Although banks’ earnings were better than anticipated, sone figures indicate that the broader economy is declining, as retail sales and manufacturing output fell more than projected. Despite the challenges, most believe the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month.
Loretta Mester of the Federal Reserve, explained there should be another rate hike as the monetary policy will need to be more restrictive this year, with the fed funds rate rising above 5% and the real fed funds rate remaining positive for an extended period.
Thus far, monetary policymakers’ efforts to work liquidity out of the system have been complicated, particularly with rates at the back end falling, said Kai Volatility’s Cem Karsan in a conversation with TD Ameritrade Network. CrossBorder Capital confirms. Liquidity has been on an upward trend since October, partly due to China’s efforts to recover from Covid-19 restrictions and the collapse of the UK gilts markets.
Graphic: Retrieved from CrossBorder Capital via Bloomberg.
“Our original conjecture that Central Banks have effectively split their policy tools to use quantitative or balance sheet policies (QE) to ensure financial stability, whilst targeting inflation with interest rate policy is becoming more widely discussed in the media,” CrossBorder Capital’s Mike Howell said. “This splitting of roles can explain why interest rates have risen at the same time that Global Liquidity is turning higher.”
Accordingly, with the recent response to the bank issues cutting down tail risks for the S&P 500 (INDEX: SPX), markets are positioned to stay contained with falling implied volatility (IVOL) and correlations, as well as the passage of time, positioning-wise, key market boosters, Karsan added.
It’s appears the SPX may strengthen before it weakens with risk indicators, including IVOL measures, rising with the SPX. Physik Invest agrees: buy call structures on any weakness and monetize them into strength to finance long dated put structures.
It is better for traders to limit their expectations and stay the course, despite the big gap between IVOL measures like the Cboe Volatility Index and Merrill Lynch Option Volatility Estimate or MOVE, and big bets on market movement in the VIX complex, potentially to hedge against the breach of the US debt limit as soon as June.
As an aside, recent VIX hedging makes sense given that a breach of the debt limit likely results in recession, a ~20% drop in equities, and a volatility spike, Moody’s said.
Graphic: Retrieved from Nasdaq Inc (NASDAQ: NDAQ).
Quoting The Ambrus Group’s Kris Sidial, “When volatility starts to move, it moves at a higher rate than S&P volatility which is something that’s really important for the call option buyers,” which are stepping in aggressively as we’ve shown in the past letters.
Graphic: Retrieved from Piper Sandler Companies’ (NYSE: PIPR) Danny Kirsch. “With $VIX sitting at lowest level since early 2022, VIX call open interest approaching all-time highs reached in 2017/2018.”
About
Welcome to the Daily Brief by Physik Invest, a soon-to-launch research, consulting, trading, and asset management solutions provider. Learn about our origin story here, and consider subscribing for daily updates on the critical contexts that could lend to future market movement.
Separately, please don’t use this free letter as advice; all content is for informational purposes, and derivatives carry a substantial risk of loss. At this time, Capelj and Physik Invest, non-professional advisors, will never solicit others for capital or collect fees and disbursements. Separately, you may view this letter’s content calendar at this link.
TD Securities said traders are not pricing in a large enough pivot.
Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate future tracks “expectations for the Fed’s policy path.”
“We look for cut pricing to increase even further,” strategists led by Priya Misra said, noting they expect cuts totaling 2.75% from December 2023 to September 2024.
This opposes Goldman Sachs’ view that investors have priced too much easing and will reverse their position in response to improving data and high inflation readings.
Regardless, a consensus is that rates will fall in the future and the economy will slow. Some traders are betting big on volatility, accordingly. The Ambrus Group’s Kris Sidial appeared on CNBC and elaborated.
Before the last time the Cboe Volatility Index or VIX spiked to 30 from similarly low levels, very large VIX call buying was observed. Recently, a large buyer of June 26 calls at $1.71 on 94,000 contracts, worth about $16 million in premium, was seen.
Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg via The Ambrus Group’s Kris Sidial.
“This is a pretty big bet in the VIX complex,” Sidial explained, adding that the VIX is a measure of variance. “When volatility starts to move, it moves at a higher rate than S&P volatility which is something that’s really important for the call option buyers.”
Bloomberg’s John Authers adds that the market’s hope of easing in the second half of the year is a reason for the low VIX. However, history suggests that rate cuts tend only to occur when the VIX exceeds its long-run average of 20.
Graphic: Retrieved from DataTrek Research via Bloomberg.
Authers explains that the widening gap between the implied volatility (IVOL) metrics of Treasury and equity markets, which have historically had a high correlation, is also a concern. This is partly what may have inspired the purchase of the VIX protection Sidial elaborated on; such gaps could portend more equity volatility.
Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg.
Notwithstanding, with the VIX near its average and trading at some premium to one-month realized volatility (RVOL), we may “see more systematic vol sellers make a comeback amid VIX contango, juicy VRP, and vol underperformance,” says Sergei Perfiliev. In such a case, markets may remain contained and bets on big market movements (e.g., the VIX trade detailed by Sidial) may not work that well.
It may be better for traders to limit their expectations and stay the course: buy call structures on weakness and monetize them into strength to finance put structures. Alternatively, define risk and enhance yield with short volatility bets, skewing them based on directional opinion (e.g., skewed iron condor), or get into risk-free and interest bearing assets (e.g., money market funds or box spreads). We covered this and more much better in a detailed research-type note soon to be released for public viewing. Stay tuned and watch your risk. PS: Sorry for the delay and rushed note!
Graphic: Retrieved from Sergei Perfiliev. “This is a 1-month vol – it’s 30 calendar days for implied and I’m using 20 trading days for realized – both of which represent a month.” Note that “juicy VRP = big difference between options’ implied vol (what you pay) and realized vol (what you got). Options are cheap historically, but expensive relative to realized vol.”
About
Welcome to the Daily Brief by Physik Invest, a soon-to-launch research, consulting, trading, and asset management solutions provider. Learn about our origin story here, and consider subscribing for daily updates on the critical contexts that could lend to future market movement.
Separately, please don’t use this free letter as advice; all content is for informational purposes, and derivatives carry a substantial risk of loss. At this time, Capelj and Physik Invest, non-professional advisors, will never solicit others for capital or collect fees and disbursements. Separately, you may view this letter’s content calendar at this link.
Graphic updated 6:30 AM ET. Sentiment Risk-On if expected /MES open is above 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 MND. Click here for the economic calendar.
Administrative
Thanks for the feedback on the newsletter design! The technical section has returned for your viewing of crucial levels. We may update this section or merge it with another in the future. If you have any feedback, please comment or reply!
By the way, check out fx:macro’s neat market dashboard how-to-build guide! They have a fabulous newsletter, and this dashboard is an excellent component.
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In the coming sessions, there will be a dive into the geopolitical developments of late, far higher in quality than what we started this week with. For a sneak peek at what we will be talking about, look at this article, this podcast, and the Daily Brief for 1/4/23.
Positioning
In yesterday’s letter on positioning contexts, we concluded it was likely for markets to remain contained through month-end.
We said, “there is potential for markets to move into a far ‘more combustible’ position, … [and], with call skews far up meaningfully steep, still-present low- and zero-cost call structures” in previously depressed products like the Nasdaq 100 (INDEX: NDX), buoyed by financial tensions easing, were attractive to express the bullish view.
Graphic: Retrieved from JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) via The Market Ear.
Though we weren’t too right about the potential for volatility to be sticky, which may be detrimental to some of the more expensive structures, such trades’ exposure to direction and movement appears to be offsetting time decay and volatility, sped up by the resolution of the liquidity crisis (i.e., the asset-liability mismatch at some banks that thought their depositors were far more loyal, hence less of a need to hedge risk) which prompted traders a few weeks back to demand protection and reprice options higher; the Merrill Lynch Option Volatility Estimate (INDEX: MOVE) and Cboe Volatility Index (INDEX: VIX) have come in dramatically. Please take a look at the full letter here.
As stated on 3/29, the fundamental view hasn’t changed. Therefore, we may consider monetizing our structures now and in the near future and using those credits to offset debit risk in plays such as far-dated bear put spreads (i.e., buy put and sell another at a lower strike); options data and insight platform SpotGamma says the juice has been squeezed now with S&P 500 (INDEX: SPX) 1-month at-the-money implied volatility or IVOL pricing at 17%. “For a decline to continue, we need a change in volatility regime (i.e., soft landing, bank crisis resolved, etc.) because, with 1-month realized at 15%, you can argue there isn’t much juice left to squeeze.” Caution on the upside plays.
As of 6:30 AM ET, Thursday’s regular session (9:30 AM – 4:00 PM ET) in the S&P 500 will likely open in the upper part of a positively skewed overnight inventory, outside of the prior day’s range, suggesting a potential for immediate directional opportunity.
The S&P 500 pivot for today is $4,077.75.
Key levels to the upside include $4,087.75, $4,097.25, and $4,108.75.
Key levels to the downside include $4,062.25, $4,049.75, and $4,038.75.
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.
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.
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, and derivatives carry a substantial risk of loss. Capelj and Physik Invest, non-professional advisors, will never solicit others for capital or collect fees and disbursements for their work.
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 7:15 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 MND. Click here for the economic calendar.
Administrative
As previously indicated, through the end-of-this week, newsletters may be shorter due to the letter writer’s commitments. Take care!
Fundamental
Based on the 30-Day Fed Funds (FUTURE: /ZQ), traders expect the Federal Reserve (Fed) to continue its tightening campaign with a 25 basis point rate hike at the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Following this, traders expect one more 25 basis point hike that brings the terminal or peak rate to 5.00-5.25%.
Graphic: Retrieved from CME Group Inc’s (NASDAQ: CME) FedWatch Tool.
Earlier this week, traders were pricing out hikes on financial institutions’ liquidity issues (e.g., SVB Financial Group) and data, including producer prices and retail sales, “moving in the right direction,” said Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli.
Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg via Gavekal Research/Macrobond. Recall that the Fed believes in needs a certain level of reserves for the proper functioning of the financial system (~$2 trillion). In 2019, banks dumped a lot of their reserves into repo to earn some extra return. When QT was about to end, there was less money in their reserves which preceded a spike in rates and a blow-up among those who needed the money the most, as explained here. Read the Daily Brief for September 20, 2022, for more.
Now, with fear of contagion ebbing on authorities’ commitment to preventing an “all-out systemic crisis,” explains Bloomberg’s John Authers, traders are again expecting a 5.00-5.25% terminal or peak rate.
Read: Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS) protection reaches prohibitively expensive levels as banks rush into CDS after big shareholders hesitate to boost their stake. Switzerland was forced to step in with a $54 billion lifeline to stabilize the crisis.
Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg via Holger Zschaepitz.
Adding, as Unlimited’s Bob Elliott puts it, “in the [Global Financial Crisis], credit risk spread rapidly. Today, there is very little [credit default swap] impact” or carryover.
Following measures of US Treasury yield volatility implied by options (i.e., bets or hedges on or against market movement) adjusting higher, equity market volatility strengthened as observed by measures of convexity (e.g., Cboe VIX Volatility Index or VVIX). The Daily Brief for March 14 talked about this in detail.
Graphic: VVIX chart retrieved from TradingView.
For this protection to keep its value and continue to perform well, realized volatility or RVOL must shift higher substantially and stay elevated. That’s not really happening to some big extent, at least in the equity market. Consequently, put structures such as bear put spreads in the S&P 500 (INDEX: SPX), for example, are not performing.
Graphic: Retrieved from Alpha_Ex_LLC. “Easy to argue that rate vol is leading and in this context, one could suggest VIX has room to rise from here.” However, it would “take a lot for the MOVE to sustain itself at this level.”
This information, coupled with falling implied volatility or IVOL, the passage of nearing derivatives expiries, and the strength of products like the Nasdaq 100 (INDEX: NDX) relative to others like the Russell 2000 (INDEX: RUT), has your letter writer leaning optimistic. Though it may be too early to position for strength, one may consider it the way it was explained in the Daily Brief on March 14.
Graphic: Retrieved from Tom McClellan. “The direct message is that the SP500 options traders who drive the VIX Index are feeling more fearful than the VIX futures traders believe is merited.”
Technical
As of 7:15 AM ET, Thursday’s regular session (9:30 AM – 4:00 PM ET), in the S&P 500, is likely to open in the lower part of a balanced overnight inventory, inside of the prior day’s range, suggesting a limited potential for immediate directional opportunity.
The S&P 500 pivot for today is $3,904.25.
Key levels to the upside include $3,921.25, $3,946.75, and $3,970.75.
Key levels to the downside include $3,891.00, $3,868.25, and $3,847.25.
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 (bottom middle).
Definitions
Volume Areas: Markets will build on areas of high-volume (HVNodes). Should the market trend for a period of 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 tests of value as they offer favorable entry and exit.
Volume-Weighted Average Prices (VWAPs): A metric highly regarded by chief investment officers, among other participants, for quality of trade. Additionally, liquidity algorithms are benchmarked and programmed to buy and sell around VWAPs.
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.
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.
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 6:30 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 MND. Click here for the economic calendar.
Administrative
A long(er) letter, today. Through the end-of-this week, newsletters may be shorter due to the letter writer’s commitments. Take care!
Fundamental
Yesterday’s letter focused on the SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB) failure, albeit with an optimistic tone. In short, the bank could not make good on fast accelerating withdrawals. Read more here.
According to one TechCrunch article, the likes of Founders Fund “reportedly advised their portfolio companies … to withdraw their money, … [and], if everybody is telling each other that SVB is in trouble, that will be a challenge,” as it was.
Graphic: Retrieved from @Citrini7. In the worst-case scenario, it was likely that uninsured depositors at SIVB would have received $0.80 on each dollar barring a bailout.
Authorities later put forth emergency measures guaranteeing all deposits. The effort shored up confidence in the banking system and markets strengthened, though some regional names such as First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) continued trading weak. In FRC’s case, the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) new bailout facility does not help. As former Fed trader Joseph Wang explains, “you need Treasuries and Agency MBS to tap the facility, and [FRC] barely owns any.”
Anyways, as yesterday’s letter briefly mentioned, expectations on the path of Fed Funds shifted. Traders put the terminal/peak rate at 5.00-5.25%, down from 5.50-5.75%, while pricing cuts after spring. Previously, no cuts were expected in 2023.
Graphic: Retrieved from CME Group Inc’s (NASDAQ: CME) FedWatch Tool.
Measures of US Treasury yield volatility implied by options (i.e., bets or hedges on or against market movement) adjusted higher, accordingly. This is often a harbinger of equity market volatility.
Graphic: Merrill Lynch Option Volatility Estimate retrieved from TradingView
Call options on the three-month Secured Overnight Financing Rate (FUTURE: SOFR) future (i.e., bets on interest rates falling in the future) paid handsomely.
For instance, bull call spreads that expire in December 2023 (e.g., BUY +1 VERTICAL /SR3Z23:XCME 1/2500 DEC 23 /SR3Z23:XCME 96/97 CALL @.0375) increased in value by about 650.00% to $0.33 (i.e., $750.00 per contract).
Graphic: Retrieved via TradingView. Three-month SOFR Future (December 2023). When SOFR is at a lower (higher) number, the market is pricing an increase (decrease) in interest rates. Participants put the December 2023 SOFR rate at 100-96.145 = 3.855%.
In the equity space, some readers may have caught some commentary on spot-vol beta in the VIX complex strengthening like we have not seen in a while, a nod to the harbinger of equity market volatility remark a few paragraphs higher.
Recommended Readings:
Read: The Ambrus Group’s Kris Sidial on two major risks investors should watch out for in 2023. In short, volatility’s sensitivity to underlying prices (spot-vol beta) was low, and Sidial cast blame, in part, on commodity trading advisors and strong volatility supply.
Read: Simplify Asset Management’s Michael Green on using option and bond overlays to hedge big uncertainties facing markets. Following 2022, investors swapped poor-performing long-dated volatility exposures for ones with bounded risk and less time to expiry, hence the increase in 0 DTE trading.
Graphic: Retrieved from Piper Sandler’s (NYSE: PIPR) Danny Kirsch.
This spot-vol beta remark suggests that (at least some of) the volatility in rates, as well as certain small pockets of the equity and crypto market, manifested demand for crash protection in the S&P 500, “which feeds back into VIX,” one explanation put well.
Graphic: Retrieved from Piper Sandler’s (NYSE: PIPR) Danny Kirsch. “[Last] week finally got a bit of explosiveness in VIX as fixed strike volatility got bid. This is VIX generic front month future and move in SPX. Last time it really “paid” to have VIX upside was Jan of 2022 (point in upper left corner).”
Notwithstanding, for these options to keep their value and continue to perform well, realized volatility (RVOL) must pick up substantially, which is not likely.
Unlimited’s Bob Elliott comments: “the bond market is pricing a broad-based credit crunch, … [and though] it’s not crazy for the Fed to slow down here given the current uncertainty,” odds are financial problems are contained and the Fed moves forward with its mission to get (and keep) inflation down.
Graphic: Retrieved from Fabian Wintersberger. Just as the “monetary expansion supported the rise in equity and bond prices in January.”
Consequently, “the pricing of Dec23s and 5yr BEIs makes no sense,” Elliott adds. This means the example SOFR trade above is/was ripe for some monetization, and equity volatility must be dealt with carefully (i.e., price movements must be higher than they are now which would be difficult given that authorities/Fed do not want liquidations).
In support of siding with the less extreme take, we paraphrase Kai Volatility’s Cem Karsan who says that for years prior to the 2007-2008 turmoil, macro tourists were calling for a crash.
For markets to crumble, there would have to be an exogenous event far greater in implications than what just transpired with SIVB over the weekend. With odds that such turmoil doesn’t happen soon, coupled with participants easing up on their long-equity exposure (i.e., selling stock and not needing to hedge, hence the statement that owning equity volatility must be dealt with carefully), RVOL is likely to stay contained. That’s not to say that this volatility observed in the rates market can’t persist. It’s also not to say that markets can’t continue to trade lower (in fact, with interest rates rising and processes like quantitative tightening challenging bank liquidity, there is less incentive for investors to reside in lower-yielding equities). It just means that, barring some exogenous event, the market remains intact.
Graphic: Retrieved from Jack Farley. “Silicon Valley Bank owns >$80 Billion of Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS), a market that is ‘more prone to bouts of volatility’ because ‘small investors & leveraged funds have become the main buyers’ as the Fed & banks step away from market, according to Dec 2022 BIS report.”
Positioning
Following important events like the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) today, the compression of implied volatility or IVOL, coupled with the nearing of big options expirations (OpEx), sets the market up for potential short bursts of strength heading into the end of the month and next month.
Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg. Inflation has been well within forecasts.
A quick comparison of the Russell 2000 (INDEX: RUT) and Nasdaq 100 (INDEX: NDX) suggests this options-induced strength may help keep the recent re-grossing theme intact. The compression of wound IVOL and passage of OpEx, coupled with the still-live re-grossing theme, may put a floor under equities.
Graphic: Retrieved from TradingView. Orange = RUT. Candles = NDX. Note the weakness in RUT. Note the strength of the Nasdaq relative to the Russell.
To play, one could place a portion of their cash in money market funds or T-bill ETFs or box spreads, for instance, while allocating another portion to leverage potential by way of some call options structures that use one or more short options to help bring down the cost of a long option that is closer to current market prices (e.g., a bull call spread or short ratio call spread). To note, based on options prices as of this writing, it may be too early to enter call structures (i.e., too expensive given the context).
DEFINED OUTCOME INVESTING
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As of 6:30 AM ET, Tuesday’s regular session (9:30 AM – 4:00 PM ET), in the S&P 500, is likely to open in the middle part of a balanced overnight inventory, inside of the prior day’s range, suggesting a limited potential for immediate directional opportunity.
The S&P 500 pivot for today is $3,904.25.
Key levels to the upside include $3,921.75, $3,945.00, and $3,970.75.
Key levels to the downside include $3,884.75, $3,868.25, and $3,847.25.
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
Volume Areas: Markets will build on areas of high-volume (HVNodes). Should the market trend for a period of 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 tests of value as they offer favorable entry and exit.
Volume-Weighted Average Prices (VWAPs): A metric highly regarded by chief investment officers, among other participants, for quality of trade. Additionally, liquidity algorithms are benchmarked and programmed to buy and sell around VWAPs.
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.
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.
The daily brief is a free glimpse into the prevailing fundamental and technical drivers of U.S. equity market products. Join the 1,190+ that read this report daily, below!
Graphic updated 11:00 AM ET. Sentiment Neutral if expected /ES open is inside of the prior day’s range. /ES levels are derived from the profile graphic at the bottom of the following section. Levels may have changed since initially quoted; click here for the latest levels. SqueezeMetrics Dark Pool Index (DIX) and Gamma (GEX) calculations are 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. At the same time, the lower the GEX, the more (expected) volatility. Learn the implications of volatility, direction, and moneyness. Breadth reflects a reading of the prior day’s NYSE Advance/Decline indicator. VIX reflects a current reading of the CBOE Volatility Index (INDEX: VIX) from 0-100.
Administrative
After a one-month hiatus, the Daily Brief by Physik Invest is back, albeit with new inspiration and direction.
Previously, the letter was focused on analyses of secondary and tertiary sources. New for the letter will be the inclusion of primary source information. It will be some time before these changes are most noticeable but that’s the general direction.
For instance, interviewing a country’s economic minister on policy and discussing how that policy impacts markets, at the end of it all, is on the table.
That said, apologies for not being there for the past month. I found a lot happened and I could not rid myself of the desire to unpack. This letter helps me structure trades through which real capital is at risk.
Not having the full picture did me a disservice, in short.
Going forward, I will try to feature a good mix of detail and pointedness. Take care and I look forward to learning and earning together!
Fundamental
Weekend news was centered around the tightening of financial conditions, the impact of central bank action, as well as geopolitics (e.g., Lithuania opening a trade office in Taiwan), and supply chokepoints.
By happenstance, I interviewed the Lithuanian Economy Minister Ausrine Armonaite, quoted by Bloomberg in the above story, last week in Lisbon. More on this, later.
Graphic: Provided by the Lithuanian Delegation. Left, Lithuanian Economy Minister Ausrine Armonaite. Right, Renato Leonard Capelj conducting an interview on behalf of Benzinga.com.
The One Big Thing:
With labor still tight, former New York Fed President Bill Dudley commented that “there’s a lot of work to do … [so] inflation expectations don’t become unanchored” and force “something really, really harsh later.”
Unfortunately, the impact of actions here, in the US, is not isolated.
US tightening pains the rest of the world, too. Stronger dollars pressure emerging-market economies with dollar-denominated debts. This, ultimately, works to upend the dollar’s role as a reserve.
Margin Compression, Dollar Debt:
Dollar strength feeds margin compression (just now filtering through, according to Kai Volatility’s Cem Karsan, and impacting dollar-denominated debt), adding to the “billion[s] less in demand for assets per day” via quantitative tightening (QT).
As a refresher, quantitative easing (QE) lowers interest rates and makes investments in financial assets more attractive. This bolsters asset inflation and deflation in the real economy.
Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg. The chart is an example showing “money-printing or ‘quantitative easing’ that [Ben Bernanke] pioneered seemed to prop up the stock market.”
QT Compounds Rising Rate Impact:
Moreover, in 2020, policymakers embarked on historic interventions.
Monetary authorities cut interest rates and bought bonds, all the while money was sent to people. Risk assets were the first to respond. Then, as the economy reopened, demand picked up, supply chains (that were slowed) tightened, and prices in the real economy inflated.
Threats to globalization and persistent supply chokepoints (e.g., Ukraine and Russia) have done little to help. Inflation remains a problem and investors are seeking safety amid Fed intervention.
Financial assets are in less demand while real assets are in more demand; sticky inflation and the policymaker reactions are putting in jeopardy dollar carry (mentioned above) and the S&P 500, a focus point for this letter and a center of the global carry regime, among other things.
Responses Invoke Collateral Damage:
As Credit Suisse Group AG’s Zoltan Pozsar summarizes, inflation is a structural issue, and “we [have] to generate a round of negative wealth effects to lower demand such that it becomes more in line with the new realities of supply.”
That invokes “collateral damage to the US economy,” S&P Global Inc (NYSE: SPGI) economists have put forth “as households and businesses pull back spending and investment.”
Ultimately, “[a]s demand erodes, businesses that changed inventory strategy to ‘just-in-case’ from ‘just-in-time’ are left with full shelves to unwind at a loss and less need for workers that were in high demand just a few months ago.” That’s a recession.
Positioning
Equity market implied volatility (IVOL) remains subdued and part of the blame rests on the (1) growth of derivatives and …
Graphic: Retrieved from Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS). Reposted by Rob Emrich III.
(2) a lower liquidity environment in which the hedging of these derivatives matters more.
Graphic: Retrieved from Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS). Taken from The Market Ear.
To recap, equity IVOL remains subdued, in part, because traders hedged into the 2022 decline.
The liquidity providers’ response to the monetization of protection (i.e., trader sell put → liquidity provider buy put and stock and/or futures to hedge), as well as decreases in demand for equity exposure (and new protection), is keeping the Cboe Volatility Index (INDEX: VIX) tame while measures such as the Merrill Lynch Options Volatility Estimate (INDEX: MOVE) are surging.
As well put in a recent Bloomberg article quoting QVR Advisors’ Benn Eifert, “[e]veryone was prepared for another jarring market crash, and that, in essence, is why certain categories of protective options have failed to pay off this year.”
Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg. Initially created by QVR Advisors. “When shares drop, demand for fresh protection remains subdued given the unusually thin positioning among big money. At the same time, put owners quickly book profits, often leading to a drop in implied vol.
In support, IPS Strategic Capital’s Pat Hennessy puts forth that equity positioning is light and, “[I]f you have little to no equity exposure to hedge, why would you be buying puts?” That is all the while “[t]he last 5 years is still fresh in PMs heads though. This means that they have been quick to buy calls on any sign of a market bounce.”
Another takeaway is that with skew at “near all-time lows, … [and] the highest rates we’ve seen in 15 years, [] longer dated collars [are] an attractive trade for those who are worried about the performance of stocks over the next year but do not want to sell or try timing the market.”
Graphic: Retrieved from Pat Hennessy of IPS Strategic Capital.
A last big takeaway includes some loss of structural support from hedging flows.
To explain, often, traders hedge into impactful events such as elections and Fed rate decisions. The demand for protection will pressure markets indirectly. After, however, the decay, as well as the removal of that protection, indirectly supports the market.
Graphic: Retrieved from Bespoke on Twitter. Into Fed days, traders often demand protection. Barring the worst case, traders’ closure of this protection bolsters a price rise, after. The same has been observed after elections (e.g., November 2020 election bottom).
As it sits, traders are hedged into events such as the elections. Per SpotGamma, “[i]f nothing bad happens, and traders close those puts, that would likely bolster a rally.”
This coincides with the market’s entry into a period of lower liquidity (i.e., the holiday season). It’s during this period the effects of decay accelerate and a lack of liquidity, per Karsan, makes markets sensitive to those positive positioning flows.
Ultimately, the very poor hedging that’s going on, heading into the next rally, is going to set the stage for a large tail, Karsan adds. Traders, who aren’t as well hedged, will seek protection and this will pressure markets, adding to any macro-type selling.
More explanation in the coming letters.
Technical
As of 6:30 AM ET, Monday’s regular session (9:30 AM – 4:00 PM ET), in the S&P 500, is likely to open in the upper part of a positively skewed overnight inventory, inside of prior-range and -value, suggesting a limited potential for immediate directional opportunity.
In the best case, the S&P 500 trades higher.
Any activity above the $3,806.25 LVNode puts into play the $3,845.00 VPOC. Initiative trade beyond the VPOC could reach as high as the $3,874.25 HVNode and $3,909.25 MCPOC, or higher.
In the worst case, the S&P 500 trades lower.
Any activity below the $3,806.25 LVNode puts into play the $3,773.00 VPOC. Initiative trade beyond the VPOC could reach as low as the $3,727.00 and $3,685.00 VPOC, or lower.
Click here to load today’s key levels into the web-based TradingView charting platform. Note that all levels are derived using the 65-minute timeframe. New links are produced, daily.
Graphic: 65-minute profile chart of the Micro E-mini S&P 500 Futures.
Considerations: Futures tied to the S&P 500 are trading within close proximity to a blue line in the above graphic. This blue line depicts a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) anchored to price action following the release of consumer price data on September 13, 2022.
The VWAP metric is highly regarded by chief investment officers, among other participants, for the quality of trade. Additionally, liquidity algorithms are benchmarked and programmed to buy and sell around VWAPs.
Should the S&P 500 auction away from this level, and come back to it, a prudent response is to fade. If the price is above the VWAP, and it auctions lower, into the VWAP, traders would buy. On the other hand, if the price is below the VWAP, and it auctions higher, into the VWAP, sell.
At this time, S&P 500 prices are near VWAP offering traders lower (directional) opportunities.
Definitions
Volume Areas: A structurally sound market will build on areas of high volume (HVNodes). Should the market trend for long periods of time, it will lack sound structure, identified as low volume areas (LVNodes). LVNodes denote directional conviction and ought to offer support on any test.
If participants were to auction and find acceptance into areas of prior low volume (LVNodes), then future discovery ought to be volatile and quick as participants look to HVNodes for favorable entry or exit.
POCs: POCs are valuable as they denote areas where two-sided trade was most prevalent in a prior day session. Participants will respond to future tests of value as they offer favorable entry and exit.
MCPOCs: POCs are valuable as they denote areas where two-sided trade was most prevalent over numerous day sessions. Participants will respond to future tests of value as they offer favorable entry and exit.
The daily brief is a free glimpse into the prevailing fundamental and technical drivers of U.S. equity market products. Join the 850+ that read this report daily, below!
Graphic updated 8:00 AM ET. Sentiment Risk-On if expected /ES open is above the prior day’s range. /ES levels are derived from the profile graphic at the bottom of the following section. Levels may have changed since initially quoted; click here for the latest levels. SqueezeMetrics Dark Pool Index (DIX) and Gamma (GEX) calculations are 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. At the same time, the lower the GEX, the more (expected) volatility. Learn the implications of volatility, direction, and moneyness. Breadth reflects a reading of the prior day’s NYSE Advance/Decline indicator. VIX reflects a current reading of the CBOE Volatility Index (INDEX: VIX) from 0-100.
Fundamental
As much as it may be a so-called chart crime to overlap past market environments and project or forecast what may happen, it’s quite eerie that today’s path of returns appears similar to that of 1394-1937, 2005-2008, and 1997-2001, for example.
Graphic: Retrieved from Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB).
Moreover, this time around, it’s the case that markets have fallen on participants’ pricing of higher interest rates and quantitative tightening (QT).
Graphic: Retrieved from The Market Ear. Via Guggenheim Partners.
Some argue there is more to go on the pricing of a potential economic slowing happening here, in the U.S., abroad in China, and beyond.
Graphic: Retrieved from Bloomberg. “Earnings are related to the economic cycle, but not tightly, and expectations for next year are intertwined with macroeconomic concerns.”
Notwithstanding, and we will end the fundamental section with this, today, Credit Suisse Group AG’s (NYSE: CS) Jonathan Golub puts forth the following:
“Although revisions are negative, projected EPS growth rates remain positive for the remainder of 2022-23. While 3Q growth has fallen to 4.7%, EPS should expand 9-10%, assuming similar beats as experienced in 2Q. Historically, earnings hold up best when inflation is elevated. Many investors are interpreting the recent decline in estimates as a harbinger to recession. Our work shows that in high inflationary periods (1973, 1980, 1981) earnings peak just 2 months prior to a recession’s onset. With EPS growth projections still positive, revisions would have to fall much more to signal an economic contraction.”
Positioning
Referring traders to a recent case study (HERE) on how to play this market environment, as well as the impacts of implied volatility (IVOL) compression September 8 (HERE).
After a period of sideways-to-lower, markets are rebounding, boosted by IVOL compression and traders’ re-positioning ahead of potential including inflation and monetary policy updates.
Notwithstanding, as Kai Volatility’s Cem Karsan well explained to Charles Schwab Corporation’s (NYSE: SCHW) TD Ameritrade Network, traders must look out for the “window of real risk.”
The energy for a downside move “is significant” after this year’s decimation of “skew and volatility,” he said. “Hedging for convexity is in the 5th percentile.”
This is because participants hedged heading into the decline, and sold skew as the markets explored lower. After the current period of volatility supply passes, Karsan added, and markets were to trade lower, there is the risk of a reach for protection and a fatter tail.
Graphic: Merrill Lynch Options Volatility Estimate (INDEX: MOVE), a measure of volatility for the US Treasury market, versus the Cboe Volatility Index (INDEX: VIX), a measure of volatility for the equity market, diverged this year. This is, in part, due to the supply of volatility in equities.
Should nothing happen, then the unwind of the recent speculation amongst “family offices and institutions front-running the speculative hedges that are more than 50 units,” will add support.
Graphic: Retrieved from SentimenTrader on September 7, 2022.
Technical
As of 6:40 AM ET, Friday’s regular session (9:30 AM – 4:00 PM ET), in the S&P 500, is likely to open in the upper part of a positively skewed overnight inventory, outside of prior-range and -value, suggesting a potential for immediate directional opportunity.
In the best case, the S&P 500 trades higher.
Any activity above the $4,069.25 HVNode puts into play the $4,107.00 VPOC. Initiative trade beyond the VPOC could reach as high as the $4,136.75 MCPOC and $4,189.25 LVNode, or higher.
In the worst case, the S&P 500 trades lower.
Any activity below the $4,069.25 HVNode puts into play the $4,018.75 HVNode. Initiative trade beyond the HVNode could reach as low as the $3,991.00 VPOC and $3,952.75 LVNode, or lower.
Click here to load today’s key levels into the web-based TradingView charting platform. Note that all levels are derived using the 65-minute timeframe. New links are produced, daily.
Graphic: 65-minute profile chart of the Micro E-mini S&P 500 Futures.
Considerations: Responsiveness near key-technical areas (that are discernable visually on a chart), suggests technically-driven traders with short time horizons are very active.
Such traders often lack the wherewithal to defend retests and, additionally, the type of trade may be indicative of the other time frame participants waiting for more information to initiate trades.
Graphic: Updated 9/8/2022. The daily chart of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY).
Definitions
Volume Areas: A structurally sound market will build on areas of high volume (HVNodes). Should the market trend for long periods of time, it will lack sound structure, identified as low volume areas (LVNodes). LVNodes denote directional conviction and ought to offer support on any test.
If participants were to auction and find acceptance into areas of prior low volume (LVNodes), then future discovery ought to be volatile and quick as participants look to HVNodes for favorable entry or exit.
POCs: POCs are valuable as they denote areas where two-sided trade was most prevalent in a prior day session. Participants will respond to future tests of value as they offer favorable entry and exit.
MCPOCs: POCs are valuable as they denote areas where two-sided trade was most prevalent over numerous day sessions. Participants will respond to future tests of value as they offer favorable entry and exit.
Volume-Weighted Average Prices (VWAPs): A metric highly regarded by chief investment officers, among other participants, for quality of trade. Additionally, liquidity algorithms are benchmarked and programmed to buy and sell around VWAPs.
About
After years of self-education, strategy development, mentorship, and trial-and-error, Renato Leonard Capelj began trading full-time and founded Physik Invest to detail his methods, research, and performance in the markets.
Capelj also develops insights around impactful options market dynamics at SpotGamma and is a Benzinga reporter.
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.
The Daily Brief is a free glimpse into the prevailing fundamental and technical drivers of U.S. equity market products. Join the 200+ that read this report daily, below!
Overnight, equity index futures auctioned sideways-to-higher alongside some upbeat earnings announcements.
Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: FB) surged post-market, yesterday, after its main social network Facebook added more users than expected.
PayPal Holdings Inc (NYSE: PYPL) vowed to rein in costs and boost profits while Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ: QCOM) rose on an upbeat forecast.
There’s a strong push-and-pull between what’s good and bad. File Deutsche Bank’s (NYSE: DB) recent comments on a pending recession under what’s bad.
The bank sees the Fed Target Rate reaching up to 6% which “will push the economy into a significant recession by late next year.”
Graphic updated 7:00 AM ET. Sentiment Risk-On if expected /ES open is above the prior day’s range. Sentiment Risk-Off if expected /ES open is below the prior day’s range. /ES levels are derived from the profile graphic at the bottom of the following section. Levels may have changed since initially quoted; click here for the latest levels. SqueezeMetrics Dark Pool Index (DIX) and Gamma (GEX) calculations are 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. At the same time, the lower the GEX, the more (expected) volatility. Learn the implications of volatility, direction, and moneyness. SHIFT data used for S&P 500 (INDEX: SPX) options activity. Note that options flow is sorted by the call premium spent; if more positive, then more was spent on call options. Breadth reflects a reading of the prior day’s NYSE Advance/Decline indicator. VIX reflects a current reading of the CBOE Volatility Index (INDEX: VIX) from 0-100.
What To Expect
Fundamental: Divergences across different assets and markets continue.
For instance, the equity market’s pricing of risk which we can take as being reflected by the CBOE Volatility Index [INDEX: VIX]) is not moving lock-step with that of measures elsewhere.
The fear in one market tends to spread to others. Regardless of the cause, it seems that equity and bond market participants are not on the same page.
Is that really true, though? Not necessarily.
If we look at some single stocks, Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX), among others (all the while S&P 500 earnings have been revised up) has suffered through a substantial de-rate and volatility as participants priced the implications of policy evolution, slower economic growth, and beyond.
Graphic: Via JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM). Taken from The Market Ear.
That has us returning to pinning at the index level, relative to what the constituents are doing.
As well explained in Physik Invest’s March 3, 2022 commentary, this is more so a function of positioning and structural flows, or supply of liquidity.
Absent some exogenous event, participants are well-hedged for what is known (e.g., rate hikes and quantitative tightening (QT), COVID resurgences, Russia and Ukraine, among other things).
The caveat is that the Federal Reserve is far more aggressive than expected, ramping up QT, “a direct flow of capital to capital markets or flow out of,” per Kai Volatility’s Cem Karsan.
For context, it is the intention to take from the max liquidity (which pushed participants out of the risk curve and promoted a divergence from fundamentals) markets were supplied with, and this has the effect of removing market excesses, some of which have fed into volatility markets.
In part, some of the QT has been reflected in bond prices, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) explains. However, should there be far more aggressive monetary action, as Deutsche research suggests, coupled with a worsening of the geopolitical and/or economic situation abroad (e.g., Russian default), markets are likely to succumb.
“Using the balance sheet as a tightening tool represents a large change in the Fed’s attitude, and IS NOT priced into the market,” MacroTourist’s Kevin Muir adds.
“An increase in the pace of tightening of QT should mean lower stocks, wider credit spreads, and a slight reduction in the need for front-end hikes.”
Graphic: Via Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS). Taken from The Market Ear. The “Nasdaq has underperformed the S&P 500 but by less than what the move in real yields would suggest.”
Positioning: Volatility to continue as markets have traded lower and participants have priced up the cost of insurance – particularly at the short-end – on underlying equity exposure.
Graphic: SPX volatility term structure via Refinitiv. Taken from The Market Ear.
This is due to options delta (exposure to direction) being far more sensitive (gamma) across shorter time horizons (i.e., the range across which options deltas shift from “near-zero to near-100% becomes very narrow.”)
Yesterday, markets were pinned after exploring lower in the days prior. The activity was concentrated in short-dated bets at those levels, and that’s in part a result of some of the hedging that went on.
Graphic: Via SpotGamma’s Hedging Impact of Real-Time Options Indicator.
If markets do not perform to the downside (i.e., do not trade lower), those short-dated bets on direction will quickly decay, and hedging flows with respect to time (charm) and volatility (vanna) may bolster sharp rallies.
Whether those price rises have legs depends on what the fundamental situation is, then. Regardless, the returns distribution, based on implied volatility metrics alone, is skewed positive, albeit there are some large negative outliers.
Graphic: Via @HalfersPower. “In backwardation via $VIX: $VIX3M next month [realized volatility] is highest amongst the deciles (d10 >1) ~43% subsequent realized volatility.”
Technical: As of 7:00 AM ET, Thursday’s regular session (9:30 AM – 4:00 PM ET), in the S&P 500, will likely open in the middle part of a positively skewed overnight inventory, just inside of prior-range and -value, suggesting a limited potential for immediate directional opportunity.
In the best case, the S&P 500 trades higher; activity above the $4,236.25 regular trade high (RTH High) puts in play the $4,267.75 RTH High. Initiative trade beyond the $4,267.75 RTH High could reach as high as the $4,303.75 overnight high (ONH) and $4,337.00 untested point of control (VPOC), or higher.
In the worst case, the S&P 500 trades lower; activity below the $4,236.25 RTH High puts in play the $4,191.00 VPOC. Initiative trade beyond the VPOC could reach as low as the $4,136.00 regular trade low (RTH Low) and $4,101.25 overnight low (ONL), or lower.
Click here to load today’s key levels into the web-based TradingView charting platform. Note that all levels are derived using the 65-minute timeframe. New links are produced, daily.
Graphic: 65-minute profile chart of the Micro E-mini S&P 500 Futures.
Considerations: Markets are higher after testing some key levels outlined in prior letters.
The Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: QQQ), one of the weakest products this letter monitors, just tested a major VWAP, yesterday, anchored from the lows of March 2020.
Graphic: Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: QQQ) with anchored VWAPs.
The Nasdaq has led the market down. It may lead the market higher on reversals. We’ll continue to monitor market breadth, among other metrics, for signs of strength.
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: A structurally sound market will build on areas of high volume (HVNodes). Should the market trend for long periods of time, it will lack sound structure, identified as low volume areas (LVNodes). LVNodes denote directional conviction and ought to offer support on any test.
If participants were to auction and find acceptance into areas of prior low volume (LVNodes), then future discovery ought to be volatile and quick as participants look to HVNodes for favorable entry or exit.
Gamma: 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.
Vanna: The rate at which the delta of an option changes with respect to volatility.
Charm: The rate at which the delta of an option changes with respect to time.
POCs: POCs are valuable as they denote areas where two-sided trade was most prevalent in a prior day session. Participants will respond to future tests of value as they offer favorable entry and exit.
Volume-Weighted Average Prices (VWAPs): A metric highly regarded by chief investment officers, among other participants, for quality of trade. Additionally, liquidity algorithms are benchmarked and programmed to buy and sell around VWAPs.
About
After years of self-education, strategy development, mentorship, and trial-and-error, Renato Leonard Capelj began trading full-time and founded Physik Invest to detail his methods, research, and performance in the markets.
Capelj also develops insights around impactful options market dynamics at SpotGamma and is a Benzinga reporter.
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.
The Daily Brief is a free glimpse into the prevailing fundamental and technical drivers of U.S. equity market products. Join the 200+ that read this report daily, below!
Editor’s Note: Hey team, thanks again for your reading of this daily newsletter. Due to travel commitments, I will not be writing reports consistently for the rest of this month.
Don’t expect any updates until Monday, April 11, 2022. Thereafter, coverage may be sporadic for the rest of the month.
What Happened
Overnight, equity index futures were higher after exploring lower, briefly. Commodities were mixed while bonds were lower and implied volatility measures were bid.
In terms of news, the European Union said it was interested in penalizing Russia, further, for its actions in Ukraine. This is as China battles new COVID-19 sub-strains.
Ahead is data on factory and core capital equipment orders (10:00 AM ET).
Graphic updated 5:45 AM ET. Sentiment Neutral if expected /ES open is inside of the prior day’s range. /ES levels are derived from the profile graphic at the bottom of the following section. Levels may have changed since initially quoted; click here for the latest levels. SqueezeMetrics Dark Pool Index (DIX) and Gamma (GEX) calculations are 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. At the same time, the lower the GEX, the more (expected) volatility. Learn the implications of volatility, direction, and moneyness. SHIFT data used for S&P 500 (INDEX: SPX) options activity. Note that options flow is sorted by the call premium spent; if more positive, then more was spent on call options. Breadth reflects a reading of the prior day’s NYSE Advance/Decline indicator. VIX reflects a current reading of the CBOE Volatility Index (INDEX: VIX) from 0-100.
What To Expect
Fundamental: In the face of geopolitical tension, supply pressures, and inflation, consumer sentiment is at or below pandemic levels, prompting the Federal Reserve (Fed) to destimulate.
Graphic: Via S&P Global Inc (NYSE: SPGI) research. “Confluence Of Risks Halts Positive Credit Momentum.
“It has entered 2008-09 territory and is not far from all-time lows in the ‘80s when inflation and interest rates hit double digits,” ARK Invest’s Catherine Wood explained in a Twitter discussion on yield-curve inversions and aggressive action by the Federal Reserve, as well as inflation.
“The economy succumbed to recession in each of those periods. Europe and China are also in difficult straits. The Fed seems to be playing with fire.”
In accordance, the Macro Compass’ Alfonso Peccatiello explains that his credit impulse metrics, which lead economic activity and risk asset performance, imply a slowdown in earnings.
Still, in spite of these metrics, on average, recessions happen 12 to 24 months after the first yield curve inversions, according to Jefferies Financial Group Inc (NYSE: JEF).
Post-inversion S&P 500 performance, actually, is often positive.
Bolstering the call for positive equity market performance are strong seasonality trends during Fed-rate-hike episodes, a contraction in equity risk premia, and “still accommodative” monetary policy, per explanations by rates strategist Rishi Mishra.
Graphic: Via Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS). Taken from The Market Ear. “Equities are a real asset as they make a claim on nominal GDP. In the post-financial crisis era, weak economic activity and lower inflation pushed down nominal GDP, raising the equity risk premium and reducing the bond term premium. So as long as economies grow, revenues and dividends should also grow. The dividend yield can be thought of as a real yield. Equity risk premia have started to decline in the post COVID cycle but remain higher than in the pre-financial crisis era.”
“[T]he 3ms2s vs 2s10s spread (or the 3m2s10s fly) is the widest it has been since the end of 1994. The widening of this fly is indicative of the fact that while the Fed shifted its guidance from dovish to extremely hawkish, the policy is still accommodative.”
Positioning: The equity market’s ferocious end-of-March rally, which placed the S&P 500 back above a key go/no-go level – the 200-period simple moving average – may have been in part the result of institutional investors purchasing equities ahead of quarterly reporting.
“Remember that stocks settle T+2, meaning that shares are actually owned by buyers two business days after they are purchased in the market,” says Interactive Brokers’ Group Inc (NASDAQ: IBKR) Steve Sosnick.
“That means that institutions who wanted to show stock positions on their quarterly reports would have needed to purchase those shares no later than Tuesday the 29th. The sharp end-of-day runups that we saw on Monday and Tuesday had the hallmarks of aggressive institutional buying.”
According to Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) analyses, “[a]ggregate equity positioning has now risen off the lows but only to the 22nd percentile and is still well below neutral.”
That said, quarter-end rebalances and options expirations (OPEX) likely do little to upset the balance of trade. Based on a lot of the insights shared in this letter, barring some exogenous event, the market is in a position to drift or balance.
This, as a result, may solicit a “stronger impulse to chase the rally,” at which point JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) strategists say they would “generally be more concerned.”
A collapse (or convergence) in volatility metrics for different asset classes (like the Merrill Lynch Options Volatility Estimate [INDEX: MOVE] and Cboe Volatility Index [INDEX: VIX]) would bolster the “drift or balance” thesis.
Graphic: Via Physik Invest.
Technical: As of 5:45 AM ET, Monday’s regular session (9:30 AM – 4:00 PM ET), in the S&P 500, will likely open in the upper part of a positively skewed overnight inventory, inside of prior-range and -value, suggesting a limited potential for immediate directional opportunity.
In the best case, the S&P 500 trades higher; activity above the $4,527.00 untested point of control (VPOC) puts in play the $4,562.50 spike base. Initiative trade beyond the spike base could reach as high as the $4,583.00 VPOC and $4,611.75 low volume area (LVNode), or higher.
In the worst case, the S&P 500 trades lower; activity below the $4,527.00 VPOC puts in play the $4,501.25 regular trade low (RTH Low). Initiative trade beyond the RTH Low could reach as low as the $4,469.00 VPOC and $4,438.25 HVNode, or lower.
Considerations: Spikes often mark the beginning of a break from value. Spikes higher (lower) are validated by trade at or above (below) the spike base (i.e., the origin of the spike).
In a spike up (down) situation, trade below (above) the spike base, negates the buying (selling).
Click here to load today’s key levels into the web-based TradingView charting platform. Note that all levels are derived using the 65-minute timeframe. New links are produced, daily.
Graphic: 65-minute profile chart of the Micro E-mini S&P 500 Futures.
The price strength in the SP500 lately has been impressive. But it is not even being confirmed (yet) by a higher high in the HY Bond A-D Line. That is less than impressive. pic.twitter.com/6X6DlXksol
Volume Areas: A structurally sound market will build on areas of high volume (HVNodes). Should the market trend for long periods of time, it will lack sound structure, identified as low volume areas (LVNodes). LVNodes denote directional conviction and ought to offer support on any test.
If participants were to auction and find acceptance into areas of prior low volume (LVNodes), then future discovery ought to be volatile and quick as participants look to HVNodes for favorable entry or exit.
POCs: POCs are valuable as they denote areas where two-sided trade was most prevalent in a prior day session. Participants will respond to future tests of value as they offer favorable entry and exit.
About
After years of self-education, strategy development, mentorship, and trial-and-error, Renato Leonard Capelj began trading full-time and founded Physik Invest to detail his methods, research, and performance in the markets.
Capelj also develops insights around impactful options market dynamics at SpotGamma and is a Benzinga reporter.
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.
The Daily Brief is a free glimpse into the prevailing fundamental and technical drivers of U.S. equity market products. Join the 200+ that read this report daily, below!
Overnight, equity index futures auctioned sideways to higher after their late-day liquidation and break from a multi-day consolidation area on technical factors (e.g., options expirations) among other things, potentially, like the increase in personal consumption expenditures.
Broadly speaking, the narrative that investors are showing some concern over the economic outlook, with respect to geopolitical tension and monetary policy, continues to emanate.
U.S. high-grade bonds shed over 5%, booking the worst quarterly performance since the ‘80s. This is as recession risks have risen more than two-fold.
Notwithstanding, the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) favorite yield curve metric remains steep; per a Bloomberg commentary, “the gap between the three-month bill rates and 10-year yields is the ‘most useful term spread for forecasting recessions,’ … [and] it currently stands at 186 basis points, versus negative 2 basis points on 2s10s.”
In terms of news, the U.K. will join the U.S. in releasing oil from its reserves to lower prices and reduce its reliance on external partners. This helped ease futures calendar spreads on oil, Reuters’ John Kemp said in a newsletter to followers; the “six-month spread [narrowing] to a backwardation of $9 per barrel, the lowest since before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Ahead is data on nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate and average hourly earnings, as well as labor-force participation (8:30 AM ET). Thereafter, the Chicago Fed’s Charles Evans is scheduled to speak (9:05 AM ET).
Later is Markit manufacturing PMI (9:45 AM ET), as well as ISM manufacturing index and consumer spending data (10:00 AM ET).
Graphic updated 6:30 AM ET. Sentiment Neutral if expected /ES open is inside of the prior day’s range. /ES levels are derived from the profile graphic at the bottom of the following section. Levels may have changed since initially quoted; click here for the latest levels. SqueezeMetrics Dark Pool Index (DIX) and Gamma (GEX) calculations are 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. At the same time, the lower the GEX, the more (expected) volatility. Learn the implications of volatility, direction, and moneyness. SHIFT data used for S&P 500 (INDEX: SPX) options activity. Note that options flow is sorted by the call premium spent; if more positive, then more was spent on call options. Breadth reflects a reading of the prior day’s NYSE Advance/Decline indicator. VIX reflects a current reading of the CBOE Volatility Index (INDEX: VIX) from 0-100.
What To Expect
Fundamental: The S&P 500 bagged its first quarterly loss in two years as recession probabilities, implied by some yield curves, have risen.
Graphic: Via Barclays. Taken from The Market Ear. “[T]he 1y ahead recession probability implied by the 3m10y curve rises to about 40% a year from now (so for an early 2024 recession), slightly higher than implied by other curves.”
This is as the stock performance, relative to bonds against the lagged spread of 10- and 2-year bond yields, is expected to be weak, according to insights by Pictet Asset Management.
Graphic; Via Pictet Asset Management Ltd. Taken from Bloomberg. “On this basis, stocks’ great outperformance this quarter may end up looking like a head-fake.”
Pictet’s narrative further validates some of the theses shared by institutions like Brevan Howard Asset Management, which is having one of its best years, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS), and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC).
Adding to the prospects for weaker earnings amid higher costs, among other things, some of these institutions see the potential for the Fed’s terminal rate to reach between 3% and 3.25%.
Graphic: Via Andreas Steno Larsen. “The Fed is now priced to hike to levels above 3% by Dec-2023, … which is the main reason why we have seen a sell-off in all assets with an intensive duration profile over the past 12-15 months … [and has] duration intensive assets … starting to look attractive again from a risk/reward perspective.”
This would hit valuations as higher yields both reduce the present value of future earnings and “hurt those carrying the highest leverage,” potentially playing into a slowdown or recession.
Graphic: Via S&P Global Inc (NYSE: SPGI) “expects the economic damage [of geopolitics and pricing pressures] to lower U.S. GDP growth to 3.2% this year, matching its preliminary forecast in early March but a full 70 bps lower than its November forecast of 3.9%.”
“Now rates volatility can drive growth volatility and that actually becomes a vicious cycle between the two,” said Christian Mueller-Glissmann of Goldman Sachs.
“That’s a big difference to the last cycle where growth volatility drove rates volatility.”
Graphic: Via Vanda. Taken from The Market Ear. “The bond market is pricing the 2022 cycle to be remarkably fast. Macro Alf: ‘Remember: sharp changes in borrowing conditions often cause non-linear reactions in a highly leveraged system.’”
However, this is as the dominance of rate-sensitive tech stocks is set to shrink next year amid sector reclassifications, as well as still-stimulative policy and beats of economic expectations that may feed into earnings surprises, later.
JPMorgan’s Marko Kolanoivc explains that (1) “both equity and credit markets have historically fared well at the start of monetary tightening cycles,” (2) “the real policy rate is extremely negative and thus stimulative,” and (3) “not all central banks are tightening.”
Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson vehemently disagrees suggesting the recent equity market turnaround “was nothing more than a vicious bear market rally,” and offers participants a clear opportunity to sell at better prices.
Taking all of the above comments and perspectives together, one thing is for certain: this period in history is like no other. It makes sense to pick a timeframe and stick with it.
Positioning: In the past weeks, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, the supportive “rebalancing flows away from bonds into equities” are no more and, therefore, equities are subject to increased vulnerabilities “if bond yields continue to rise.”
This is after measures of equity implied volatility were crushed heading through the mid-March FOMC and monthly options expiry (OPEX) events, and the options hedging impact of this, at least, was very supportive, as we’ve talked about many times in this newsletter.
Graphic: Via Bloomberg. “The CBOE-VIX index, measuring stock volatility from the options market, unsurprisingly spiked immediately after Russia’s attack. It reached another high three weeks ago. Then the VIX started to fall, and in the two weeks since the Fed unveiled its first rate hike in years, the decline has been almost linear. The ‘fear gauge,’ as it is often known, is now significantly lower than it was a week before the invasion, when markets were priced on the assumption that there would be no war.”
On the contrary, measures of volatility for other assets, like the Merrill Lynch Options Volatility Estimate (INDEX: MOVE), a useful measure of bond market sentiment, are doing the opposite.
We discussed early last month, what we saw was an increased supply of equity market volatility, as a potential reason for some of these divergences.
As Bloomberg’s John Authers explained well, it, too, could have been “an aggressive central bank” that prompted a move out of bonds and into equities, and subdued target-date fund rebalancing flows which usually sell stocks and buy bonds.
“[I]t looks as though the contradictions that had built up in the market over the last two years, and in the decade before that, are being put under extreme stress by the double whammy of a newly aggressive Federal Reserve, and the worst geopolitical shock in decades,” Authers adds.
Still, realized volatility continues to trend down which ought to force those (e.g., computer-driven traders) who position (and size equity exposure) based on underlying volatility to load up, again.
Nomura Holdings Inc’s (NYSE: NMR) Charlie McElligott explains that “volatility-targeting funds and trend-following commodity trading advisers, purchased” billions of equity futures which bolstered the price rise of the last weeks.
From a positioning versus buying support perspective, the forward returns distribution is skewed positive but not by a lot; a lot of the supportive options exposure is rolling-off and this could free up (i.e., unpin) indexes for the next leg up or down.
Graphic: SpotGamma’s Hedging Impact of Real-Time Options Indicator shows negative delta trade in the S&P 500 SPY ETF, and this pressured the underlying index.
Technical: As of 6:30 AM ET, Friday’s regular session (9:30 AM – 4:00 PM ET), in the S&P 500, will likely open in the upper part of a positively skewed overnight inventory, inside of prior-range and -value, suggesting a limited potential for immediate directional opportunity.
In the best case, the S&P 500 trades higher; activity above the $4,546.00 spike base puts in play the $4,573.25 high volume area (HVNode). Initiative trade beyond the HVNode could reach as high as the $4,583.00 untested point of control (VPOC) and $4,611.75 low volume area (LVNode), or higher.
In the worst case, the S&P 500 trades lower; activity below the $4,546.00 spike base puts in play the $4,526.25 HVNode. Initiative trade beyond the HVNode could reach as low as the $4,515.25 and $4,489.75 LVNodes, or lower.
Considerations: A change in the market (i.e., the transition from two-time frame trade, or balance, to one-time frame trade, or trend) occurred.
Continue to monitor for acceptance outside of the balance area. Rejection (i.e., return inside of balance) portends a move to the opposite end of the balance. See the below graphic for more.
Click here to load today’s key levels into the web-based TradingView charting platform. Note that all levels are derived using the 65-minute timeframe. New links are produced, daily.
Graphic: 65-minute profile chart of the Micro E-mini S&P 500 Futures.
What People Are Saying
Disclaimer: This thread is not from an institutional vol mandate perspective, it will be more from a prop trader perspective
Contrary to what fintwit parades, losses are part of the game and drawdowns are very normal in trading.
Volume Areas: A structurally sound market will build on areas of high volume (HVNodes). Should the market trend for long periods of time, it will lack sound structure, identified as low volume areas (LVNodes). LVNodes denote directional conviction and ought to offer support on any test.
If participants were to auction and find acceptance into areas of prior low volume (LVNodes), then future discovery ought to be volatile and quick as participants look to HVNodes for favorable entry or exit.
Gamma: 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.
POCs: POCs are valuable as they denote areas where two-sided trade was most prevalent in a prior day session. Participants will respond to future tests of value as they offer favorable entry and exit.
Options Expiration (OPEX): Marks change in dealer gamma exposure.
Volume-Weighted Average Prices (VWAPs): A metric highly regarded by chief investment officers, among other participants, for quality of trade. Additionally, liquidity algorithms are benchmarked and programmed to buy and sell around VWAPs.
About
After years of self-education, strategy development, mentorship, and trial-and-error, Renato Leonard Capelj began trading full-time and founded Physik Invest to detail his methods, research, and performance in the markets.
Capelj also develops insights around impactful options market dynamics at SpotGamma and is a Benzinga reporter.
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.
