NEW YORK: A shakeup in stocks accelerated by the past week’s surge in Treasury yields has investors weighing how far a recent leadership rotation in the US equity market can run, and its implications for the broader S&P 500 index.
Moves this week further spurred a shift that has seen months-long outperformance for energy, financial and other shares expected to benefit from an economic recovery, while a climb in Treasury yields weighed on the technology stocks that have led markets higher for years.
The two-track market left the benchmark S&P 500 down for the week, and sparked questions about whether it could sustain gains going forward if the tech and growth stocks that account for the biggest weights in the index struggle.
So far this year, the S&P 500, which gives more influence to stocks with larger market values, is up 1.5 percent, while a version of the index that weights stocks equally is up 5 percent.
“That just tells us the gains are less narrow, more companies are participating, and I think that’s healthy,” said James Ragan, director of wealth management research at D.A. Davidson.
The focus on market leadership comes as investors are weighing whether the S&P 500 is due for a significant pullback after a 70 percent run since March, with the rise in long-dormant yields the latest sign of trouble for equities as it means bonds are more serious investment competition. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note this week jumped to a one-year peak of 1.6 percent before pulling back.
Economic improvement will be in focus in the coming weeks, including the monthly US jobs report due next Friday, as will the country’s ability to ensure widespread coronavirus vaccinations, especially as new variants emerge.
Tech and momentum stocks helped drive returns in 2020 “when everyone was locked down and all they had was their computer,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Capital Management. “Now it seems with the vaccines, the stimulus and the prospect of reopening that we are looking out toward a recovery phase.”
The shift in the market this week is building on one that was fueled in early November, when Pfizer’s breakthrough COVID-19 vaccine news generated broad bets on an economic rebound in 2021.
Among the moves since that point: the S&P 500 financial and energy sectors are up 29 percent and 65 percent, respectively, against a nearly 9% rise for the benchmark index and 7 percent rise for the tech sector. The Russell 1000 value index has gained 16.5 percent against a 4.3 percent climb for its growth counterpart, while the smallcap Russell 2000 is up 34 percent.
“You definitely are seeing the reopening trade that has pretty much come alive here,” said Gary Bradshaw, portfolio manager of Hodges Capital Management.
Despite the gains, there remains “plenty of room for the reflation trade to run from a valuation perspective,” Lori Calvasina, head of US equity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said in a report this week. RBC is “overweight” the financials, materials and energy sectors.
Rising rates tend to be favorable for more cyclical sectors, David Lefkowitz, head of Americas equities at UBS Global Wealth Management, said in a note, with financials, energy, industrials and materials showing the strongest positive correlations among sectors with 10-year Treasury yields.
Still, how long the market’s reopening trade lasts remains to be seen. Investors may be reluctant to stray from tech and growth stocks, especially with many of the companies expected to put up strong profits for years.
Any setbacks with the economy or with efforts to quell the coronavirus could revive the stay-at-home stocks that thrived for most of 2020.
And with a GameStop-fueled retail-trading frenzy taking hold this year, banks and other stocks in the reopening trade may fail to draw the same attention from amateur investors as stocks such as Tesla, said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments.
“There isn’t the pizzazz to those stocks,” Meckler said. “There rarely is a potential for stocks to make the kind of moves that big tech growth stocks have made.”
Investors weigh new stock leadership as broader market wobbles
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Investors weigh new stock leadership as broader market wobbles
- Tech and momentum stocks helped drive returns in 2020 “when everyone was locked down and all they had was their computer”
Global brands shut Middle East stores as conflict causes chaos
- Luxury brands and retailers close stores in Middle East
- Conflict threatens the region that has been luxury’s fastest growing
- Mass-market retailers monitor situation, adjust operations in region
PARIS: In Dubai and other major Middle Eastern shopping hubs, many stores are closed or operating with a skeleton staff as the escalating conflict in the region causes chaos for businesses and travel.
The US-Israeli air war against Iran expanded on Monday with no end in sight, with Tehran firing missiles and drones at Gulf states as it retaliates for a weekend of bombing that killed Iran’s supreme leader and reportedly killed scores of Iranian civilians, including a strike on a girls’ primary school.
Chalhoub Group, which runs 900 stores for brands from Versace and Jimmy Choo to Sephora across the region, said its stores in Bahrain were closed, while other markets, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan remained open though staff attendance was “voluntary.”
“We operate with a lean team formed of members who volunteered and feel comfortable to come to the store,” Chalhoub’s Vice President of Communications Lynn al Khatib told Reuters, adding that the company’s leadership team personally visited Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates on Monday morning to check in with workers.
E-commerce giant Amazon closed its fulfillment center operations in Abu Dhabi, suspended deliveries across the region and instructed its employees in Saudi Arabia and Jordan to remain indoors, Business Insider reported on Monday, citing an internal memo.
Gucci-owner Kering said its stores were temporarily closed in the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar and it has suspended travel to the Middle East.
Luxury growth engine under threat
Shares in luxury groups LVMH, Hermes, and Cartier-owner Richemont were down 4 percent to 5.7 percent on Monday afternoon as investors digested the knock-on impacts of the conflict.
The Middle East still accounts for a small share of global spending on luxury — between 5 percent and 10 percent, according to RBC analyst Piral Dadhania. But the region was “luxury’s brightest performer” last year, according to consultancy Bain, while sales of expensive handbags have stalled in the rest of the world.
Now, shuttered airports have put an abrupt stop to tourism flows into the region and missile strikes — including one that damaged Dubai’s five-star Fairmont Palm hotel — are likely to dissuade travelers, particularly if the conflict drags on.
“If you assume that it’s a $5 billion to $6 billion (travel retail) market and let’s say it’s going to be shut down for a month, we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that are definitely at risk,” said Victor Dijon, senior partner at consultancy Kearney.
If Middle Eastern shoppers cannot travel to Paris or Milan, that could also hurt luxury sales in Europe, he added.
Luxury brands have been investing in lavish new stores and exclusive events across the region. Cartier unveiled a “high-jewelry” exhibition in Dubai’s Keturah Park just days before the conflict started.
Cartier and Richemont did not reply to requests for comment.
Luxury conglomerate LVMH has also bet big on the region. Last month, its flagship brand Louis Vuitton staged an exhibition at the Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab hotel, and beauty retailer Sephora launched its first Saudi beauty brand.
LVMH does not report specific figures for the region, but in January Chief Financial Officer Cecile Cabanis said the Middle East has been “displaying significant growth.” LVMH did not reply to a request for comment on how its business may be impacted by the conflict.
The Middle East has also attracted new investment from mass-market players. Budget fashion retailer Primark said in January that it plans to open three stores in Dubai in March, April and May, followed by stores in Bahrain and Qatar by the end of the year.
“Primark is set to open its first store in Dubai at the end of March but clearly this is a fast-moving situation which we are monitoring closely,” a spokesperson for Primark-owner Associated British Foods said.
Apple stores in Dubai will remain closed until Thursday morning, the company’s website showed, while Swedish fast-fashion retailer H&M said its stores in Bahrain and Israel are closed.
Consumer goods group Reckitt has told all employees in the Middle East to work from home, temporarily closed its Bahrain manufacturing site and suspended all business travel to the region until further notice.
