2%, BB’s best bid would drop and AMC’s best bid would drop. That’s an algo.”

The takeaway: although the WallStreetBets crowd is getting most of the blame, institutions are also at fault for the volatility.

Kris Sidial of The Ambrus Group
Categories
Methodology

Theory Applied: Contextualizing Recent Market Volatility

With SpotGamma, Physik Invest’s Renato Leonard Capelj unpacks recent market movements from an options positioning perspective.

Coverage includes the following:

  • Definition and application of first and second order options greeks.
  • Implications of the November and December options expirations.
  • How current positioning may dictate trade in Q1 2022 and beyond.
  • Expert commentary and much more!

Click below to learn more!

Categories
Commentary

Weekly Brief For May 31, 2021

Market Commentary

Key Takeaways: Index futures in balance.

  • Best to assume the taper tantrum happened.
  • Ahead: Fed speak and data on employment.
  • Indices traded sideways-to-higher last week.

What Happened: Coming into the large May monthly options expiration (OPEX) and extended holiday weekend, U.S. stock index futures pinned, trading sideways-to-higher.

Options: If an option buyer was short (long) stock, he or she would buy a call (put) to hedge upside (downside) exposure. Option buyers can also use options as an efficient way to gain directional exposure.

Options Expiration (OPEX): Option expiries mark an end to pinning (i.e, the theory that market makers and institutions short options move stocks to the point where the greatest dollar value of contracts will expire worthless) and the reduction dealer gamma exposure. 

Gamma is the sensitivity of an option to changes in the underlying price. Dealers that take the other side of options trades hedge their exposure to risk by buying and selling the underlying. When dealers are short-gamma, they hedge by buying into strength and selling into weakness. When dealers are long-gamma, they hedge by selling into strength and buying into weakness. The former exacerbates volatility. The latter calms volatility.

Furthermore, looking back, the movement in price was both volatile and mechanical.

After a short covering-like rally toward $4,200.00, the S&P 500 was responsively bought and sold at key visual references, suggesting a dominance by short-term participants.

Responsive Buying (Selling): Buying (selling) in response to prices below (above) areas of recent price acceptance.

The technically-driven trade denotes a lack of interest by institutional participants, at record highs; supply chain uncertainties and rising inflation, fiscal and monetary tightening, COVID-19 concerns, political risks, and the like, are some of the emerging concerns larger participants are looking to price in.

Of all the above risks, inflation remains the hottest topic.

Generally speaking, inflation and rates move inversely to each other. Low rates stimulate demand for loans (i.e., borrowing money is more attractive). With the rapid recovery, though, market participants fear that rates will rise to protect the economy from overheating.

Higher rates have the potential to reduce the present value of future earnings, making stocks, especially those that are high growth, less attractive. 

To note, however, rates remain range-bound; rates on the 10 Year T-Note sit below their March high and are likely to continue higher, which the market may absorb

How may the market absorb a rise in rates? During the so-called Taper Tantrum, in the early 2010s, rates settled in a wide range, and equities rallied big. Adding, some strategists, like Kit Juckes of Societe Generale SA (OTC: SCGLY) suggest it may be best to assume a tantrum has already happened.

“U.S. 10-year yields rose from a low of 1.4% in 2012 to 3% during their tantrum. In this cycle, the rise has been from 0.5% to a high just below 1.8%. That’s comparable in relative terms. The eventual peak in U.S. yields in 2018 was 3.25%. Can’t we accept that the taper tantrum has already happened? The important difference is that in the tantrum cycle, core CPI never got above 2 ½%. A bet on further bond weakness is a bet on inflation proving to be stickier than the Fed can cope with.”

Adding, research by JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM), as well as Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS), suggests equities may be getting cheap with reflationary themes being the go-to play. This sentiment would help explain the increased interest in S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 call options.

Graphic: Equity valuations at their cheapest, relative to the macro in March 2009 and in the depth of the 1982 recession, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS), via The Market Ear.
Graphic: SHIFT search suggests participants were becoming more interested in call strikes at and above current prices in the cash-settled S&P 500 Index (INDEX: SPX) and Nasdaq 100 Index (INDEX: NDX), last week.
Graphic: Physik Invest maps out the purchase of call and put options in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY), for the week prior. Activity in the options market was primarily concentrated in short-dated tenors, in strikes at and above $425.

Outlier risks remain, though; aside from the seasonally weak period, S&P 500 skew – a measure of perceived tail risk and the chances of a black swan event – rose dramatically over the past few weeks. At the same time, sentiment cooled considerably, while individual stock volatility increased the potential for a repeat of the GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME) de-risking event.

Graphic: Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) unpacks outlier risks based on the implied volatility of S&P 500 out-of-the-money options, via The Market Ear.

What To Expect: In the coming sessions, participants will want to focus their attention on where the S&P 500 trades in relation to the $4,197.25 high volume area (HVNode).

Volume Areas: A structurally sound market will build on past areas of high volume. Should the market trend for long periods of time, it will lack sound structure (identified as a low volume area which denotes directional conviction and ought to offer support on any test). 

If participants were to auction and find acceptance into areas of prior low volume, then future discovery ought to be volatile and quick as participants look to areas of high volume for favorable entry or exit.

That said, participants can trade from the following frameworks.

In the best case, the index trades sideways or higher; activity above $4,197.25 has the potential to reach the $4,227.00 point of control (POC). Initiative trade beyond the POC could reach as high as first the $4,238.00 overnight all-time high (ONH) and then, the $4,294.75 Fibonacci-derived price extension, a typical recovery target. 

POCs: POCs (like HVNodes described above) are valuable as they denote areas where two-sided trade was most prevalent. Participants will respond to future tests of value as they offer favorable entry and exit. 

Overnight Rally Highs (Lows): Typically, there is a low historical probability associated with overnight rally-highs (lows) ending the upside (downside) discovery process.

In the worst case, the index trades lower; activity below the $4,177.25 HVNode puts in play the $4,153.25 HVNode, first. Thereafter, if lower, the $4,122.25 HVNode and $4,071.00 POC come into play. 

On a cross through the $4,050.75 low volume area (LVNode), long-biased traders should beware of a rapid liquidation, as low as first the $4,015.00 and $4,001.00 POCs. In such a liquidation, odds favor a test of ~$3,970.00 50.00% retracement, as well as the $3,918.00 61.80% retracement and HVNode.

Graphic: 4-hour profile chart of the Micro E-mini S&P 500 Futures.
Graphic: Weekly candlestick charts of the S&P 500 (top left), Nasdaq 100 (top right), Russell 2000 (bottom left), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (bottom right). Nasdaq is primed for upside and has the potential to pull the S&P with it. 

News And Analysis

Trade | One of the world’s top ports expects delays on an outbreak. (BBG)

Markets | PBOC raises reserve ratio for foreign exchange holdings. (BBG)

Economy | Recovery solidifies in U.S., Europe, while EM faces risks. (Moody’s)

Markets | China bars banks from selling commodity-linked products. (REU)

Economy | Fed security purchases draw fire in hot U.S. housing market. (S&P)

Energy | Global oil demand is seen eclipsing India, Iran’s uncertainty. (S&P)

Economy | U.S. won’t experience stagflation over next few years. (Moody’s)

Economy | Non-government loans seeing a jump in forbearances. (MND)

Economy | U.S. speculative-grade corporate default rate to fall to 4%. (S&P)

Markets | Inflation, higher oil, stronger yuan point in same direction. (BBG)

Economy | U.S. retailers face headwinds from slowing sales, inflation. (S&P)

Markets | Everyone with bonds to liquidate had ample time to do so. (BBG)

What People Are Saying

Innovation And Emerging Trends

Markets | How recent growth in leveraged finance affects investors. (BZ)

Politics | Tech growth overshadowed by regulatory risks, challenges. (S&P)

Markets | Chamath: SPACs need more oversight and regulation. (BBG)

Politics | China moves to a three-child policy to boost its birthrate. (BBG)

Markets | Shakeout stirs debate over ether’s long-term potential. (BBG)

FinTech | Which banks are positioned for low rates, digital adoption. (S&P)

About

Renato founded Physik Invest after going through years of self-education, strategy development, and trial-and-error. His work reporting in the finance and technology space, interviewing leaders such as John Chambers, founder, and CEO, JC2 Ventures, Kevin O’Leary, businessman and Shark Tank host, Catherine Wood, CEO and CIO, ARK Invest, among others, afforded him the perspective and know-how very few come by.

Having worked in engineering and majored in economics, Renato is very detailed and analytical. His approach to the markets isn’t built on hope or guessing. Instead, he leverages the unique dynamics of time and volatility to efficiently act on opportunity.

Disclaimer

At this time, Physik Invest does not manage outside capital and is not licensed. In no way should the materials herein be construed as advice. Derivatives carry a substantial risk of loss. All content is for informational purposes only.