Market Signals for the US stock market S and P 500 Index and Indian Stock Market Nifty Index for the Week beginning February 24

 

Asset Class	Weekly Level / Change	Implication for S & P 500	Implication for Nifty*
S & P 500	6013, -1.66%	Bearish	Bearish
Nifty	22796, -0.58%	Neutral **	Bearish
China Shanghai Index	3379, 0.97%	Bullish	Bullish
Gold	2953, 1.81%	Bullish	Bullish
WTIC Crude	70.22, -0.69%	Bearish	Bearish
Copper	4.62, -1.05%	Bearish	Bearish
CRB Index	311, -0.28%	Neutral	Neutral
Baltic Dry Index	981, 23.86%	Bullish	Bullish
Euro	1.0458, -0.31%	Neutral	Neutral
Dollar/Yen	149.29, -2.00%	Bearish	Bearish
Dow Transports	16034, -3.45%	Bearish	Neutral
Corporate Bonds (ETF)	108.25, 0.24%	Neutral	Neutral
High Yield Bonds (ETF)	96.63, -0.05%	Neutral	Neutral
US 10-year Bond Yield	4.43%, -1.05%	Bullish	Bullish
NYSE Summation Index	241, 2.66%	Bullish	Neutral
US Vix	18.21, 23.29%	Bearish	Neutral
S & P 500 Skew	165	Bearish	Neutral
CNN Fear & Greed Index	Fear	Bullish	Neutral
Nifty MMI Index	Fear	Neutral	Bullish
20 DMA, S & P 500	6068, Below	Bearish	Neutral
50 DMA, S & P 500	6010, Above	Bullish	Neutral
200 DMA, S & P 500	5702, Above	Bullish	Neutral
20 DMA, Nifty	23184, Below	Neutral	Bearish
50 DMA, Nifty	23465, Below	Neutral	Bearish
200 DMA, Nifty	24049, Below	Neutral	Bearish
S & P 500 P/E	30.09	Bearish	Neutral
Nifty P/E	20.26	Neutral	Bearish
India Vix	14.53, -3.23%	Neutral	Bullish
Dollar/Rupee	86.57, -0.06%	Neutral	Neutral
Overall	S & P 500	Nifty
Bullish Indications	8	6
Bearish Indications	9	9
Outlook	Bearish	Bearish
Observation	The S&P and the Nifty were down last week. Indicators are bearish for the week. Markets are topping. Watch those stops.
On the Horizon	US – GDP, Eurozone – CPI, German GDP
*Nifty	India’s Benchmark Stock Market Index
Raw Data	Data courtesy stockcharts.com, investing.com, multpl.com, nseindia.com, tickertape.in
**Neutral	Changes less than 0.5% are considered neutral

 

The S&P and the Nifty were down last week. Indicators are bearish for the week. Markets are topping. We are transitioning from an inflationary regime to a deflationary one. The sentiment is fearful, and risk-reward is poor at these levels as divergences develop. Carry trade liquidation may resume in short order, and the S & P is due for a trip to the 200 DMA near 5700. Markets have bounced from oversold levels, and rallies may terminate soon on the S & P. The Nifty has corrected significantly from recent highs and will likely underperform.

The past week saw US equity markets fall. Most emerging markets rose as interest rates fell. Transports fell. The Baltic dry index rose sharply. The dollar was unchanged. Commodities were flat. Valuations are expensive, market breadth has risen, and the sentiment is fearful. Fear (S&P 500) was back in vogue.

After this rally, a currency crisis should resume and push risky assets to new lows. Despite the recent inflationary spike, deflation is in the air, and bonds are telegraphing just that. It feels like a 2008-style recession trade has begun, with a potential for a decline in risk assets across the board. The current market is tracking closely the 2000 moves down in the S&P 500, implying a panic low right ahead in the upcoming months (My views do not matter; kindly pay attention to the levels). A dollar rally is a likely catalyst.

The S&P 500 is correcting from recent highs. We have bounced from recent lows without capitulation. This suggests the lows may not be in, and the regime has changed from buying the dip to selling the rip. We may get a final flush down soon. Risky assets should continue breaking to the downside as earnings growth peaks. The Fed has aggressively tightened into a recession. Deflationary busts often begin after major inflationary scares. The Dollar, commodities, and bond yields are flashing significant warning signs.

Global yield curves have steepened after inverting significantly, reflecting a significant economic slowdown. The recent steepening of the yield curve, within an inverted context, with rates falling, is a precursor to the next recession, and the riskiest assets will underperform going forward under such conditions. 

The critical levels to watch for the week are 6025 (up) and 6000 (down) on the S&P 500 and 22900 (up) and 22700 (down) on the Nifty. A significant breach of the above levels could trigger the next big move in the above markets.  High beta / P/E will get torched again and likely be a sell on every rise. Gold increasingly looks like the asset class to own over the next decade. Gold exploded almost eight times higher over the decade following the dot-com bust in 2000. Imagine what would happen as this AI bubble bursts. You can check out last week’s report for a comparison. I love your thoughts and feedback.