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Futures Jump On China Reopening Rumors Ahead Of Key Jobs Report

Futures Jump On China Reopening Rumors Ahead Of Key Jobs Report

US futures jumped and the Nasdaq 100 was poised to trim its biggest weekly…

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Futures Jump On China Reopening Rumors Ahead Of Key Jobs Report

US futures jumped and the Nasdaq 100 was poised to trim its biggest weekly drop since the start of the year as optimism about China’s reopening boosted Wall Street futures despite the looming risk of another hotter-than-expected payrolls report. As reported earlier, Chinese stocks in Hong Kong headed for their best week since 2015, and the yuan strengthened amid fresh speculation that Beijing was set to ease covid-zero policies. The frenzy was sparked earlier this week on unverified social media posts indicating Beijing could be preparing to exit the strict Covid zero policy. There's a flurry of new market-friendly headlines adding fuel to the rally, which boosted US-listed Chinese stocks while miners led gains in Europe as commodities rallied, while luxury stocks also got a boost.

After closing at the lowest level since July 2020 on Thursday, as tech stocks fell out of favor this year as the Federal Reserve tightened its monetary policy, Nasdaq 100 contracts rose 0.8% by 5 a.m. in New York after the tech-heavy gauge plunged 7.4% this week, erasing $1.1 trillion in market capitalization. S&P 500 futures gained 0.7%, putting the underlying gauge on track to pare a 4.6% weekly decline -- the steepest since September.

In premarket trading, US-listed Chinese stocks like Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd., JD.com Inc., and Baidu Inc. surged as China-linked sentiment got a lift after Bloomberg News reported China is working on plans to scrap a system that penalizes airlines for bringing virus cases into the country, a sign that authorities are looking for ways to ease the impact of the Covid Zero policy.  Cloud software stocks dropped in premarket trading after revenue forecasts from peers Atlassian and Twilio fell short of expectations, triggering analyst downgrades. Atlassian falls 23% in premarket trading, the stock is set for its biggest drop since its debut; Twilio fell as much as 27% in premarket trading; the stock is set for its biggest drop since May 3, 2017.  Here are some of the other notable premarket movers:

  • The conservative-targeting money processor PayPal fell 8.3% in premarket trading after the payments platform cut its forecast for annual revenue amid a slowdown in spending. Analysts note that a strong dollar and other macroeconomic headwinds are weighing on the company’s forecast.
  • Block Inc. shares surge 14% in US premarket trading after the digital payments company’s adjusted Ebitda beat expectations and boosted optimism that the company can weather a slowdown in the economy. Brokers in particular singled out the performance of the firm’s Cash App business, saying its potential isn’t fully recognized by investors.
  • DoorDash jumps 11% in premarket trading after the food delivery platform topped revenue estimates, driven by strong appetite for takeout. Analysts noted that demand remained resilient and the company does not seem to be affected by inflationary and macro headwinds.
  • Coinbase shares rallied as much as 9.1% in US premarket trading, with analysts saying that the cryptocurrency platform provider’s growth in subscription revenue and a narrower loss were reasons for optimism. These positives showed that the company’s efforts to control costs were working, even as trading volume was underwhelming as expected due to the slump in prices of digital currencies this year.
  • Kratos forecast adjusted Ebitda for the fourth quarter that missed the average analyst estimate, as the defense and security company faces hiring challenges and supply-chain disruptions. Shares declined 9.3% in US postmarket trading..
  • Twilio fell as much as 22% in premarket trading, after the infrastructure software company gave a fourth-quarter revenue forecast that came in below estimates. Analysts noted that the company’s analyst day left them wanting as it “raised new concerns” instead of extinguishing existing ones.

Focus next will turn to US payrolls data at 830am ET on Friday, where 195,000 jobs are expected for October, compared with 263,000 in September. Unemployment rate projected at 3.6% (our payrolls preview is here). The US two-year yield topped 4.75% for the first time since 2007 after a key segment of the curve reached an extreme of inversion not seen since the 1980s, an anomaly that historically preceded economic downturns.

“Key focal point could be the US NFP release tonight which could provide a better sense of tightening trajectory and the eventual peak of terminal rates,” said Fiona Lim, senior currency analyst at Malayan Banking Berhad in Singapore. “Investors chase that flickering light at the end of the Covid-Zero tunnel,” said Stephen Innes, a managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

“Today’s numbers need to be viewed in the light of other labor market statistics that shows labor demand holding up,” said Stuart Cole, head macro economist at Equiti Capital. “The concerns over still strong inflationary pressures will be trumping any meaningful easing that the labor market might be pointing to.”

Chair Jerome Powell left little doubt that he’s prepared to push interest rates as high as needed to stamp out inflation after the Fed raised rates by 75 basis points for the fourth time in a row. Traders will parse jobs data due later on Friday for signs of a slowing labor market, which could convince the bank to adopt a less hawkish stance. Swaps that reference future Federal Reserve meetings indicate an expected peak policy rate above 5.14% around mid-2023.

“We think the Fed is much closer to pausing than the market is pricing and much closer than what they’re trying to convey,” said Isaac Poole, chief investment officer at Oreana Financial Services, who expects the US central bank to end hiking by December or January. “Maybe we’ll see a bit more near-term volatility, but I think there are real opportunities for upside in equities over the next 12 months,” he told Bloomberg TV.

European stocks rallied for the first time in the past three sessions on optimism about China’s reopening. Euro Stoxx 50 rallies 1.6%. CAC 40 outperforms peers, adding 1.7%, IBEX lags. Miners, consumer products and chemicals are the strongest performing sectors. Shares with high business exposure to China rallied the most on Friday as authorities were said to be making efforts to ease the impact of their Covid-Zero policy. Europe’s automobile and parts subsector outperformed the Stoxx 600 index, rising as much as 2.0%. Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari are among the biggest contributors to the sector advance. European luxury stocks also jumped as key market China is said to be preparing a plan to end a system that penalizes airlines for bringing virus cases into the country. Swatch Group is among the best performing rising as much as 3.6%, Richemont +3.3%, Hermes International +2.3%, Burberry +1.3%, Christian Dior +2%, LVMH +1.7%, Pandora +2.6% Italian luxury stocks also jumped with Moncler +2.7%, Tod’s +1.6% and Salvatore Ferragamo +2.6%. Here are some of the biggest European movers:

  • Europe’s basic resources sector is the best-performing subindex in the Stoxx 600 benchmark as iron ore heads for its first weekly gain in two months, with traders buying on speculation China may be planning to remove some Covid Zero restrictions. KGHM leads advances, rising 10%, Anglo American +9.4%, Rio Tinto +7%
  • Andritz shares jump as much as 11%, the most since July, after results from the hydropower station equipment supplier that analysts said were “excellent” and show the company’s resilience to a tough macro environment
  • GN Store Nord climbs as much as 15% after company notified that William Demant Invest has increased its aggregate holding of shares to above 10% of the share capital and voting rights in company.
  • Rovi slides as much as 13% with Jefferies flagging that the Spanish pharmaceutical company’s guidance for 2023 as well as 9-month Ebitda missed consensus estimates.
  • Leonardo declines as much as 8.4% as worries over inflation overshadow the Italian aerospace technology company’s beat on 3Q Ebita and revenue and its strong orders.
  • Kering jumps as much as 5.5% after a report that the French company is in advanced talks to buy Tom Ford.
  • Enel falls as much as 3.5% after the Italian power utility cut its adjusted net guidance for the year, partly reflecting a decline in hydroelectric power generation.

Meanwhile, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said interest rates may need to be lifted to restrictive levels to drag inflation back to the 2% target. Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill said the BOE is trying to strike a balance between bringing inflation back to target and preventing an unnecessarily deep recession by raising interest rates too aggressively.

“Our view has been for a while that the only way central banks can credibly tame inflation is through tighter financial conditions and slower growth,” Barclays analysts wrote in a note. “Chairman Powell made it clear that over tightening may be a less costly option over the long run than doing too little. So as it stands, we find few reasons to stop worrying about a hard landing.”

Earlier in the session, Asian stocks rebounded as China and Hong Kong staged a strong comeback amid speculation that China is poised to exit its stringent Covid-zero policy. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained as much as 1.6%, lifted by consumer discretionary and financial shares. Chinese stocks in Hong Kong capped their best week since 2015 as shares linked to reopening jumped amid fresh signs of easing Covid restrictions. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index saw the biggest weekly jump since 2011 and China’s CSI 300 Index capped its best week since mid-2020. The rally follows days of speculation on the back of unverified social media posts detailing a reopening plan. While similar Chinese rallies have all fizzled in recent months, bulls are now betting that some of the world’s lowest valuations have left the nation’s shares primed to surge on any hint of good news. Separately, Chinese President Xi Jinping told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz he opposed the use of nuclear force in Europe, in his most direct remarks yet on the need to keep Russia’s war in Ukraine from escalating.

Part of China's gains were also spurred by tech companies, with a gauge of tech stocks listed in Hong Kong surging more than 7% after Bloomberg News reported progress in efforts to prevent delisting of hundreds of Chinese stocks from US exchanges. US audit officials completed their first on-site inspection round of Chinese companies ahead of schedule.

But the recent gains might not sustain, according to market watchers.  “Market dynamics remain relatively subdued despite some short-lived excitement over chatter around Covid-Zero policy changes,” Morgan Stanley strategists including Laura Wang wrote in a note. She expects near-term volatility to “stay high with complexity around Covid relaxation.” Gains in other Asian markets were relatively subdued, with Japanese shares underperforming the region as the market returned from a holiday. The Asian stock benchmark was poised for a weekly gain of more than 2%, the first in four weeks, as the reopening boost in China offset downside risks from further monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve. Still, the gauge is down about 28% this year

In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.5% after rising 0.7% Thursday and the dollar weakened against all of its Group-of-10 peers, in a commodity-currency led advance. DKK and EUR are the weakest performers in G-10 FX, AUD and NZD outperform.

  • The euro advanced after slumping all other trading days this week. Bunds were steady while Italian bonds inched up
  • The pound rebounded from a two-week low of 1.1150 per dollar and gilts inched up, led by the belly. Money markets pared pricing for BOE hikes by up to 10bps. BOE Chief Economist Huw Pill said the Bank of England is trying to strike a balance between bringing inflation back to target and preventing an unnecessarily deep recession by raising interest rates too aggressively. Pill speaks again later on Friday
  • The Australian dollar was the best G-10 performer. The currency rose by as much as 1.2% versus the dollar, and snapped six straight days of declines as Chinese stocks and iron ore prices surged amid China reopening speculation. Australia’s bonds bounced back with RBA’s quarterly monetary policy statement underscoring the central bank’s expectation it will soon reach peak rates even at a modest pace of hikes

In rates, the Treasury curve flattened as yields were between 3bps lower and 2bps higher from yesterday’s close while Germany’s 5y30y yield curve inverts for the first time since late September. Treasury yields slightly cheaper vs Thursday’s close with front-end underperforming -- 2-year touched 4.75%, new multiyear high -- as market braces for the October jobs report at 8:30am New York time. 2-year yield rose as much as 3.7bp, lagging rest of the curve; 10-year little changed near 4.16% with bunds slightly outperforming and gilts slightly lagging. Front-end underperformance continues to flatten 2s10s spread, which reached -61.9bp, new generational extreme; in Europe, German 5s30s curve inverts for the first time since end of September. Estoxx50 higher by almost 2% into early US session while S&P 500 futures climb 0.8%, paring Thursday’s drop; WTI futures up 3.5%. October jobs report expected to print 195k headline number (whisper number is 231k) with unemployment rate at 3.6%. Price action rangebound in the overnight session, also across core European bonds, while stocks have rallied, led by Estoxx50.

UK bonds fell after Andrew Hauser, executive director for markets at the BOE, said the central bank will outline how it will unwind its recent emergency gilt purchases “shortly.”

In commodities, crude futures rally. WTI up 3% to trade near $91. Brent rises 2.6% to top $97 amid optimism a China will boost oil demand; Commodities are also bolstered by the USD's pullback and. Saudi Arabia set December Arab light crude OSP to Asia at Oman/Dubai + USD 5.45/bbl, while it set OSP to NW Europe at ICE Brent + USD 1.70/bbl and to the US at ASCI + USD 6.35/bbl. Spot gold has struggled to surpass the USD 1650/oz mark where its 21-DMA lies just above at USD 1651.7/oz, while base metals are deriving broad support on the China/COVID narrative.

Bitcoin has broken out of the last few sessions tight parameters and resides towards the top end of this range just above the USD 20.5k mark.

Looking to the day ahead now, the main highlight will be the US jobs report for October. Meanwhile in Europe, there’s data on German factory orders, French industrial production and Euro Area PPI for September, alongside the final services and composite PMIs for October. Central bank speakers include ECB President Lagarde, Vice President de Guindos, Bundesbank President Nagel, the Fed’s Collins and BoE Chief Economist Pill.

Market Snapshot

  • S&P 500 futures up 0.3% to 3,740.50
  • STOXX Europe 600 up 0.7% to 412.46
  • MXAP up 1.2% to 139.46
  • MXAPJ up 2.3% to 449.33
  • Nikkei down 1.7% to 27,199.74
  • Topix down 1.3% to 1,915.40
  • Hang Seng Index up 5.4% to 16,161.14
  • Shanghai Composite up 2.4% to 3,070.80
  • Sensex down 0.2% to 60,727.51
  • Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.5% to 6,892.46
  • Kospi up 0.8% to 2,348.43
  • German 10Y yield down 1% to 2.22%
  • Euro up 0.3% to $0.9774
  • Brent Futures up 2% to $96.54/bbl
  • Gold spot up 1.1% to $1,647.66
  • U.S. Dollar Index down 0.36% to 112.52

Top Overnight News from Bloomberg

  • ECB President Christine Lagarde said interest rates may need to be lifted to restrictive levels to drag inflation back to its 2% target
  • Inflation in the euro zone will likely remain above the European Central Bank’s target for an extended period, raising the risk of a price-wage spiral, ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos said in a speech
  • German factory orders continued to decline in September, adding to concerns that Europe’s largest economy is slipping into recession as it struggles with surging energy costs. Demand fell 4% from the previous month, a steeper drop than the 0.5% median estimate in a Bloomberg poll of economists and accelerating from a revised 2% decrease in August
  • A Federal Reserve Bank of New York experiment has found that a central bank digital currency using distributed ledger technology could reduce the time it takes to settle foreign exchange transactions from two days to under 10 seconds, a top New York Fed official said
  • Cash is king, with investors fleeing to the safety of cash funds at the fastest pace since the coronavirus pandemic as the Federal Reserve remains firmly hawkish, according to strategists at Bank of America Corp

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

Asia-Pac stocks were mixed with Chinese stocks rallying on unverified reopening rumours, although the rest of the region was contained after the wave of central bank rate hikes and ahead of the NFP jobs data. ASX 200 was kept afloat by strength in the commodity-related sectors although gains were limited by weakness in defensives and the top-weighted financial sector, while the RBA’s quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy provided little in the way of fresh insight and included a downgrade to growth projections. Nikkei 225 was hit on return from holiday and reacted to the recent FOMC and Powell’s hawkish remarks. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp rallied with the Hong Kong benchmark spearheaded by tech and with EV makers boosted following a jump in BYD’s new energy vehicle sales, while sentiment was also boosted as US audit inspectors finished on-site China work ahead of schedule and amid unverified rumours of China reopening.

Top Asian News

  • US audit inspectors finished on-site China work ahead of schedule, according to Bloomberg.
  • Chinese President Xi met with German Chancellor Scholz and said as big nations with influence, China and Germany should work together all the more in times of change and turmoil to make a greater contribution to world peace and development, according to state media.
  • German Chancellor Scholz said his meeting with Chinese President Xi is at a time of big tension and that the Russian war on Ukraine brings big problems for rule-based order, while they will talk about Europe-China relations and the fight against climate change and world hunger. Scholz added they will also talk about how to develop economic relations and on topics where their perspectives are different.
  • Japan's government is said to issue JPY 22.8tln in bonds for the extra budget with total issuance for FY22/23 revised upward to a record JPY 62.5tln, according to Reuters.
  • RBA Statement on Monetary Policy said the board expects rates will need to increase further and policy is not on a pre-set path, while they will hike in larger steps or pause if considered necessary. Furthermore, the RBA cut economic growth forecasts in which it sees GDP at 2.9% in December 2022, 1.4% in December 2023 and 1.6% in December 2024, while it lifted the inflation forecast which it sees at 8.0% in December 2022, 4.7% in December 2023 and 3.2% in December 2024.
  • China is working on a plan to scrap COVID flight suspensions, according to Bloomberg.
  • China's Health Authorities are to hold a presser on targeted COVID prevention on November 5th at 15:00 local time (07:00GMT/03:00ET).

European bourses are firmer across the board as the complex benefits from further rumours around an easing of China's COVID policy, with a presser on prevention due on the weekend; Euro Stoxx 50 +1.4%. Additional upside occurred in wake of upward revisions to the regions PMI metrics; however, the magnitude of this was limited as internal commentary remained downbeat and the metrics are still in contractionary territory. Stateside, futures are firmer across the board with magnitudes a touch more contained vs Europe, ES +0.7%, as the region awaits the NFP print.

Top European News

  • Rolex Lifts Prices Again in Europe as US Dollar Stays Strong
  • German Factory Orders Accelerate Drop as Recession Looms
  • EU’s Breton Urges Carmakers to Keep Producing Combustion Engines
  • Paschi Completes Full Rights Offer Subscription, Shares Fall
  • GN Store Nord Shares Soar as Demant Invest Raises Holding
  • Naspers Surges in Johannesburg on China Reopening Hopes

FX

  • DXY has pulled back from overnight peaks, where it tested but failed to attain 113.00; a pullback in the context of constructive overall sentiment amid China-COVID rumours/reports and upward PMI revisions.
  • Antipodeans outperform given base metal action on the mentioned COVID rumours, a narrative which has also buoyed the Yuan which itself was subject to a firmer-than-expected Yuan midpoint.
  • EUR/USD has been unable to reclaim 0.98 despite favorable PMI revisions and the USD's pullback; note, substantial OpEx lies between 0.9790-0.9800.
  • Cable was unreactive to the BoE's Chief Economist reiterating lines from Bailey in pushing-back on market pricing; nonetheless, the Pound has eclipsed 1.12 and is among the outperformers following Thursday's underperformance.

Fixed Income

  • Core benchmarks are little changed overall with USTs essentially flat on the session and yields holding within recent parameters as we count down to the NFP print.
  • Bund has trimmed initial 50 tick upside following remarks from ECB's Lagarde which incl. hawkish undertones on the wage front, German benchmark now little changed overall.
  • In contrast, Gilts continue to slip and are lower by 50 ticks around 101.50 post-Pill highlighting that recent turmoil has not distracted them from their QT goals.

Commodities

  • Commodities are bolstered amid the USD's pullback and on further reopening rumours re. China
  • WTI and Brent front-month futures are firmer on the day with the former just under USD 91/bbl and the latter around USD 97.00/bbl.
  • Saudi Arabia set December Arab light crude OSP to Asia at Oman/Dubai + USD 5.45/bbl, while it set OSP to NW Europe at ICE Brent + USD 1.70/bbl and to the US at ASCI + USD 6.35/bbl.
  • MMG said it has been forced to commence a progressive slow-down of its Las Bambas operation amid disruptions due to blockades by communities, while it continues to work with the government of Peru and communities along the site's logistic route.
  • US and allies have reached agreement on which sales of Russian oil will be subject to a price cap, WSJ reports; "Each load of seaborne Russian oil will only be subject to the price cap when it is first sold to a buyer on land, meaning resales of the same oil won’t have to fall under the cap", according to WSJ sources.
  • Spot gold has struggled to surpass the USD 1650/oz mark where its 21-DMA lies just above at USD 1651.7/oz, while base metals are deriving broad support on the China/COVID narrative

Geopolitics

  • US officials have no clear timing for when North Korea might conduct a nuclear test and would like to see China and Russia use their leverage on North Korea to head off a nuclear test. Furthermore, the US is prepared to engage directly with North Korea and has sought to communicate with North Korea in private channels and through third parties, while it rejects the notion that the international community should treat North Korea as a nuclear power, according to a senior US administration official.
  • At least 180 North Korean warplanes take off in apparent show of force, via Yonhap; subsequently, South Korean has scrambled around 800 jets.
  • Taiwan Defence Ministry says 12 Chinese air force planes crossed the Taiwanese Strait Median Line on Friday, via Reuters.

US Event Calendar

  • 08:30: Oct. Change in Private Payrolls, est. 200,000, prior 288,000
    • 08:30: Oct. Change in Nonfarm Payrolls, est. 195,000, prior 263,000
    • 08:30: Oct. Change in Manufact. Payrolls, est. 12,000, prior 22,000
  • 08:30: Oct. Unemployment Rate, est. 3.6%, prior 3.5%
    • 08:30: Oct. Underemployment Rate, prior 6.7%
  • 08:30: Oct. Labor Force Participation Rate, est. 62.3%, prior 62.3%
  • 08:30: Oct. Average Hourly Earnings MoM, est. 0.3%, prior 0.3%
    • 08:30: Oct. Average Hourly Earnings YoY, est. 4.7%, prior 5.0%
  • 08:30: Oct. Average Weekly Hours All Emplo, est. 34.5, prior 34.5

DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

It’s been another rough 24 hours in markets, with risk assets continuing to struggle after Fed Chair Powell’s Wednesday statement that “the ultimate level of interest rates will be higher than previously expected”. Indeed, fed funds futures are now pricing in their most hawkish expectations to date, with terminal rate expectations closing above 5.1% for the first time.

This fresh bout of hawkishness served to knock equities yet again, with the S&P 500 (-1.06%) building on the previous day’s losses to fall for a 4th consecutive session. That brings its losses for the week to -4.64%, and the effects have been particularly pronounced among the more interest-sensitive sectors like tech. For example the NASDAQ (-1.73%) is now on track for its second-worst weekly performance since March 2020, having lost -6.84% over the last four days. Furthermore, the FANG+ index of megacap tech stocks fell a further -1.53% yesterday, meaning that it’s now down by over -48% since its peak exactly a year ago today.

If that wasn’t bad enough, a number of recessionary indicators were flashing with increasing alarm yesterday, and the 2s10s Treasury yield curve flattened by another -5.0bps to -57.3bps. That’s the most inverted that curve has been since 1982, and bear in mind that it’s inverted prior to every single one of the last 10 US recessions, so a concerning sign if you value the yield curve as a recession indicator. That push even deeper into inversion territory came as the 2yr yield rose by +9.4bps yesterday, hitting a fresh post-2007 high of 4.71%. In the interests of balance however, we should point out that the Fed’s preferred yield curve (the 18m forward 3m yield minus the spot 3m yield) did steepen +11.9bps yesterday to 46.0bps, moving it yet further away from its near-inversion last week, when it closed at a new low for this cycle of 3.2bps.

When it comes to expectations of future rate hikes, the big event today will be the US jobs report for October, which will feed into the debate as to whether the Fed might slow down their pace of hikes at the December meeting. In terms of what to expect, our US economists are forecasting that nonfarm payrolls will have risen by +225k, which they think should be enough to keep the unemployment rate steady at 3.5%. Nevertheless, there’s still next month’s jobs report as well as a further two CPI prints ahead of the next Fed meeting, so there’s plenty to digest before they have to make that decision.

Here in the UK, the focus was also on central banks yesterday after the BoE delivered a 75bps rate hike as expected, thus taking Bank Rate to a post-2008 high of 3%. But even though it was the biggest single hike in decades, several details leaned in a dovish direction. First, although a majority of the MPC said that further hikes might be required if the economy progressed in line with their forecasts, they also said it would be “to a peak lower than priced into financial markets.” That was evident from their forecasts too, since their inflation projection which was conditioned on market interest rate expectations showed inflation falling below the 2% target in a couple of years. Separately, two of the nine MPC members were also in favour of a smaller hike, with one wanting a 50bps move and another preferring a 25bps move.

Those dovish implications meant that sterling fell significantly in response, and in fact was the worst-performing G10 currency with a -2.04% decline against the dollar. That said, sterling’s weakness did support the FTSE 100 (+0.62%), which was the only major equity index to close in positive territory yesterday. In his recap (link here), our UK economist sticks to his view that Bank Rate will peak at 4.5%, but sees more downside risks to the call as a result of the more dovish message from yesterday. In the meantime, the focus on the UK economy will now shift to the fiscal side, as the government’s fiscal statement is set to be delivered on November 17.

When it came to gilts, the 10yr yield was up +11.1bps on the day, but that was basically in line with other European countries, with yields on 10yr bunds (+10.9bps), OATs (+10.0bps) and BTPs (+12.2bps) seeing similar increases. That followed remarks from an array of ECB officials, including President Lagarde who said that there was “still a way to go” when it came to raising rates. As with the Fed, market expectations of future ECB interest rates have ticked up again over recent days, but unlike the Fed they remain beneath their recent highs over the last month or so.

Overnight in Asia we’ve seen a massive surge in Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stocks, driven by continued speculation about a potential shift in their zero-Covid strategy. That’s helped the Hang Seng to gain a massive +7.46% on the day, whilst the CSI 300 (+3.53%) and the Shanghai Comp (+2.76%) have also seen sizeable gains. And unlike the US, tech stocks are surging even faster, with the Hang Seng Tech index up by +10.87%. Elsewhere in Asia we haven’t seen a surge on that scale, with the Kospi up by a more modest +0.61%, and the Nikkei (-1.81%) experiencing a decent loss as it reopens following the holiday during the previous session. Looking forward however, equity futures in the US and Europe are pointing higher this morning, with those on the S&P 500 up +0.25%.

Overnight we’ve also heard from the Reserve Bank of Australia, who released their quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy and upgraded their forecasts for inflation, which they now see peaking at 8% this year. Meanwhile on the data front, Japan’s composite and services PMI both hit a 4-month high in October, climbing to 51.8 and 53.2 respectively.

Looking at yesterday’s other data, the US weekly initial jobless claimed fell to 217k (vs. 220k expected) over the week ending October 29, and the 4-week moving average also ticked lower for the first time in 5 weeks. However, the ISM services came in somewhat beneath expectations, and the 54.4 reading (vs. 55.3 expected) was the worst month since May 2020 during the pandemic contraction, and the employment component also moved back into contractionary territory with a 49.1 reading. Finally, the Euro Area unemployment rate fell to 6.6% in September, which is the lowest since the formation of the single currency, since the August number was revised up a tenth to show a 6.7% reading.

To the day ahead now, and the main highlight will be the US jobs report for October. Meanwhile in Europe, there’s data on German factory orders, French industrial production and Euro Area PPI for September, alongside the final services and composite PMIs for October. Central bank speakers include ECB President Lagarde, Vice President de Guindos, Bundesbank President Nagel, the Fed’s Collins and BoE Chief Economist Pill.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/04/2022 - 07:58

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Is the biotech market rally real? Data suggest comeback in private, public markets

After some halting starts, false dawns and fragile rallies, the biotech market may finally be back.
No, really.
In the last several months, several important…

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After some halting starts, false dawns and fragile rallies, the biotech market may finally be back.

No, really.

In the last several months, several important signals have added up to what feels like a rally, with more depth and certainty than some of the short-lived upticks during the doldrums of 2022 and 2023, when only the industry’s most optimistic souls were willing to call it a comeback.

But now, public biotechs are releasing positive data and raising money in follow-on offerings with ease. Biopharmas have already raised $13.7 billion in secondary raises in 2024, according to Stifel’s Tim Opler. Biotech’s benchmark index, the $XBI, is up 56% from last year’s lows and has broken the $100 mark, thanks to gains that go deep into the 120-company index. And in the private markets, crossover rounds are trickling back, and IPOs are showing signs of life.

Investors and executives told Endpoints News that this moment feels different, encouraged by a return to the basics, a focus on data, and signs of a healthier — if smaller — biotech ecosystem.

Chris Garabedian

“We should be beyond any of the lows,” said Chris Garabedian, a venture portfolio manager at Perceptive Advisors and founder of the firm’s early-stage investing unit Xontogeny. “We are going to see continued forward momentum.”

Investor sentiment is “very different from what it was in ‘22 to ‘23, where it was all doom and gloom,” MoonLake Immunotherapeutics CEO Jorge Santos da Silva said. A year ago, “The question was like, ‘What are the 22 ways in which you can die?’ That has really changed.”

The XBI cracking $100 is encouraging, but a deeper look at the index shows more signs of strength. The exchange-traded fund, which lets investors buy shares of its basket of 120 biotech companies, has seen $457 million in net inflows over the past month, according to YCharts data. And about 80% of biotechs on the index — which includes giants like Vertex $VRTX and small companies like Avidity Biosciences $RNA — have seen their stock in the green over the past three months.

Some of that gain is clearly driven by a surge in M&A, including the buyouts of Seagen, Horizon, Cerevel, and Karuna, all of which have returned billions of dollars back to investors who need to put it back to work in the private or public markets. And industry insiders have said there’s also a breadth in the disease areas drawing interest, including obesity, cancer, cardiology, neurology, and inflammation.

Even ARCH Venture Partners managing director Bob Nelsen voiced some broader — albeit measured — optimism for the market.

“For our internal base case, we’re still assuming that things are going to suck like they have in the last couple of years,” Nelsen told Endpoints. “But we all believe that it has turned.”

Nelsen still implores his portfolio companies and limited partners to “assume it’s going to be worse than you think.” But his optimism is driven by two major trends: the easing of macro factors like interest rates and the persistence of M&A. He’s closely watching whether generalist investors — whose huge dollars can swing a sector up or down, as they did dramatically during the pandemic — will come back to biotech.

“The conventional wisdom in Q4 is, they were never coming back in the market,” he said. “Turns out, in Q4 they were buying.”

From atonement to ‘FOMO’

Jorge Santos da Silva

Da Silva said the industry had been “paying for our sins” committed in the boom years of 2019 to 2021, when hundreds of biotechs went public — many far from going into the clinic. Along with layoffs and company closures, it resulted in an infestation of the corporate walking dead in companies trading at values below the amount of cash on their books.

But the number of those companies with negative equity value has dropped in the past few months, suggesting that a much-needed cleanup from the go-go years is well in progress.

“I call it a detox,” da Silva said. “Whatever we did was clearly excessive and everyone knew it at the time. But when you’re at a party, it’s like, ‘Oh my God, this is crazy, but let’s keep going.’ The detox phase is definitely coming to an end.”

Otello Stampacchia

Otello Stampacchia, the managing director of the Boston-based VC firm Omega Funds, said the mood is even “getting a little bit bubblicious” for biotechs with clinical-stage drug candidates in large markets with meaningful milestones in the next 12 to 18 months.

“There’s really a rush to get into those, particularly now that the indices have started flipping their dynamic,” said Stampacchia, who founded Omega two decades ago. “Up until early last fall, nobody wanted to catch the falling knife. It’s now the exact opposite dynamic, and there’s a bit of crowding in some of these names.”

“There’s real FOMO to invest in the right therapeutic products and the right therapeutic companies,” he added.

That’s carried through the private and public markets, Stampacchia said, noting that Omega participated in Alumis’ recent $259 million Series C raise — biotech’s biggest round this year. He said he was “incredibly surprised by the amount of demand there was for the deal.” All told, Omega has seen roughly half a dozen of its portfolio companies raise close to half a billion dollars over the last few months, with increased valuations.

“In each case, it really wasn’t difficult to syndicate,” he said. “There’s real demand.”

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“It seems impossible:” Bergen County, NJ’s housing market is vexing agents and buyers

While the housing market has cooled from the buying frenzy during the pandemic, agents in the leafy Bergen County suburbs say it’s also gotten worse. We…

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Real estate agents in the leafy suburbs of Bergen County, New Jersey say the current housing market — with historically low inventory and record-high prices — is actually more challenging than the multiple offer chaos they sweated through during the pandemic.

“At the height of the pandemic there were bidding wars and all that, but it didn’t seem impossible, but now it seems impossible to get our buyers into homes,” said Heather Corrigan, a RE/MAX Signature Homes agent based in Closter, a borough that is 24 miles north of Manhattan and renown for its schools.

Altos Research’s Market Action Index score for the county, which has 70 municipalities, illustrates the challenges agents and their clients have faced. In March of 2022, the 90-day average Market Action Index score for the county hit a high of 93.84, before cooling over the past two years to a score of 47.98 as of March 6, 2024. Altos considers any score above 30 to be a seller’s market.

70 towns, 90 new listings

Local agents say the county’s tight inventory situation is largely to blame.

“We have been complaining about the lack of inventory for as long as I can remember, but then we at least had more listings,” Danny Yoon, an Edgewater, New Jersey-based Sotheby’s International Realty agent, said. “I was able to bring my clients to multiple listings for their consideration, but now I can only show them one or two in a given week. There is nothing to show.”

As of March 6, 2024, there was a 90-day average of 570 active single-family listings in Bergen County, according to Altos. This is down from a 90-day average of 752 active single-family listings a year ago and 2,052 active single-family listings in early March 2020, just at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bergen-County-Inventory-Line-Chart-Bergen-County-NJ-90-day-Single-Family

“Bidding wars are still there but it isn’t as bad as during COVID,” said Lisa Comito, a broker at Howard Hanna Rand Realty and the president of Greater Bergen Realtors, which has nearly 9,000 members. “When we were coming out of COVID we were seeing 15 to 20 offers on a house, where you’d have to make a spreadsheet to show your seller. You aren’t getting that, but there is still a lot of competitive bidding.”

Like elsewhere in the country, agents blame the low interest rates of 2020 and 2021 for locking many would-be sellers into their homes.

“During the pandemic, people would downsize or sell their home on a whim,” Comito said. “Now it is a different conversation. If they are downsizing it is for quality of life or that they can’t maintain a large home anymore.”

Although agents are optimistic about what may come with the fast-approaching spring housing market, the numbers are not promising. Data from Altos Research shows that there were just 90 new single-family listings in Bergen County for the week ending March 1, 2024. This is the fewest number of new listings for the first week in March recorded in Altos’ data, which dates back to 2013.

Bergen-County-New-Listings-Line-Chart-Bergen-County-NJ-Weekly-Single-Family

“Some of the reports indicate that we are going to have more listings this year than last year, but the only way I can see that being correct is because we had so few listings last year,” Yoon said. “Even if we get more listings, it is not going to be enough for people. We are still going to suffer from lack of inventory.”

Prices climbing toward $1M

While questions remain over how many sellers will decide to enter the market this spring, agents are already seeing more buyers come to the market. That’s despite median list prices climbing to a record $899,000 in the first week of March 2024, up nearly $150,000 from March 2022, which Altos considers the market’s peak.

“There is a meme with two buyers sitting in chairs waiting for prices and interest rates to drop and the buyers are skeletons and I think there is some truth to that,” Corrigan said. “But now buyers are sick of waiting around and are deciding it is time to buy.”

Comito also believes the current interest rate environment is helping to encourage buyers to enter the market.

“Buyers right now have gotten more comfortable with the mortgage rates,” Comito said. “They have stayed pretty consistent, allowing people to adjust to them and they aren’t thinking as much about those low rates of the pandemic market.”

While buyers are facing inventory and interest rate challenges, agents say they are also facing competition from investors and the all-cash offers they are capable of making.

“I have well qualified clients who are putting down 25% and are coming over asking with no or limited inspections and they are getting beat out by investors with all-cash,” Corrigan said.

She noted that while some of the investors are larger corporations, there are also a lot of mom-and-pop investors out in the market, buying up inventory.

Comito noted that even first-time buyers are looking to get into rental properties.

“You are seeing first time buyers looking for multifamily properties where they can rent out the other units to help pay for their mortgage,” Comito said.

Even with the challenging housing market conditions, buyers are still flocking to Bergen County, and agents like Corrigan don’t see that changing.

“The schools are good, and everything is in close proximity,” Corrigan said. “Every town has its own unique features, whether it is a great library, the town pool, events they put on, great restaurants, it is really just a desirable place to live for so many people.”

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A review of the Australian private credit market in 2023

2023 marked a year of both challenges and opportunities for the Australian private credit market. On the one hand, the tighter credit conditions in the…

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2023 marked a year of both challenges and opportunities for the Australian private credit market. On the one hand, the tighter credit conditions in the first half of the year saw decreased activity in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), project finance and real estate development financing. On the other, the latter part of the year boasted a more stable interest rate and inflation outlook, as well as improved credit margins, supporting more resilient private credit portfolios. 

Ernst and Young (EY) publish an annual report on the Australian private credit landscape, which is a must-read for anyone following this asset class, whether you are a believer or still sitting on the fence. I have summarised my key learnings from this report in the article below.  

Market size – despite a slow 2023, there is still a big runway for growth 

In 2023, the Australian private credit market saw robust growth of 7 per cent, with total assets under management reaching AU$188 billion. Whilst solid, this was moderate compared to the 32 per cent growth experienced in 2022. According to EY, business-related loans amounted to AU$112 billion, while commercial real estate-related loans amounted to AU$76 billion. Focussing on business-related loans, this included all lending that was not commercial real estate-related, such as leveraged and sponsor lending, direct lending, middle-market, small-to-medium sized business lending (SME), special situations, distressed and venture debt.

Importantly, private credit in Australia only represented 12 per cent of the total business related-loan market. Offshore, the private credit market globally was estimated to be as large as U.S.$1.6 trillion during 2023 and forecasted to continue to grow double digits well into 2028. As such, there is clearly still a big runway for growth here domestically.  

Resilient performance – some sector challenges but borrower quality is key 

Performance has been a strong point of attraction in accessing Australian private credit, with majority of providers being able to continue to pay out anywhere from cash plus three per cent per annum through economic shifts and challenges such as COVID-19 and the interest rate environment over the last couple of years.

In 2023, this, in part, can be attributed to insolvencies being very company-specific and experienced in more cyclical and challenged sectors. EY noted these to be construction, accommodation, hospitality and food, business services and retail trade. The ability for private credit providers to access a growing universe of quality borrowers, leaving more traditional finance providers, is a key thematic fuelling the continued stability of outcomes. Moreover, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) noted in a recent report that SME lending accounted for over 50 per cent of total business lending in Australia. Despite this, lending to Australian SMEs only grew by six per cent over the year to September 2023.

The report also notes that more than 50 per cent of SMEs have issues accessing finance from traditional providers, with time to assess and approve being cited as a major impediment. Borrowers are also seeking alternate funding providers due to the size of the loans they are after (generally less than $2 million), duration (generally less than 12 months) and seeking to provide security outside of residential property. As such, this has carved out an area of the market that is starved for funding where niche private credit providers are still able to source strong forms of protection at the borrower level for working capital-focussed lending. In fact, the Australian Banking Association approximated the Australian SME loan market to be as large as AU$451 billion in 2022.  

Outlook – energy transition is a big opportunity 

EY further deduces that the economy-wide energy transition is another significant theme that will impact the Australian private credit market. With the need for capital investment in energy generation, technology, and infrastructure, private credit lenders are expected to play a crucial role.

In fact, quoting another recent EY publication, “Australia must attract an estimated $1.5 trillion in capital by 2030 and up to $9 trillion by 2060 to fund the transition to net zero emissions.” What role will private credit providers play here? EY namely cites in the form of new capital investments, refinancing and acquisition of lenders or loan books as traditional finance providers closely monitor their climate-related exposures under the new Australian sustainability reporting standards.

In conclusion, the Australian private credit market is navigating challenges with resilience and is well-positioned for growth in 2024. With improving economic conditions, a focus on sustainable investments, and a track record of portfolio quality, private credit lenders are poised to play a vital role in supporting Australia’s growing debt market. 

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