Chartbook: March 14
Slides from this week’s internal trading call:
JPY
Hope Springs
Markets are staging a cautious recovery after a three-day bout of selling drove equity indices into the red and triggered some of the biggest daily interest rate declines on record. US regional bank stocks appear destined for a more constructive open, with yesterday’s indiscriminate selling giving way to a more nuanced pickup in well-capitalized names. Treasury yields are climbing off the floor, and the dollar is rising against most its major counterparts. But damage has been done. Rate expectations have been reset lower across the global economy, financial conditions have tightened sharply, and the episode has likely inflicted a psychological...
Radical Rate Repricing
• Bond yield plunge. Extreme moves in bonds with US yields falling sharply (2yr down another ~60bps) as the Fed rate outlook is radically repriced.• Weaker USD. The adjustment has weighed on the USD. AUD is higher, though it is little changed on the crosses, illustrating how USD-centric it has been.• US CPI. Markets may have moved too far when it comes to Fed expectations. US CPI released tonight, another strong result could generate more volatility. The turmoil stemming from the US regional banking issues has continued despite efforts from authorities to try and contain contagion and macroeconomic risks. In...
Contagion worries
• US bank woes. SVB developments are weighing on risk sentiment, with US yields falling sharply. The policymaker response is in focus.• Data flow. Another solid US labour report. US CPI and retail sales this week. If SVB is contained, fundamentals point to rate expectations snapping back.• AUD holding. AUD remains around ~$0.66. These are several US, global and Australia data points this week that should keep AUD volatility elevated. A bout of risk aversion is running through markets with the collapse of the US’ Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and its broader potential fallout, weighing on investors’ minds. The undoing...
Contagion
A broad selloff in the US banking sector has wiped out billions of dollars in market value and is lowering expectations for rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The rout began when a rate-related decline in the value of bond holdings, paired with a related drop in technology-sector deposits, forced SVB Financial Group—parent of Silicon Valley Bank—to raise capital through a share sale and sell roughly $21 billion in securities at a loss. Its shares are down more than 79 percent from yesterday’s open, and the financial sector is receiving a pummelling across the board. Market-implied expectations for the Fed...