Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Stocks Falling into Final Hour on Rising Long-Term Rates, Prolonged Mideast War Fears, Mideast Energy Infrastructure Damage Concerns, Restaurant/Metals & Mining Sector Weakness

Economic/Market Gauges:

  • North American Investment Grade CDS Index 58.8 +2.9%
  • BofA Private Credit Proxy Index 72.4 +.8% 
  • Bloomberg US Securitized MBS/ABS/CMBS Avg. OAS .24 -1.0 basis point
  • BofA Global Financial Stress Indicator .25 -4.0 basis points
  • European Financial Sector CDS Index 65.9 +1.2%
  • Emerging Market CDS Index 148.7 +2.5%
  • Israel Sovereign CDS 79.2 -2.5% 
  • Bloomberg Global Trade Policy Uncertainty Index .9 unch.
  • US Morning Consult Daily Consume Sentiment Index 90.0 -2.2 
  • Citi US Economic Surprise Index 27.8 -.3
  • Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index -9.0 +.2
  • Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 54.2 +.5 point
  • S&P 500 Current Quarter EPS Growth Rate YoY(5 of 500 reporting) +10.9% n/a
  • S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 327.19 +.32:  Growth Rate +17.8% +.1 percentage point, P/E 20.4 -.2
  • S&P 500 Current Year Estimated Profit Margin 14.81% unch.
  • NYSE FANG+ Current Quarter EPS Growth Rate YoY(0 of 10 reporting) n/a
  • NYSE FANG+ Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 527.19 +.47: Growth Rate +32.5% +.1 percentage point, P/E 27.9 -.1
  • Bloomberg US Financial Conditions Index .33 +6.0 basis points
  • US Yield Curve 50.75 basis points (2s/10s) -2.0 basis points 
  • Bloomberg Industrial Metal Index 167.3 -1.6%
  • Dutch TTF Nat Gas(European benchmark) 54.7 euros/megawatt-hour +6.0% 
  • US Recession Within 6 Months Probability(3M/18M Forward Yld Curve Spread) 23.2% -1.5 percentage points
  • US Atlanta Fed GDPNow Q1 Forecast +2.7% unch.
  • US 10-Year T-Note Yield 4.25% +5.0 basis points
  • 1-Year TIPS Spread 5.06 +10.0 basis points
  • Highest target rate probability for April 29th FOMC meeting: 96.9% (-1.0 percentage point) chance of 3.5%-3.75%. Highest target rate probability for June 17th meeting: 84.4%(+4.9 percentage points) chance of 3.5%-3.75%. (current target rate is 3.5-3.75%)
Overseas Futures:
  • Nikkei 225 Futures: Indicating +525 open in Japan 
  • China A50 Futures: Indicating +37 open in China
  • DAX Futures: Indicating -30 open in Germany
Portfolio:
  • Slightly Higher: On gains in my tech sector longs, index hedges and emerging market shorts
  • Disclosed Trades: Added to my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges
  • Market Exposure: Moved to 25% Net Long

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