The Federal Reserve initiated “QE Taper” this week, monthly purchases will drop from $85B to $75B
Equities finished the week higher as did US Treasuries and Investment Grade Bonds
Credit Spreads, including Mortgage Backed Securities, remain at historically tight levels
Volatility and Financial Market Stress dropped after the FOMC announcement
Gold, Silver, and Emerging Market currencies sold off as the US Dollar strengthened into week’s end
Q3 US GDP was revised to 4.1% up from a 3.6% first read
Industrial Production and Leading Indicators beat expectations, while Jobless Claims , CPI, and Housing Starts missed
UST 30 year yield dropped to close the week, finishing at 3.82%, down from 3.90%
UST 10 year yield remains below Sept highs and closed the week at 2.89%
Emerging Market Bond Spreads have narrowed 35bps this month
The S&P 500 (+27.5%) is on pace for its best year since 1997
S&P 500 and MSCI EM 12M forward earnings growth is forecasted to be around 9%, compared to 36% for the MSCI EAFE
The US Dollar has broken out to new 12 month highs versus the Japanese Yen
The Euro remains below resistance and at the higher end of its 12 month range
Commodities are attempting to breakout of a 2 year downtrend
Gold sold off this week, closing at 1203/oz. and is testing 3 year lows established in June
Best Regards,
James
disclosure: The opinions expressed in this Weekly Chart Book report are those of the author. The materials and commentary are strictly informational and should be used for research use only. This bulletin is not intended to provide investing or other advice or guidance with respect to the matters addressed in the bulletin. All relevant facts, including individual circumstances, need to be considered by the reader to arrive at investment conclusions that comply with matters addressed in this bulletin. Charts and information used in this report are sourced from Bloomberg.