Stock Market Bears Can't Keep History From Repeating

By: Money_Morning

Jon D. Markman writes: There's something in the air - and I'm not talking about spring or young love. I'm talking about a profound sense of déjà vu.

The way the stock market has performed of late has me thinking back to the low volatility bull-market cycles of the early- and mid-1990s. So far 2011 is awfully reminiscent of 1995 - another year that featured a jobless recovery and a Democratic president moving to the center.

Stocks continue to step higher day after day without any incredible catalysts providing propulsion because the motivating force is a quiet but steady drop in risk premiums combined with an upward re-rating of Price/Earnings (P/E) multiples.

This is what a low-volatility bull market looks like, in case you've forgotten.

Stocks started weaker last week as investors digested the meaning of China's rate hike. Investors fear that rising rates will crush growth and curb China's appetite for the world's resources. But this sentiment was quickly reversed - as well it should have been - because tightening will have little effect on growth in China.

Once U.S. investors decided not to worry about China - honestly, the jitters lasted about 15 minutes - they resumed their previous program of buying companies most related to an economic recovery. The day gained strength from news of a pickup in small business sentiment, another couple of mergers and a sense that U.S. President Barack Obama is taking steps to repair his relationship with business.

The bears are throwing everything in the book at this bull market. They seized on the revolution in Egypt and took gut-punches at leaders like Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN). But their attempts failed.

And these bears weren't day-traders, either - they were a hit squad.

I have heard from contacts in the macro and credit communities that bears intended to make a big stand here at the 1,330-level of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which also served as the top in January 2008.

We're not talking about amateurs here - this is the real deal. These guys made some very large, sophisticated bets away from the most visible tables in the casino. They bought credit default swaps on big companies and calls on the CBOE Volatility Indexin bulk.

Still, these pros have been stymied and now they have a big problem. They either have to defend the 1,330-level by trying to blast a new hole in the economic recovery story, or hope that more trouble can be stirred up in the Persian Gulf, the Europe sovereign debt markets, or China.

But here's the thing: If nothing comes through for them they'll have to cover their short sales, which could lead to some very explosive upside in the weeks ahead.

This is how bull markets get their second, third, fourth and even fifth winds. It's not because the economy is so great (it isn't) and it's not because more bulls are converted (they're coming, but it's slow). It happens because short-sellers have to buy stocks and credit to cover their positions - and the bigger the bets they've made, the more they have to buy to cover.

Just to give you an idea of what this means, most of the rally in the first part of the 1990s was the result of short-covering following the 1990 bear market and recession. These things can go on for a very long time because well-financed bears have a lot of conviction and it often takes them a long time to give up. The legendary hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt once told me that he lost $250 million shorting Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) in the early ‘90s.

The bottom line is that the 1,330-level is a tripwire. The bulls have kept the Standard & Poor's 500 Index above the level for four sessions, and it will not take much more to make bears start to cover in a big way. This could light the fuse on the third stage of this rocket, and many investors will be surprised to see how high it rises.

[Editor's Note: Money Morning Contributing Writer Jon D. Markman has a unique view of both the world economy and the global financial markets. With uncertainty the watchword and volatility the norm in today's markets, low-risk/high-profit investments will be tougher than ever to find.

It will take a seasoned guide to uncover those opportunities.

Markman is that guide.

In the face of what's been the toughest market for investors since the Great Depression, it's time to sweep away the uncertainty and eradicate the worry. That's why investors subscribe to Markman's Strategic Advantage newsletter every week: He can see opportunity when other investors are blinded by worry.

Subscribe to Strategic Advantage and hire Markman to be your guide. For more information, please click here.]

Source : http://moneymorning.com/2011/02/15/...

Money Morning/The Money Map Report

©2011 Monument Street Publishing. All Rights Reserved. Protected by copyright laws of the United States and international treaties. Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution (electronic or otherwise, including on the world wide web), of content from this website, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of Monument Street Publishing. 105 West Monument Street, Baltimore MD 21201, Email: customerservice@moneymorning.com

Disclaimer: Nothing published by Money Morning should be considered personalized investment advice. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized investent advice. We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security recommended to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication, or 72 hours after the mailing of printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended by Money Morning should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.

Comments