Monday, December 29, 2025

Stocks Modestly Lower into Afternoon on Geopolitical Tensions, Metals Plunge, Profit-Taking, Alt Energy/Metals & Mining Sector Weakness

Economic/Market Gauges:

  • North American Investment Grade CDS Index 50.5 +.6%
  • Bloomberg US Securitized MBS/ABS/CMBS Avg. OAS .24 +1.0 basis point
  • BofA Global Financial Stress Indicator -.30 unch.
  • European Financial Sector CDS Index 54.6 +.1%
  • Emerging Market CDS Index 124.7 +.6%
  • Bloomberg Global Trade Policy Uncertainty Index 1.9 unch. 
  • Citi US Economic Surprise Index 7.3 +2.0 points
  • Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index 32.5 -.2 point
  • Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 32.4 +3.5 points 
  • S&P 500 Current Quarter EPS Growth Rate YoY(16 of 500 reporting) +32.8% unch.
  • S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 310.16 +.30:  Growth Rate +15.2% +.1 percentage point, P/E 22.2 -.2
  • S&P 500 Current Year Estimated Profit Margin 13.52% unch.
  • NYSE FANG+ Current Quarter EPS Growth Rate YoY(0 of 10 reporting) +n/a +n/a
  • NYSE FANG+ Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 484.26 +.78: Growth Rate +17.9% +.2 percentage point, P/E 32.9 -.4
  • Bloomberg US Financial Conditions Index .81 -1.0 basis point
  • US Yield Curve 65.0 basis points (2s/10s) +.25 basis point 
  • Bloomberg Industrial Metal Index 160.0 -2.0% 
  • US Recession Within 6 Months Probability(3M/18M Forward Yld Curve Spread) 28.7% +.3 percentage point
  • US Atlanta Fed GDPNow Q4 Forecast +3.0% unch. 
  • US 10-Year T-Note Yield 4.11% -2.0 basis points
  • 1-Year TIPS Spread 2.33 +4.0 basis points 
  • Highest target rate probability for March 18th FOMC meeting: 47.7% (+1.0 percentage point) chance of 3.5%-3.75%. Highest target rate probability for April 29th meeting: 45.9%(unch.) chance of 3.25%-3.5%. (current target rate is 3.5-3.75%)
Overseas Futures:
  • Nikkei 225 Futures: Indicating -115 open in Japan 
  • China A50 Futures: Indicating -46 open in China
  • DAX Futures: Indicating +180 open in Germany
Portfolio:
  • Slightly Lower: On losses in my tech/consumer discretionary/financial sector longs
  • Disclosed Trades: Added to my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges
  • Market Exposure: Moved to 75% Net Long

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