About

Ahead of the Curve provides analysis and insight into today's global financial markets. The latest news and views from global stock, bond, commodity, and FOREX markets are discussed. Rajveer Rawlin is a PhD and received his MBA in finance from the Cardiff Metropolitan University, Wales, UK. He is an avid market watcher, having followed capital markets in the US and India since 1993. His research interests include capital markets, banking, investment analysis, and portfolio management, and he has over 20 years of experience in the above areas, covering the US and Indian markets. He has several publications in the above areas. He currently teaches business and management students at CHRIST University. The views expressed here are his own and should not be construed as advice to buy or sell securities.

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Time Series Analysis with GRETL

This video shows key time-series analyses techniques such as ARIMA, Granger Causality, Co-integration, and VECM performed via GRETL. Key dia...

Tuesday, 20 February 2024

Market Signals for the US stock market S and P 500 Index and Indian Stock Market Nifty Index for the Week beginning February 19

 

Asset Class

Weekly Level / Change

Implication for S & P 500

Implication for Nifty*

S & P 500

5006, -0.42%

Neutral

Neutral

Nifty

22041, 1.19%

Neutral **

Bullish

China Shanghai Index

2866, 0.00%

Neutral

Neutral

Gold

2026, -0.65%

Bearish

Bearish

WTIC Crude

79.22, 3.10%

Bullish

Bullish

Copper

3.82, 3.82%

Bullish

Bullish

CRB Index

273, -0.64%

Bearish

Bearish

Baltic Dry Index

1610, 4.21%

Bullish

Bullish

Euro

1.0777, -0.05%

Neutral

Neutral

Dollar/Yen

150.18, 0. 59%

Bullish

Bullish

Dow Transports

15629, -3.62%

Bearish

Bearish

Corporate Bonds (ETF)

107.48, -0.63%

Bearish

Bearish

High Yield Bonds (ETF)

94.20, -0.58%

Bearish

Bearish

US 10-year Bond Yield

4.28%, 2.48%

Bearish

Bearish

NYSE Summation Index

653, 14%

Bullish

Neutral

US Vix

14.24, 10.13%

Bearish

Bearish

Skew

143

Bearish

Bearish

CNN Fear & Greed Index

Extreme Greed

Bearish

Bearish

20 DMA, S & P 500

4943, Above

Bullish

Neutral

50 DMA, S & P 500

4813, Above

Bullish

Neutral

200 DMA, S & P 500

4485, Above

Bullish

Neutral

20 DMA, Nifty

21698, Above

Neutral

Bullish

50 DMA, Nifty

21554, Above

Neutral

Bullish

200 DMA, Nifty

19850, Above

Neutral

Bullish

S & P 500 P/E

27.17

Bearish

Neutral

Nifty P/E

22.76

Neutral

Bearish

India Vix

15.22, -1.46%

Neutral

Bullish

Dollar/Rupee

83.02, 0.02%

Neutral

Neutral

 

 

Overall

 

 

S & P 500

 

 

Nifty

 

Bullish Indications

8

9

Bearish Indications

10

10

 

Outlook

Bearish

Bearish

Observation

 

The S&P 500 fell, and the Nifty rose last week. Indicators are bearish for the week.

Markets are topping. Watch those stops.

On the Horizon

Eurozone – CPI, German GDP, US – FOMC minutes

*Nifty

 

India’s Benchmark Stock Market Index

Raw Data

Courtesy stockcharts.com, investing.com, multpl.com, NSE

**Neutral

Changes less than 0.5% are considered neutral

 


The S&P 500 fell and the Nifty rose last week. Indicators are bearish for the week. Markets are topping. We are transitioning from an inflationary regime to a deflationary collapse. The Nifty has started to correct and will likely underperform. We are way overbought short-term and are overdue a pullback here to as low as the 50 DMA, as we enter bearish seasonality.

The past week saw US equity markets fall. Most emerging markets rose, even as interest rates rose. Transports led down. The Baltic dry index rose. The dollar was unchanged. Commodities fell. Valuations continue to be quite expensive, market breadth rebounded, and the sentiment is now exuberant. Fear rose this week, as a possible reality check from an immediate FED Pivot loom.

After this rally, the recent currency crisis should resume and push risky assets to new lows across the board. Deflation is in the air despite the recent inflationary spike and bonds are telegraphing just that. 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 rebound from major support is a likely catalyst.

The S&P 500 is near its 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 across the board, as downward earnings revisions are underway.

The Fed has aggressively tightened into a recession. Deflationary busts often begin after major inflationary scares. The market has rebounded after correcting significantly, and more is left on the downside. The Dollar, commodities, and bond yields are continuing to flash major warning signs.

The epic correction signal occurred with retail, hedge funds, and speculators all in, in January 2022, suggesting a major top is in. The moment of reckoning is here. With extremely high valuations, a crash is on the menu. Low volatility suggests complacency and downside ahead.

Global yield curves have inverted significantly reflecting a major upcoming recessionThe 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 5020 (up) and 4995 (down) on the S&P 500 and 22150 (up) and 21950 (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 yet again and will likely prove to be a sell on every rise. Gold is increasingly looking like the asset class to own over the next decade. (Gold exploded almost 8 times higher over the decade following the dot-com bust in 2000, just imagine what would happen when this AI bubble bursts? following the recent crypto bubble burst) You can check out last week’s report for a comparison. Love your thoughts and feedback.

 

 

Monday, 12 February 2024

Market Signals for the US stock market S and P 500 Index and Indian Stock Market Nifty Index for the Week beginning February 12

 

Asset Class

Weekly Level / Change

Implication for S & P 500

Implication for Nifty*

S & P 500

5027, 1.37%

Bullish

Bullish

Nifty

21783, -0.33%

Neutral **

Neutral

China Shanghai Index

2866, 4.97%

Bullish

Bullish

Gold

2039, -0.73%

Bearish

Bearish

WTIC Crude

76.60, 5.98%

Bullish

Bullish

Copper

3.69, -3.55%

Bearish

Bearish

CRB Index

274, 2.47%

Bullish

Bullish

Baltic Dry Index

1545, 9.81%

Bullish

Bullish

Euro

1.0785, 0.01%

Neutral

Neutral

Dollar/Yen

149.29, 0. 62%

Bullish

Bullish

Dow Transports

16216, 2.63%

Bullish

Bullish

Corporate Bonds (ETF)

108.17, -1.32%

Bearish

Bearish

High Yield Bonds (ETF)

94.76, 0.33%

Neutral

Neutral

US 10-year Bond Yield

4.18%, 3.81%

Bearish

Bearish

NYSE Summation Index

575, -13%

Bearish

Neutral

US Vix

12.93, -6.64%

Bullish

Bullish

Skew

157

Bearish

Bearish

CNN Fear & Greed Index

Extreme Greed

Bearish

Bearish

20 DMA, S & P 500

4888, Above

Bullish

Neutral

50 DMA, S & P 500

4770, Above

Bullish

Neutral

200 DMA, S & P 500

4463, Above

Bullish

Neutral

20 DMA, Nifty

21702, Above

Neutral

Bullish

50 DMA, Nifty

21411, Above

Neutral

Bullish

200 DMA, Nifty

19748, Above

Neutral

Bullish

S & P 500 P/E

27.28

Bearish

Neutral

Nifty P/E

22.51

Neutral

Bearish

India Vix

15.45, 5.10%

Neutral

Bearish

Dollar/Rupee

83.01, 0.02%

Neutral

Neutral

 

 

Overall

 

 

S & P 500

 

 

Nifty

 

Bullish Indications

11

11

Bearish Indications

8

8

 

Outlook

Bullish

Bullish

Observation

 

The S&P 500 rose and the Nifty was little changed last week. Indicators are bullish for the week.

Markets are topping. Watch those stops.

On the Horizon

US – CPI, PPI,  UK – CPI, GDP, Japan – GDP

*Nifty

 India’s Benchmark Stock Market Index

Raw Data

Courtesy Stock charts, investing.com, multpl.com, NSE

**Neutral

Changes less than 0.5% are considered neutral

 


The S&P 500 rose and the Nifty was unchanged last week. Indicators are bullish for the week. Markets are topping. We are transitioning from an inflationary regime to a deflationary collapse. The Nifty has started to correct and will likely underperform. We are way overbought short-term and are overdue a pull back here to as low as the 50 DMA, as we enter bearish seasonality.

The past week saw US equity markets rise. Most emerging markets rose, even as interest rates rose. Transports led up. The Baltic dry index rose. The dollar was unchanged. Commodities rose. Valuations continue to be quite expensive, market breadth fell, and the sentiment is now exuberant. Fear reduced this week, as a possible reality check from a FED Pivot looms.

After this rally, the recent currency crisis should resume and push risky assets to new lows across the board. Deflation is in the air despite the recent inflationary spike and bonds are telegraphing just that. 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 rebound from major support is a likely catalyst.

The S&P 500 is near its 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 across the board, as downward earnings revisions are underway.

The Fed has aggressively tightened into a recession. Deflationary busts often begin after major inflationary scares. The market has rebounded after correcting significantly, and more is left on the downside. The Dollar, commodities, and bond yields are continuing to flash major warning signs.

The epic correction signal occurred with retail, hedge funds, and speculators all in, in January 2022, suggesting a major top is in. The moment of reckoning is here. With extremely high valuations, a crash is on the menu. Low volatility suggests complacency and downside ahead.

Global yield curves have inverted significantly reflecting a major upcoming recessionThe 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 5040 (up) and 5015 (down) on the S&P 500 and 21850 (up) and 21700 (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 yet again and will likely prove to be a sell on every rise. Gold is increasingly looking like the asset class to own over the next decade. (Gold exploded almost 8 times higher over the decade following the dot-com bust in 2000, just imagine what would happen when this AI bubble bursts? following the recent crypto bubble burst) You can check out last week’s report for a comparison. Love your thoughts and feedback.

 

 

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My Asset Allocation Strategy (Indian Market)

Cash - 40%
Bonds - 20%
Fixed deposit - 20%
Gold - 5%
Stocks - 10% ( Majority of this in dividend funds)
Other Asset Classes - 5%

My belief is that stocks are relatively overvalued compared to bonds and attractive buying opportunities can come along after 1-2 years. In a deflationary scenario no asset class does well other than U.S bonds, the U.S dollar and the Japanese yen, so better to be safe than sorry with high quality government bonds and fixed deposits. Cash is the king always. Of course this varies with the person's age.