US stocks rallied overnight with the S&P500 finishing up +0.8%, even as bond yields nudged ever higher i.e. the market is gaining strength in our opinion when the S&P500 can make reasonable gains even when the US 2-year yields test 4.95%. Equities appeared to gain in confidence following comments from Atlanta Fed member Raphael Bostic that the central bank could be in a position to pause rate hikes sometime this summer although yields remained strong so his influence was certainly only marginal – sentiment clearly turned after he spoke with the NASDAQ rallying +0.9% after being down before his ray of hope was released!
- We believe tech stocks are holding up well with the longer-dated US 10’s trading above 4% but it’s a huge ask for them to rally while bonds remain weak (yields strong).
Strong economic data is continuing to weigh on bond prices (yields higher) but longer-dated yields remain well below levels reached last October due to looming future recession worries.
- We don’t believe US longer-dated yields will break clear of 4% as fear of a recession looms into 2024 – they’re ignoring us at present!