The viewpoints expressed by the Portfolio Manager represents their assessment of the markets at the time of publication. Those views are subject to change without notice at any time without any kind of notice. The information provided herein does not constitute a solicitation of an offer to buy, or an offer to sell securities nor should the information be relied upon as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. This communication is intended for informational purposes only.
BMO Global Asset Management is a brand name under which BMO Asset Management Inc. and BMO Investments Inc. operate.
Any statement that necessarily depends on future events may be a forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although such statements are based on assumptions that are believed to be reasonable, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations. Investors are cautioned not to rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. In connection with any forward-looking statements, investors should carefully consider the areas of risk described in the most recent simplified prospectus.
This article is for information purposes. The information contained herein is not, and should not be construed as, investment, tax or legal advice to any party. Investments should be evaluated relative to the individual’s investment objectives and professional advice should be obtained with respect to any circumstance.
Commissions, management fees and expenses (if applicable) all may be associated with investments in mutual funds. Trailing commissions may be associated with investments in certain series of securities of mutual funds. Please read the fund facts, ETF facts or prospectus of the relevant mutual fund before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Distributions are not guaranteed and are subject to change and/or elimination.
For a summary of the risks of an investment in the BMO Mutual Funds, please see the specific risks set out in the prospectus. ETF Series of the BMO Mutual Funds trade like stocks, fluctuate in market value and may trade at a discount to their net asset value, which may increase the risk of loss. Distributions are not guaranteed and are subject to change and/or elimination.
BMO Mutual Funds are managed by BMO Investments Inc., which is an investment fund manager and a separate legal entity from Bank of Montreal.
®/™Registered trademarks/trademark of Bank of Montreal, used under licence.
What Caused Last Week’s Stock Market Dip?
December 12 to 16, 2022
What Caused Last Week’s Stock Market Dip?
December 12 to 16, 2022
Sadiq S. Adatia, FSA, FCIA, CFA
Chief Investment Officer (CIO)
Market Recap
Stock Market Dip
Last week, after a several-weeks-long rally, stock prices dipped somewhat. This wasn’t unexpected—I’d previously mentioned that prices may reverse course once the real economic picture became clearer, and that’s exactly what happened. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s most recent statement, which didn’t mention anything about the terminal rate needing to go higher, was more dovish than markets expected and was taken to mean that the end of the interest rate hiking cycle is near. That, combined with declining inflation numbers, gave investors some of the clarity that they’d previously been lacking, and markets reacted optimistically. Now, attention is turning to the earnings picture. Last quarter, companies that had announced poor results—like Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon—saw their prices dip, but there was no contagion in the markets. It will be interesting to see if this also occurs next quarter or if there’s a much broader impact. It all comes back to inflation: numbers are declining but still high, which will impact the consumer. This means that the earnings outlook for Q1 2023 is somewhat murky.
Bottom Line: Markets have been digesting the negative earnings outlook for early 2023—that, along with some tax-related selling, is likely what caused last week’s dip.
Emerging Markets
Over the past week, more information has come out about the easing of China’s zero-COVID policy. But what does this mean for Emerging Markets (EM) overall? Recently, we’ve upgraded our house view from neutral on EM to slightly bullish. This is based on our belief that China is finally turning the corner. It won’t happen overnight, but by the second quarter of 2023, we expect to see a broader re-opening and an economic bounce-back, and Chinese stocks have already moved up somewhat in anticipation of this. Opportunities are evident, given China’s status as one of the world’s leading economies, and we don’t see any major downside at this time. The reopening is also good news for the world economy as a whole and could help prevent a long-lasting recession.
Bottom Line: China’s re-opening potentially presents significant upside.
Oil Prices
Recently, oil prices have stubbornly remained lower than expected despite some positive signs, like China’s reopening. Our evaluation, however, is that prices could still head higher, which would be good news for the Canadian economy. There are a few factors that bode well for a surge. As China reopens more fully, demand will rise. OPEC does not appear inclined to increase supply. We’re getting into the colder months in the northern hemisphere, which increases energy usage. And Russia doesn’t seem likely to do anything to help the oil situation. But it’s important to understand that even if energy prices stay around current levels, the Energy companies are still profitable—we don’t necessarily need to see massive price movement in order for Energy stocks to outperform.
Bottom Line: We’re still bullish on Energy, with multiple indicators pointing to higher prices.
Positioning
We’ve recently held our monthly meeting to determine our house view, which has resulted in several positioning changes. For equities, we’ve raised our view from slightly bearish to neutral, increasing our exposure to the market as a whole since it’s difficult to tell which risk drivers will have the most or least impact—now is not the time to make massive, heroic calls. As mentioned earlier, we’re now slightly bullish on EM from our previous neutral rating, and we’ve also reduced our overweights to Canada and the United States and upgraded our International (EAFE) rating from bearish to slightly bearish. We’ve made some income from covered calls on Energy equities and will likely to continue that path. We still want to own more Quality. And we’re now slightly bullish on the Canadian dollar based on likely softening of the U.S. dollar once we get past what we expect to be a mild and short-lived recession.
Disclosures:
The viewpoints expressed by the Portfolio Manager represents their assessment of the markets at the time of publication. Those views are subject to change without notice at any time without any kind of notice. The information provided herein does not constitute a solicitation of an offer to buy, or an offer to sell securities nor should the information be relied upon as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. This communication is intended for informational purposes only.
BMO Global Asset Management is a brand name under which BMO Asset Management Inc. and BMO Investments Inc. operate.
Any statement that necessarily depends on future events may be a forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although such statements are based on assumptions that are believed to be reasonable, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations. Investors are cautioned not to rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. In connection with any forward-looking statements, investors should carefully consider the areas of risk described in the most recent simplified prospectus.
This article is for information purposes. The information contained herein is not, and should not be construed as, investment, tax or legal advice to any party. Investments should be evaluated relative to the individual’s investment objectives and professional advice should be obtained with respect to any circumstance.
Commissions, management fees and expenses (if applicable) all may be associated with investments in mutual funds. Trailing commissions may be associated with investments in certain series of securities of mutual funds. Please read the fund facts, ETF facts or prospectus of the relevant mutual fund before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Distributions are not guaranteed and are subject to change and/or elimination.
For a summary of the risks of an investment in the BMO Mutual Funds, please see the specific risks set out in the prospectus. ETF Series of the BMO Mutual Funds trade like stocks, fluctuate in market value and may trade at a discount to their net asset value, which may increase the risk of loss. Distributions are not guaranteed and are subject to change and/or elimination.
BMO Mutual Funds are managed by BMO Investments Inc., which is an investment fund manager and a separate legal entity from Bank of Montreal.
®/™Registered trademarks/trademark of Bank of Montreal, used under licence.
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