Wednesday, March 04, 2026

Stocks Rising into Final Hour on US Economic/Earnings Outlook Optimism, Diminished Credit Angst, Crypto Bounce, Tech/Biotech Sector Strength

Economic/Market Gauges:

  • North American Investment Grade CDS Index 53.9 -3.3%
  • BofA Private Credit Proxy Index 74.6 +.7% 
  • Bloomberg US Securitized MBS/ABS/CMBS Avg. OAS .25 +1.0 basis point
  • BofA Global Financial Stress Indicator .15 +10.0 basis points
  • European Financial Sector CDS Index 59.4 -3.7%
  • Emerging Market CDS Index 134.0 -3.1%
  • Israel Sovereign CDS 82.8 -7.5% 
  • Bloomberg Global Trade Policy Uncertainty Index 1.7 -.5
  • Citi US Economic Surprise Index 39.0 +4.5 points
  • Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index 26.3 -.3 point
  • Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 38.0 +8.2 points
  • S&P 500 Current Quarter EPS Growth Rate YoY(488 of 500 reporting) +13.1% +n/a percentage points
  • S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 322.61 +n/a:  Growth Rate +16.2% +n/a percentage points, P/E 21.3 -n/a
  • S&P 500 Current Year Estimated Profit Margin 14.75% unch.
  • NYSE FANG+ Current Quarter EPS Growth Rate YoY(9 of 10 reporting) +28.0% unch.
  • NYSE FANG+ Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 514.27 +n/a: Growth Rate +29.3% +n/a, P/E 28.9 +n/a
  • Bloomberg US Financial Conditions Index .34 -13.0 basis points
  • US Yield Curve 57.0 basis points (2s/10s) -1.0 basis point 
  • Bloomberg Industrial Metal Index 172.1 +1.9% 
  • US Recession Within 6 Months Probability(3M/18M Forward Yld Curve Spread) 29.8% -.6 percentage point
  • US Atlanta Fed GDPNow Q1 Forecast +3.0% unch.
  • US 10-Year T-Note Yield 4.09% +3.0 basis points
  • 1-Year TIPS Spread 4.05 +1.0 basis point
  • Highest target rate probability for April 29th FOMC meeting: 87.3% (+2.9 percentage points) chance of 3.5%-3.75%. Highest target rate probability for June 17th meeting: 66.2%(+10.4 percentage points) chance of 3.5%-3.75%. (current target rate is 3.5-3.75%)
Overseas Futures:
  • Nikkei 225 Futures: Indicating +2,400 open in Japan 
  • China A50 Futures: Indicating +37 open in China
  • DAX Futures: Indicating +80 open in Germany
Portfolio:
  • Slightly Higher: On gains in my transport/biotech/tech/industrial/consumer discretionary sector longs
  • Disclosed Trades: Covered some of my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges
  • Market Exposure: Moved to 50% Net Long

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