by Connor Darrell CFA, Assistant Vice President – Head of Investments
Four days of stable market gains were erased on Friday as renewed concerns over the trajectory of global economic growth weighed on interest rates and equities. Early in the week, the primary focus of investors was on the Federal Reserve, which opted to hold interest rates steady following its second policy meeting of 2019. During his post-meeting press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell highlighted recent moderation in U.S. consumer and business spending and cited a more meaningful slowdown in Europe. A summary of individual policymakers’ projections for the future of interest rates revealed a pronounced dovish shift in future policy expectations, and markets reacted positively. Eventually however, news on Friday morning that activity in the German manufacturing sector had fallen to a six-year low seemed to spark a broad market selloff that knocked stocks off of their five-month highs.

Watching the Yield Curve
Last week, the Federal Reserve signaled that it may leave interest rates unchanged throughout the remainder of 2019, and the news pushed bond yields to their lowest levels in over a year. Market prices now fully reflect the assumption that the Federal Reserve is finished with its tightening cycle and even suggest about a 30% chance of a rate cut in 2019.  The massive shift in expectations over the past few months has led to a more pronounced inversion of the yield curve, where the yield on a 10-year treasury has now dropped below the yield on a 3-month bill. We still believe that the probability of a U.S. recession in the near term remains quite low (though it is slightly higher than it was just a few months ago). Further, we caution investors against reading too much into the shape of the yield curve or using it as a trading signal. While the yield curve has historically been a relatively reliable indicator of future economic conditions and should still be monitored closely, we believe a broader view is warranted in the current environment. Monetary policy has played such a massive role in driving interest rates over the course of this economic cycle, that it may have clouded the signaling power of traditional indicators like the yield curve. As the Fed begins to moderate its approach to monetary tightening, perhaps some clarity will be restored. But in the meantime, we believe investors would be best served by sticking to long-term asset allocation targets and utilizing the market’s strong start to 2019 as an opportunity to rebalance back to those targets.

by Connor Darrell CFA, Assistant Vice President – Head of Investments
Equities posted healthy gains for the week despite a mixed bag of economic data and tempering expectations for Q1 2019 earnings growth. Market optimism seemed to be bolstered by reports from Chinese media outlets of progress in the U.S./China trade negotiations, as well as an easing of concerns over Brexit negotiations.

On the economic front, the housing and manufacturing sectors produced results that fell below consensus estimates, continuing a recent pattern of weakness. New home sales dropped by almost 7% in January despite the recent decline in mortgage rates easing affordability. Some of the weakness can likely be attributed to the government shutdown and poor Q4 equity market performance which may have eroded the confidence of potential buyers. On the positive side, January retail sales bounced back after a poor December reading and a preliminary gauge of consumer sentiment came in higher than expected. The mixed signals from economic data are typical of a late cycle environment.

Earnings and Prices Have Diverged
Equity investors have had a difficult time over the past 15 months. 2018 was characterized by very strong earnings growth and a healthy economy, yet the stock market performed poorly. This led to P/E multiples (where “P” refers to the price of stocks and “E” refers to corporate earnings) contracting as prices declined and earnings rose. Thus far in 2019, the opposite has been the case. The expectations for corporate earnings growth have deteriorated as global economic growth has subsided, yet stock prices have pushed higher amid a shift in rhetoric from the Federal Reserve and an evaporation of pessimism following December’s market bottom.

Over the long-term, earnings growth is a key input to determining the trajectory of the stock market, but throughout 2018 and 2019, the two have diverged. In order to justify continued multiple expansion, markets will likely require the support of some positive developments on geopolitical issues which have been a major source of uncertainty not only for investors, but also for business leaders. With last week’s news that British lawmakers voted against leaving the European Union without a deal in place, some of that uncertainty was lifted.  But the darkest cloud remains the ongoing trade saga between the United States and China. An eventual agreement that materially addresses the key concerns of U.S. negotiators and business leaders (who have had a difficult time making long-term investment decisions as a result of the uncertainty) could be the catalyst needed to move the ceiling for equities higher.