Stocks Move Inversely With Oil in One-Variable Market
One-variable markets overwhelm classic market timing metrics like sentiment, technicals and valuation which are more useful in “normal” times. A composite of oil and rates (oil is driving rates too) tells you all you need to know about the direction of stocks. E.g., If oil continues to rise, oversold indicators will be overwhelmed. This is the 4th one-variable market period since 2022 (inflation, rates, tariffs). Oil is in the drivers seat today. While it’s a very complex backdrop, the market outlook has ironically become more simplified. Stocks = [-Oil].
Underweight High Short‑Interest Stocks Generates Consistent Alpha
Short squeezes make headlines. But systematically underweighting stocks with elevated short interest (in a sector-neutral portfolio) continues to generate alpha. Notably, only ~4% of stocks across Wall Street carry a SELL rating. https://t.co/MI1AzbmeRF
Oil Shocks Lift Risk Premiums, Weaken Markets, Curb Inflation
Risk premium rising across equities and credit while intraday correlation between oil and equities around -80%. Oil shocks push the tide out and expose underlying weak links. The peak in oil in June 2022 explained the first low in markets...
Value Stocks Outperform Even in AI-Driven Market
Value investing is alive and well. The indices (S&P & Russell) have cap, sector and factor-selection biases that mask the performance of classic investment strategies. Buying a cross-sectional (sector-neutral basket) of cheap stocks has outperformed over time, and even during...
Oil Prices Dictate Yields and SPX Until $
Oil = 10yr = -SPX 1 variable market continued for another week and will likely persist until oil drops back below ~$70 when the Strait is back in business. https://t.co/349BroE6sP
Manufacturing PMIs Validate EPS Breadth as Cycle Beta
This makes sense - manufacturing PMIs corroborate EPS breadth as it’s the beta of the business cycle. Thanks for bringing back the 📙! https://t.co/SrEetSesnP
Crude Spike Turns Market Binary, Leaders React Predictably
In this episode, we discuss how the recent spike in crude has created a “one-variable market,” where leadership becomes highly binary. We also discuss how leadership typically behaves during and after an exogenous shock. https://t.co/bvqWT3unbt
Weight, Not Stock Choice, Drives Performance Differences
The problem isn’t the stocks, it’s their weight. These two lines contain the same exact stocks. #Mag7Diet $RSP $SPY https://t.co/OXqmQXkEkc
Oil Levels Dictate Market Peaks During Exogenous Shocks
Updated chart of our 1-variable stock market. This is how markets behave during exogenous shocks - stocks need oil to peak. Aftermath eco forecasts rarely matter. Same thing happened last year, but with trade uncertainty. Need something to the...
PMI Rebound Offers Limited Boost for Crypto Speculation
ISM vs Bitcoin relationship is more correlation than causation. The difference today compared to past cycles is credit spreads were wide to start the PMI rebound, due to prior growth scares that led to risk off environments. Since 2022, spreads...
Broad Market Breadth Improves, Favoring Value and Cyclicals
Second strong ISM NO print in a row. I'm not bullish, I'm BROADish. We see macro and micro breadth improving into 2027. Benefits to value, cyclicals, active management. https://t.co/geofWJYULy
Macro Cycle Shift Triggers Broad Market Re‑rating After AI Boom
Maybe, just maybe, there is a cyclical component to the past 5 months of underperformance in the largest names and momentum factors. A turn in the macro cycle usually leads to a turn in market leadership. We went 3 years...
Oil Spike Threatens Stocks Like 1990s Gulf War
A sharp oil spike to those levels would likely result in a one-variable stock market like we initially saw during the 1990’s Persian Gulf War. Stocks under pressure until oil prices come back down. https://t.co/8DQZhDYXqo
Tight Index Range Masks Historic Market Dispersion
In this episode, we sit down with Piper’s Head of Options Strategy, Danny Kirsch to unpack one of the most unusual market environments in decades. The index has traded in a tight range, yet beneath that stability we’re seeing historic...
New Global PMI Upswing Expected Through 2027
It’s been a while since I’ve seen so much focus on the ISM. Our work has over 15 individual series that lead this data (regressions don’t work well out of sample), between 6 and 18 months and another dozen that...
Broader Market Defies Mega‑Cap AI Volatility Narrative
In this episode, Michael and Stephen break down one of the most confusing market environments in years. While volatility in mega-cap software and AI names has grabbed headlines, the broader market is quietly telling a very different story. https://t.co/uhRhg9iiil
2026 Poised as Decade’s Best Year for Active Management
2026 could be the best year for active management in decades. The combination of a heavily concentrated index alongside a period of cyclical broadening provides for a backdrop of most stocks beating the benchmark.
Investors Shift to Staples Amid Mag‑7 CAP‑Ex Weakness
In my weekly markets video for clients, I highlighted how investors have gone from “7 to Staples”. Usually, growing macro risks lead to Staples leadership. This time macro isn’t the issue, but it could be due to Mag 7’s idiosyncratic...
Long‑duration Assets Like Bitcoin, Growth Stocks Lose Favor
Bitcoin's drop has coincided with a decline in the Russell 1000's Pure Growth P/E. What do they have in common? Both are long-duration, and are being shunned during the underlying rotation into shorter-duration (cyclical) securities (think value, dividend payers, Energy...
EW Tech Beats S&P 500 Amid Ongoing Rotation
Despite the YTD losses in the Tech sector, the EW Tech sector (the avg Tech stock) is outperforming the S&P 500 this year. Plenty of Tech names to own that remain in an uptrend as a market rotation continues to...
Institutional Sentiment Swings Rapidly Amid AI Disruption Fears
This week’s episode explores a dramatic shift in sentiment that unfolded in just a few days. Emily and Michael are joined by Jay Glickson (Macro Sales) to discuss what institutional investors are saying, how AI disruption fears are shaping their...
Value Tilt Gains as Momentum Spread Widens 16%
Classic monotonic pattern. When you see this pattern you know with a higher degree of certainty that it is one of THE drivers of how investors are positioning their portfolios. We’ve been recommending a value tilt since last fall, as...
Broadening Value and Cyclical Rotation Driven by Fundamentals
We now have the longest and strongest breadth rotation in recent years. Notably, it’s the only rotation that has been propelled by broader macro and micro fundamentals rather than lower rates. We first recommended a broadening trade of value and...