Baird Market and Investment Strategy Weekly Market Notes December 15, 2014 Dow Industrials 17280 S&P 500 2002 Please refer to Appendix – Important Disclosures Summary Christmas Rally Remains in the Forecast The equity markets suffered the worst weekly decline in three years last week. The basis for the drop in stock prices was the growing belief that plunging oil prices are a harbinger of economic trouble. The concern is that a recession and deflation in Europe could spread to our shores. Stocks entered the month with high expectations. December, historically, is one of the strongest months for stocks of the year. The good news is that last week’s soaring volatility has squeezed out much of the investor optimism found earlier in the month. The CBOE Volatility Index nearly doubled last week, indicating that fear has entered the stock market. In addition, the demand for put options exploded, triggering short-term buy signals (puts are bought in anticipation of a decline in stock prices). Using contrary opinion, the probability of a year-end rally remains high. Most of the gains in the final month typically occur late in the month with rallies often beginning just before Christmas. The risk in the stock market the remaining 13 trading days of December is believed to be 1960 using the S&P 500 with the reward to 2070. Economy: Retail sales in November best in eight months; Car sales soar on cheap gas; Import prices fall for fifth straight month; Business confidence improving Fed Policy: FOMC this week; plunge in oil and instability abroad expected to keep Fed on hold in 2015 Sentiment: Indicators mixed; P/C ratio and VIX on short-term buy signals Strongest Sectors: Health care, information tech and financials The Federal Reserve Open Policy Committee meets next week. Best assumptions are that the Fed will point to improving economic conditions which will allow for the removal of the “considerable time” reference as to when the Fed’s first rate hike could occur. We continue to believe that the Fed will maintain the zero-percent interest rate policy in 2015. Inflation is a global phenomenon. Europe and Japan continue to experience strong deflationary pressures. The Producer Price Index for final demand fell 0.2% in November, the third decline in the past four months. This indicates that the stronger U.S. dollar and falling energy prices are applying downward pressures on consumer price inflation. Considering that real wages have not improved in more than six years, the Fed is unlikely to move away from current monetary policy until such time that wage growth approaches 4.0% (currently at 2.0%). Absent of rapidly rising wages, a dovish Janet Yellen is very unlikely to increase interest rates in 2015. Sentiment Current Previous Indication 102% 94% Bullish 75% 71% Bullish 21.1 11.8 Bullish CBOE 10-Day Put/Call Ratio Below 80% is bearish; Above 95% is bullish CBOE 3-Day Equity Put/Call Ratio Below 53% is bearish; Above 64% is bullish ** 1 ranking = strongest sector – 10=ranking weakest sector VIX Volatility Index Below 14 is bearish; Above 19 is bullish American Association of Individual Investors Source:Twice Ned as Davis Research many bulls as bears is bearish; more bears than bulls is bullish Investors Intelligence (Advisory Services) 55% bulls and/or less than 16% bears is considered bearish National Assoc. of Active Investment Mgrs. (NAAIM) Below 30% is Above 80% is bearish Appendix – bullish; Important Disclosures and ** 1Davis = Strongest Sector 10=Trading Weakest Sector Composite Ned Research Daily Sentiment Chief Investment Strategist [email protected] 941-906-2830 45.0% 22.3% Bulls: Bears: 42.7% 25.9% Bearish Bulls: Bears: 51.5% 14.8 % Bulls: Bears: 53.3% 13.9 % Bearish 89% 87% Bearish Extreme Optimism Extreme Optimism Bearish Optimism Waning Excessive Optimism Neutral Analyst Certification Ned Davis Research Crowd Sentiment Poll Bruce Bittles Bulls: Bears: Weekly Market Notes RS Ranking RS Current Previous Trend Health Care 1 ** 1 Information Technology 2 ** 2 Financials 3 ** 3 Consumer Staples 4 ** 6 Utilities 5 ** 5 Consumer Discretionary 6 Industrials 7 Materials 8 8 Telecom Services 9 9 Energy 10 10 Sub‐Industry Detail Leaders: Laggards: Leaders: Laggards: Leaders: Laggards: Leaders: Laggards: Leaders: Laggards: Leaders: 7 Laggards: ** 4 Leaders: Laggards: Leaders: Laggards: Leaders: Laggards: Leaders: Laggards: Managed Health Care; Biotechnology Data Processing & Outsourced Services; Home Entertainment Software; Semiconductor Equipment; Semiconductors IT Consulting & Other Services Retail REITs; Real Estate Services Drug Retail; Food Retail Personal Products Independent Power Producers Home Furnishings; Household Appliances; Footwear; Distributors; General Merchandise Stores; Home Improvement Retail; Specialty Stores; Automotive Retail Leisure Products; Casinos & Gaming; Broadcasting; Internet Retail Human Resources & Employment Services; Airlines Construction & Engineering; Electrical Components & Equipment; Security & Alarm Services Commodity Chemicals; Diversified Metals & Mining; Gold Integrated Telecom Services Oil & Gas Drilling; Oil & Gas Equipment & Services; Integrated Oil & Gas; Oil & Gas Exploration & Production; Oil & Gas Refining, Marketing & Transportation; Coal & Consumable Fuels ** Denotes Current Relative Strength‐Based Overweight Sectors **1 = strongest sector -10 = weakest sector Real money growth slowing will keep Fed on hold Robert W. Baird & Co. Page 2 of 3 Weekly Market Notes This is not a complete analysis of every material fact regarding any company, industry or security. The opinions expressed here reflect our judgment at this date and are subject to change. The information has been obtained from sources we consider to be reliable, but we cannot guarantee the accuracy. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON COMPANIES MENTIONED HEREIN IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST The indices used in this report to measure and report performance of various sectors of the market are unmanaged and direct investment in indices is not available. Baird is exempt from the requirement to hold an Australian financial services license. Baird is regulated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, and various other self-regulatory organizations and those laws and regulations may differ from Australian laws. This report has been prepared in accordance with the laws and regulations governing United States broker-dealers and not Australian laws. Copyright 2014 Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated Other Disclosures UK disclosure requirements for the purpose of distributing this research into the UK and other countries for which Robert W Baird Limited holds an ISD passport. This report is for distribution into the United Kingdom only to persons who fall within Article 19 or Article 49(2) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (financial promotion) order 2001 being persons who are investment professionals and may not be distributed to private clients. Issued in the United Kingdom by Robert W. Baird Limited, which has an office at Finsbury Circus House, 15 Finsbury Circus, London EC2M 7EB, and is a company authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. For the purposes of the Financial Conduct Authority requirements, this investment research report is classified as objective. Robert W Baird Limited ("RWBL") is exempt from the requirement to hold an Australian financial services license. RWBL is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") under UK laws and those laws may differ from Australian laws. This document has been prepared in accordance with FCA requirements and not Australian laws. Robert W. Baird & Co. Page 3 of 3
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