Federal Reserve Actions Help the Rally to Continue
BlackRock Investment Management
By Bob Doll
September 18, 2012
Market Gains Accelerate on Fed Easing Plans
The headline news last week was the US Federal Reserve’s announcement of a new
round of quantitative easing in which the central bank plans to purchase $40 billion of
mortgage-backed securities on a monthly basis (without a predetermined end date).
The Fed also pushed back the timeframe on how long it will maintain its current zerointerest-rate policy, indicating that the current level of rates should be in effect
through the middle of 2015.
While the fact that the Fed announced new easing plans was not unexpected, the
aggressiveness of the plan and its open-ended commitment came as a positive surprise
to observers. Equity markets jumped on the news, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average
climbing 2.2% to 13,593, the S&P 500 Index rising 1.9% to 1,465 and the Nasdaq
Composite advancing 1.5% to 3,183 for the week. In contrast to market action following
previous Fed easing announcements, last week also saw a significant selloff in bonds
and an increase in inflationary expectations.
Political (and Other) Risks Bear Watching
The pending US “fiscal cliff” has been much in the news lately and its ultimate resolution
is far from certain. We still hold out hope that there is a better-than-average chance
that Congress can come to some sort of agreement during a last-minute lame duck
session post the November elections to soften or delay some of the scheduled
provisions. For this to happen, the Democrats would have to accept some sort of
extension of the scheduled tax cuts and the Republicans would need to agree to delay
some spending cuts. Should the parties not be able to come together on some sort of
deal, the political environment could become more difficult in 2013.
In addition to politics, investors are also retaining focus on US economic fundamentals.
Data continues to be mixed, with housing and retail sales trending down a bit last
week and industrial production looking a bit better. We are still maintaining our view
that US growth should trend around the 2% level for the time being.
Outside of the United States, we would note that concerns over the European debt
crisis continue to percolate. The European Central Bank has committed to using its
balance sheet to support the euro, but downside risks for the region remain. Growth is
slow, the banking system is troubled and policymakers still need to chart a path forward for greater fiscal policy integration. Additionally, turmoil in the Middle East
and elsewhere has been heating up. In addition to the violent protests occurring at US
embassies, concerns are growing over Iran’s uranium enrichment programs. The
possibility of a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran is a worrisome one and would have
unforeseen effects on the global economy and financial markets.
Signposts for a Continuation of the Bull Market
Although volatility has not gone away and downside risks have remained in the forefront over the past several months, stocks have continued to perform extremely
well. On a year-to-date basis, stocks are up around 18% in the United States and even
higher in other markets. With 20/20 hindsight, it appears that valuations were overly
depressed at the beginning of the year and that confidence in policymakers to
address Europe’s problems was too low. Additionally, it seems that many investors
were positioned too defensively and had some catching up to do.
Looking ahead, there are some signposts investors should be looking for to determine
whether or not the current up-leg in risk assets can continue. First, we will need to see
some indications that aggressive monetary policy is working. That is, we’ll need to see
some improvements in economic growth statistics. We also would need to see the
European Central Bank continue its policy support. There is still a great deal of room
for policy error and the work of Europe’s politicians and policymakers is far from over.
Additionally, we would look for clearer signs of a soft economic landing in China. These
developments are all certainly possible and given that valuations are not extended,
markets do have room to make further gains.
Sources: BlackRock; Bank Credit Analyst. This material is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of September 17, 2012, and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and nonproprietary sources deemed by BlackRock to be reliable, are not necessarily all-inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. Investment involves risks. International investing involves additional risks, including risks related to foreign currency, limited liquidity, less government regulation and the possibility of substantial volatility due to adverse political, economic or other developments. The two main risks related to fixed income investing are interest rate risk and credit risk. Typically, when interest rates rise, there is a corresponding decline in the market value of bonds. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of the bond will not be able to make principal and interest payments. Index performance is shown for illustrative purposes only. You cannot invest directly in an index.
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