Will 2021 Prompt A Big Rotation In Sector Trends?

An interesting question was brought to my research team recently related to sector trends in 2021 and what may shift over the next 10 to 12+ months. We took the effort to consider this question and to consider where trends may change over time.

The one thing my research team and I kept returning to is “how will the global economy function after COVID and how much will we return to normalcy over the next 12 to 24+ months?”

We believe this key question will potentially drive sector trends and expectations in the future.

When COVID-19 hit the globe, in early 2020, a forced transition of working from home and general panic took hold of the general public. Those individuals that were able to continue earning while making this transition moved into a “protectionist mode” of stocking, securing, preparing for, and isolating away from risks. This shift in our economy set up a trend where certain sectors would see benefits of this trend where others would see their economies destroyed. For example, commercial real estate is one sector that has continued to experience extreme downside expectations while technology and Healthcare experienced greater upside expectations.

Longer-Term Sector Trends– What's Next?

When we look at a broad, longer-term, perspective of market sectors, we can see how many sectors have rallied, some are relatively flat, and others are still moderately weak compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. The top row of these charts, the $SPX (S&P500), XLY (Discretionary), XLC (Comm Services), and XLK (Technology) sectors have all shown tremendous rallies after the COVID-19 lows in March 2020. We can also see that XLI (Industrials), XLB (Materials), and XLV (Healthcare) have all started to move higher recently. Continue reading "Will 2021 Prompt A Big Rotation In Sector Trends?"

U.S. Crude Production Rebounds In November

The Energy Information Administration reported that November crude oil production rose by 692,000 barrels per day, averaging 11.124 mmbd, its highest since March. This follows a 438,000 b/d drop in October and a 2 million barrel per day collapse in May. The November 914 figure compares to the EIA’s weekly estimates (interpolated) of 10.910 mmbd, a figure that was 214,000 b/d lower.

Crude

The primary cause of the rebound in production was the return of output in the U.S. Gulf Coast. USG production rose by 645,000 b/d from November, and Oklahoma output rose by 29,000 b/d, while New Mexico rose by 19,000 b/d. Continue reading "U.S. Crude Production Rebounds In November"

Options: Positive Returns Despite Negative Market Returns

Another positive month for the options-based portfolio despite another negative month for the markets. A positive $3,372 in income was generated for January 2021. Generating consistent monthly income while defining risk, leveraging a minimal amount of capital, and maximizing return on capital is the core of options trading. Options enable smooth and consistent portfolio appreciation without guessing which way the market will move and allow one to generate consistent monthly income in a high probability manner in both bear and bull market scenarios. Over the past 9-plus months (May 2020 – January 2021), 203 trades were placed and closed. A win rate of 98% was achieved with an average ROI per winning trade of 7.8% and an overall option premium capture of 83% while outperforming the S&P 500. The performance of an options-based portfolio demonstrates the durability and resiliency of options trading to drive portfolio results with substantially less risk. The options-based approach circumvented the September, October, and January sell-offs while outperforming the S&P 500, posting returns of 47.6% and 43.7%, respectively (Figures 1, 2, and 3).

Options
Figure 1 – Overall options-based performance compared to the S&P 500 from May 2020 – January 31st, 2021
Continue reading "Options: Positive Returns Despite Negative Market Returns"

Can You Imagine Bitcoin At $103,000?

Some investors believe that the price of Bitcoin could hit $100k. In this post, I'll share some measurements I made in the bitcoin chart to see if there is some evidence for such strong optimism.

There is a logarithmic (log) monthly chart of bitcoin below. I chose the log scale to show you the coin's relative performance. It will reveal the different angle of view on the price dynamics for you.

Monthly Bitcoin Chart

We can highlight two completed large moves to the upside marked with numbers accordingly. On the right side of each move, there are light blue statistics windows showing how much, how long, and how sharp the move was. Continue reading "Can You Imagine Bitcoin At $103,000?"

Treasury Yields Suggest A Top Is Near

Historically, whenever the Treasury Yields fall below zero, then recover back above zero, the US/Global markets reach some peak in price levels within 3 to 8+ months. My research team and I believe the actions of the global markets may be setting up for a future peak in price levels sometime in the next 6 months. We believe this will start when the Treasury Yields cross above the “Breakdown Threshold”.

Expect a continued rally as long as yields stay below certain levels.

In 1998, a very brief drop below zero in yields prompted a minor pullback in the markets before the bigger top setup in 2000. This pullback in price aligned with what we are calling the “Breakdown Threshold” level on Yields near 1.20. After the Yields crossed this Threshold, briefly, in 1999, they fell back below this level and the US stock market continued to rally toward an ultimate peak in 2000.

In late 2000, Yields collapsed well below the zero levels and recovered back above zero in early 2001. Just 3+ months later, Yields had rallied above the Breakdown Threshold level (1.2) and the US stock markets had already begun to breakdown as well. This instance, the 2000-01 peak, took place after an Appreciation cycle phase prompted an Excess Phase Rally (the DOT COM bubble). The “Rollover Top” that took place near this top may be similar to what we see happen in 2021 if our research is correct. Continue reading "Treasury Yields Suggest A Top Is Near"