Thursday, May 21, 2026

Stocks Reversing Higher into Final Hour on Mideast War Resolution Hopes, Earnings Outlook Optimism, Short-Covering, Alt Energy/Tech Sector Strength

Economic/Market Gauges:

  • North American Investment Grade CDS Index 53.1 -.3%
  • BofA Private Credit Proxy Index 71.7 -.2% 
  • Bloomberg US Securitized MBS/ABS/CMBS Avg. OAS .28 -4.0 basis points
  • BofA Global Financial Stress Indicator -.14 -2.0 basis points
  • European Financial Sector CDS Index 59.0 unch.
  • Emerging Market CDS Index 159.3 unch.
  • Israel Sovereign CDS 60.3 -2.6% 
  • Bloomberg Global Trade Policy Uncertainty Index .6 -.1
  • US Morning Consult Daily Consume Sentiment Index 87.1 -1.8
  • Citi US Economic Surprise Index 48.0 +.4
  • Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index -82.4 -29.7
  • Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 34.4 -.8
  • S&P 500 Current Quarter EPS Growth Rate YoY(467 of 500 reporting) +27.5% +2.6 percentage points
  • S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 356.43 +.43:  Growth Rate +21.5% -7.0 percentage points, P/E 20.8 -.1
  • S&P 500 Current Year Estimated Profit Margin 15.40% +1.0 basis point
  • NYSE FANG+ Current Quarter EPS Growth Rate YoY(9 of 10 reporting) +67.2% +5.1 percentage points
  • NYSE FANG+ Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 870.01 +.95: Growth Rate +119.7% +.2 percentage point, P/E 19.8 +.1 
  • Bloomberg US Financial Conditions Index .99 -1.0 basis point
  • US Yield Curve 49.0 basis points (2s/10s) -4.0 basis points
  • Bloomberg Industrial Metal Index 183.6 -.3%
  • Dutch TTF Nat Gas(European benchmark) 47.8 euros/megawatt-hour -3.3%
  • US Recession Within 6 Months Probability(3M/18M Forward Yld Curve Spread) 11.4% +.2 percentage point
  • US Atlanta Fed GDPNow Q2 Forecast +4.3% +30.0 basis points
  • US 10-Year T-Note Yield 4.57% -1.0 basis point
  • 1-Year TIPS Spread 2.86 -5.0 basis points
  • Highest target rate probability for July 29th FOMC meeting: 84.8% (-2.4 percentage points) chance of 3.5%-3.75%. Highest target rate probability for Sept. 16th meeting: 63.9%(-10.6 percentage points) chance of 3.5%-3.75%. (current target rate is 3.5-3.75%)
Overseas Futures:
  • Nikkei 225 Futures: Indicating +500 open in Japan 
  • China A50 Futures: Indicating +55 open in China
  • DAX Futures: Indicating +290 open in Germany
Portfolio:
  • Higher: On gains in my biotech/consumer discretionary/industrial/tech sector longs
  • Disclosed Trades: Covered some of my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges
  • Market Exposure: Moved to 100% Net Long

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