In February non-farm payrolls grew average hourly earnings to 2.9%, a post-recession high. Although the news was positive, the number generated concern that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates four times in 2018, instead of the three expected. This intensified the selling that started in late January. Interestingly, U.S. Treasuries did not offer investors safe-haven protection. From the start of the equity sell-off through mid-February, the ten-year Treasury yield rose from 2.63% to 2.95%.

 

As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised interest rates by 25 basis points in March from 1.50% to 1.75%, its sixth raise of this hiking cycle. The press conference that followed was Jerome (“Jay”) Powell’s first. In it, Chairman Powell seemed to downplay the importance of the FOMC’s forecast, leaving the market with more questions than answers:

 

“I think, like any set of forecasts, those forecasts will change over time, and they’ll change depending on the way the outlook of the economy changes.  So, that’s really all I can say.  It could change up.  It could change down.  I wouldn’t want to, for now, these are the best forecasts that people could make.  And, you know, it could be that if the economy’s a little bit stronger or a little bit weaker, then the path could be a little less gradual or a little more gradual.”

 

On February 16, the Commerce Department released its 232 reports on steel & aluminum, which further contributed to volatility.  In the report, Secretary Wilbur Ross recommended tariffs of 24% on steel and 7.7% on aluminum. Following, President Trump spoke publicly about implementing even higher tariffs (25% on steel and 10% on aluminum), which he formally signed into law on March 8. From the release of the Commerce Department’s report through the end of the quarter, the S&P 500 Index was down -3.2% while the Russell 2000 Index—a proxy for small cap stocks—returned -0.4%.

 

But it was not all bad news. Fourth-quarter operating earnings for the S&P 500 were up a whopping 21% when compared to a year earlier—the highest growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2013.  Technology and energy experienced the largest growth rates. Except for telecommunications and real estate, each sector posted positive growth. Expectations for 2018 increased materially as the quarter progressed. Standard and Poor’s analysts now expect $156 per share for the S&P 500 Index, up from $145 earlier in the year. While analysts are prone to err on the side of optimism, that jump would represent a 25% increase from 2017. Because stocks had a significant increase in 2017, this boost to earning in 2018 brings the S&P 500 valuation to a more historic level.

 

The Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, rose slightly from 1.5% to 1.6%. The labor market remained strong. Non-farm payrolls increased a robust 242,000 per month while the unemployment rate stayed at 4.1%.  Fourth-quarter real GDP growth was finalized at 2.9%.

 

U.S. MARKETS

Large and small cap stock returns were almost identical; however, the return differential between growth and value was stark. Among smaller companies, the Russell 2000 Growth Index was higher by 2.3% while the Russell 2000 Value Index was lower by -2.6%.  In the large cap space, the Russell 1000 Growth Index gained 1.4% while the Russell 1000 Value Index lost -2.8%.

 

Consumer discretionary was up 3% making it the best performing sector in the S&P 500 Index.  Strong returns of Amazon and Netflix masked weakness of most other companies in the sector. Energy stocks were among the weakest sectors, losing -6%, even with the price per barrel of WTI crude oil rising by more than 8% to almost $65. WTI rose despite U.S. production continuing to climb to record levels— a rate of 10.4 million barrels per day.  WTI is up over 25% in the past year while stocks in the energy sector have declined by -0.3%.  Within REITs, every sub-sector posted negative returns with healthcare and retail down over -10% and -8%, respectively.

 

Tax-exempt fixed income securities, as measured by the S&P National Municipal Bond Index, lost -1.2%.  High-yield bonds declined by -0.9%, according to the Bloomberg BarCap High Yield Corporate Index.  The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield rose 34 basis points to 2.74%. Over the course of the quarter, the spread between the 10-year and 2-year Treasury yields dropped 4 basis points to 0.47%, a new low for this cycle.

 

FOREIGN MARKETS

Less trafficked areas of the world seemed to benefit from being out of the headlines.  The MSCI Emerging Markets Index was higher by 1.4% while the MSCI Frontier Index gained 5.1%.  Brazil led the way, returning 12%, while Russia was higher by 9% and is now up 21% over the last year.  After being up more than 50% last year, China was higher by 2% in the quarter.  China responded to U.S. tariffs by announcing a set of their own that included pork, scrap aluminum, and fruits and vegetables.  In Iocal currency terms, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index was up 0.8%, indicating U.S. dollar weakness. The MSCI EAFE Index lost -1.4% in dollar terms and was lower by -4.2% in local currency terms.  The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, noted the rising angst with U.S. trade policy:

 

“We would like a reasonable relationship to the United States, but we cannot simply put our head in the sand.”

 

Capturing the tone of the discourse, Juncker went on to threaten tariffs on Harley-Davidson, bourbon and Levi’s.  It might not have been a coincidence that Harley Davidson is based in Paul Ryan’s home state (Wisconsin), bourbon is made in Mitch McConnell’s home state (Kentucky), and Levi’s is based in San Francisco (the hometown of Nancy Pelosi).

 

LOOKING AHEAD

Part of the reason for equity weakness in March was concern surrounding stock market darlings Facebook (Cambridge Analytica) and Tesla (missing production goals, recalling 123,000 cars). We will be watching for Mark Zuckerberg to get out ahead of the congressional hearings to instill confidence in Facebook’s user base. Similarly, Elon Musk will need to resolve Tesla’s Model 3 production issues and minimize the company’s significant cash burn. Unless new market leadership emerges, these CEOs need to have their company issues resolved to reinvigorate the bull market.

 

The start of 2018, the Atlanta Fed GDPNow “Nowcast" estimated fourth-quarter GDP to be in excess of 4%. As the quarter wore on, that number has continued to wane.  Over the past three weeks, several regional Fed surveys and the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing PMI have quietly missed expectations. At West End Wealth Management, we will be focused on whether this trend persists, especially if the Fed continues to tighten monetary policy. How the Fed manages to unwind its balance sheet will be of intense focus.

 

While we have all watched and felt this headline driven market trade with increased volatility, the fundamental picture remains solid. We believe strong first quarter earnings will provide a ballast to this market as headline news and trade negotiations ebb and flow the market tide.

 

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