The 2020 gains in the popular indices are remarkable, yet surprisingly disparate. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 5.8% year-to-date. The S&P 500 has done somewhat better with a 14.4% gain. A sharp end of the year advance in small capitalization stocks drove the Russell 2000 to a year-to-date gain of 17.5%; however, it is the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite that is this year’s hard-to-beat champion with a 40.4% year-to-date gain. The Nasdaq’s performance has been extraordinary in 2020 and we would note that some bull market cycles do not experience a 40%+ gain and over the last 90 years the average gain in the S&P 500, prior to a 10% correction, has been 58%. Perhaps more significant is the fact that this 40.4% gain is nearly seven times the advance in the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the same time period. Since the March 2020 lows, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 have rebounded 62% and 65%, respectively. After recording fresh new highs this week, the Nasdaq Composite and the Russell 2000 have rallied 84% and 95.5%, respectively off those lows. It has been a spectacular year for investors, particularly since it also included the worst recession since the Great Depression and a bear market in earnings.

Investors have written off 2020 earnings and instead focused on the projected rebound in 2021 earnings. But even so, the stock market is not cheap. It is pretty clear that third quarter earnings estimates were better than expected but with third quarter earnings season practically complete, estimates are now stabilizing. In the week ended Friday, IBES consensus estimates rose $0.12 for 2020, $0.33 for 2021 and $0.43 for 2022. S&P Dow Jones consensus estimates were relatively unchanged and increased $0.05 for 2020 and $0.01 for 2021. Overall, the consensus estimates for 2021 are currently $169.18 for IBES and $166.20 for S&P Dow Jones. If one applies a 20 multiple to the IBES $169.18 forecast, it equates to an SPX target of 3384 for yearend 2021. The stock market is currently 8.5% above this target. While it is possible that earnings could outperform 2021 estimates, it seems the market has already factored positive earnings surprises in to current prices. More specifically, at SPX 3695, the 2021 year-end forecasted PE ratio for the S&P 500 is 22.2 X. The trailing operating PE ratio is 30.6 X which is higher than the June 1999 peak multiple of 29.3 X and the December 2001 peak multiple of 29.6 X.

Liquidity Wins
While we are worried about rich fundamentals, it is clear that the stock market is being driven by liquidity and as we have often noted it is not wise to “fight the Fed.” However, the market is priced for perfection, could be vulnerable to unexpected shocks and caution is warranted. As noted in previous weeks, some of our long-term indicators suggest that the market is apt to underperform over the next twelve-month period. However, this “underperformance” does not mean 2021 is destined to be a boring market. The new year could be an unusually volatile time including at least one big advance and a large decline. If so, investors should stay alert. It is wise to have stocks in one’s portfolio that can weather the volatility ahead and/or are good long-term holdings for good and bad times.

Assessing Debt and Ownership
Given our concerns about a liquidity driven market we are focused on factors that help define an equity bubble such as leverage, debt, and equity over-ownership. The Federal Reserve released financial data last week for the third quarter and it held few surprises.

Federal Debt Levels are Worrisome
Total outstanding US debt was a record $59 trillion in September, up from $53.9 trillion at the end of 2019. US debt represented 280% of nominal GDP in the third quarter, is up from 248% at the end of 2019 and is greater than the previous record of 273% of GDP recorded in 1933. See page 3.

Federal government debt grew at an annualized rate of 11.4% in the first quarter, 59% in the second quarter and 9.1% in the third quarter. It was a record $22.5 trillion in September and jumped from 87% of GDP in June to 106.3% in September. This compares to the record 110.3% of GDP recorded in 1944. Rising government debt is not a surprise given the fiscal stimulus provided during the shutdown; however, they are concerning when put into an historical perspective. See page 4.

Household debt is the second largest sector after the federal government, and it grew 5.6% in the third quarter due to an escalation in mortgages. The household’s total debt was nearly $16.2 trillion in September and represented 76.5% of GDP. However, this percentage is well below the 98.2% of GDP seen at the end of 2008 prior to the financial crisis in mortgages. In general, household debt has been fairly contained in 2020. The financial sector is also in good shape and its $17.3 trillion in debt represents 81.9% of GDP and is well below the 2008 peak of 123.7%. A healthy banking system is important for the overall economy and so is a financially stable household sector. Corporate debt actually declined in the third quarter after double digit growth in the first two quarters of the year. See pages 5 and 6. All in all, there were few surprises in this year’s debt accumulation, most of which has been due to fiscal spending. Our main concern for federal deficits would be sharply higher interest rates which would compound federal deficits going forward.

Stock Ownership Helps Net Worth but Needs Monitoring
The Federal Reserve also released household net worth and equity ownership data last week. After increasing a solid 12% in 2019, household net worth increased 4.4% in the first three quarters of 2020 to $123.5 trillion. In 2019, the increase in household net worth was due primarily to a 27.5% increase in equity holdings. In 2020 the increases in household net worth were a combination of a 16.6% increase in cash, due in large part to fiscal stimulus, and a 5.5% increase in tangible assets, primarily real estate. Equity holdings only increased 3.3% in the nine months ended September. This may be surprising to some, but remember, in the first nine months of the year the SPX gained 4.1% and the DJIA lost 2.7%. In short, it was a dull first three quarters. But we expect stock market gains will boost household net worth in the fourth quarter.

We are closely watching the relationship between equity and real estate ownership within the household sector. It is normal for residential real estate, or a home, to be a family’s main asset and thus represent the main pillar of net worth. But in the third quarter, the household sector showed equity holdings of $35.6 trillion, an amount that easily exceeded real estate holdings of $31.2 trillion. Since 1952, there have only been four other quarters in which equity ownership was greater than real estate ownership. These were the fourth quarter of 2019, the third quarter of 2018, the first quarter of 2000 and the fourth quarter of 1999. Each of these previous quarters were followed by sharp stock market corrections. More important, the two back-to-back quarters of high equity ownership in late 1999 and early 2000 represented the end of the 1997-2000 stock market bubble. See page 8. This is a worrisome precedent. We are also watching for extreme levels of equity ownership relative to total assets which could represent a saturation of demand. This can be measured as equities as a percentage of total assets and/or as a percentage of financial assets. In the third quarter, equities were 25.4% of total assets versus the 2000 peak of 26.4%. Equities were 22.6% of financial assets versus the March 2000 peak of 24.2%. Given the rally seen in equities in recent months, these percentages are apt to increase in the fourth quarter. In short, it is possible that equities are approaching an over-ownership situation. See page 9. In sum, the current advance has excellent momentum, but be alert to any and all pitfalls.

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We focus on three issues this week. The first is that technical indicators have finally and whole-heartedly confirmed the current advance. The second is that even though third quarter earnings estimates are beating expectations, it has little relevance to a market that has been focused on 2021 forecasts since March. Based on 2021 earnings estimates, equities are priced for perfection and this is certainly a cause for concern. And third, recent data releases are defining a pattern of economic deceleration. This is also worrisome. This combination of deteriorating economics/fundamentals and strengthening price action can only be explained by the fact that liquidity is driving the equity market.

Several indicators that we monitor suggest the market is likely to underperform over the next twelve to eighteen months. But bear in mind that this does not mean 2021 is destined to be a boring market. It is more likely that 2021 could contain several bull and bear market cycles that result in little gain in the end. Investors should prepare for an unusual environment and adjust portfolios so that they can weather extreme volatility.

Economic data for November was generally disappointing. The unemployment rate declined in November to 6.7% from 6.9%, but this was due in large part to the decline in the civilian labor force. The addition of 245,000 new jobs was less than expectations and perhaps the biggest letdown was the decline in the employment population ratio from 57.4 to 57.3. The participation rate also fell from 61.7 to 61.5. In short, the percentage of the population that is employed and working is declining. See page 3.

Jobs are key to the economy. They are the most critical component of household income, personal consumption, corporate revenues, and earnings. Therefore, the steady shift of workers from temporary layoff to being permanently unemployed is disturbing. See page 4. In our opinion, the absence of CDC guidelines that would allow businesses to safely open coupled with the lack of urgency seen in Congress to pass fiscal stimulus that would support small businesses is unconscionable.

In our view, the best way to assess the job market is to monitor the growth rate of “employment” over a 12-month period. A decelerating rate that approaches zero will predict a pending recession and a recession begins when this growth rate turns negative. But a pivot in the growth rate often defines a recovery. From this perspective, the job market was arbitrarily shut down so there was little warning for this unusual recession. However, the employment low was made in April with a negative 13.5% growth rate and has been improving ever since. But November’s growth rate was still poor at negative 6%. Meanwhile, the pace of those unemployed 27 weeks or longer continues to rise and currently resembles the pattern seen in early 2009! See page 5. These statistics suggest household consumption is apt to decline in the first quarter. If so, earnings could also disappoint.

The ISM indices are good benchmarks for assessing the strength of both the manufacturing and service sectors of the US economy. However, both ISM indices declined in November and both surveys pointed to weakness in new orders and general business activity. See page 6. The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell from 104.0 in October to 101.4 in November which was worse than expectations. The most revealing part of the survey was that the net share of respondents expecting the economy to improve dropped from 27% to 8%. This was a perfect example of how the current number of COVID-19 cases and the accompanying restrictions are hurting small businesses and dampening sentiment.

Autos and housing have been the core of the 2020 rebound, yet both weakened in November. Total vehicle unit sales fell from 16.74 million to 15.97 million units in November and all segments of the industry showed a decline. For the second month in a row the pending home sales index fell. October’s index fell to 128.9, down from the August peak of 132.9. See page 7.

Under normal circumstances, third quarter earnings results for the S&P 500 would make us bullish, but these are far from normal times. As of December 4, 496 companies in the S&P 500 Index had reported third quarter 2020 earnings. And of these, 84.5% reported earnings that were above analysts’ expectations and 12.3% reported earnings below expectations. In a typical quarter, 65% of companies beat and 20% miss estimates. Even more impressively, companies have reported earnings that are 19.7% above estimates. This is dramatically better than the 26-year average surprise factor of 3.5% and the last four quarter average of 8.7%. In addition, more than 78% of reporting companies exceeded revenue expectations and beat forecasts by 3.6%. This compares to the long-term average surprise factor of 1.5%. Not surprisingly, the estimated earnings growth rate for the S&P 500 in the third quarter is now negative 6.1% and much improved from the July 1 consensus forecast of a 25% decline. If the energy sector is excluded, the third quarter growth rate improves to negative 1.9%. Earnings growth forecasts improved for all sectors in the third quarter, but the greatest improvement was in consumer discretionary which flipped from an expectation of a 50% decline in year-over-year earnings growth to positive 0.8% currently. However, despite all this good news for the quarter, IBES consensus estimates for 2021 are relatively unchanged at $168.85. A PE multiple of 20 times next year’s earnings equates to an SPX target of 3377, or 9% below recent closing prices. See page 10.

At SPX 3702, the trailing operating PE is 30.6 X and remains higher than the June 1999 (29.3 X) and December 2001 (29.6 X) peaks. The 12-month forward PE ratio for the SPX is 22.3 X. Both benchmarks are well above their standard deviation lines and the SPX is now trading more than 13% above the top of our valuation model’s year end 2021 fair value range. See page 11. High valuation suggests the market is vulnerable to unexpected shocks and this suggests caution is warranted.

But in direct contrast to this the popular indices continue to set a series of record highs and our technical indicators are finally confirming the advance. In particular, the 25-day up/down volume oscillator is currently 5.02 (preliminary), above 3.0 and has been in overbought territory for six consecutive trading days and for nine of the last eleven trading days. The oscillator reached a reading of 5.52 late last week which was the strongest reading since February 2019. It is our contention that new price highs in the indices should be accompanied by long and often extreme overbought readings which represent solid buying pressure. After a lengthy delay, this oscillator has finally confirmed the new highs. See page 13. And most other breadth indicators followed suit. The 10-day average daily new high indicator is robust at 380 per day and the NYSE cumulative advance decline line made a simultaneous record on December 8 with the indices. See page 14. The AAII bullish sentiment index rose to 49.1% and the last 4 weekly readings are the highest since January 2020. But while the AAII bull/bear 8-week spread is quickly rising it still remains in neutral territory. See page 15.

There is one simple way to explain the discrepancy between the underlying fundamental and technical factors of the market and it is liquidity. Historically, there has been a strong correlation between easy monetary policy and stock market gains. M2 growth peaked at 19.6% in July but in late November it was still growing at a 6.6% pace. Demand deposits at commercial banks jumped in late November from $2.5 billion to $2.97 billion. In sum, remember the wise Wall Street adage “Don’t fight the Fed.”

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