Head of Research and Global Chief Strategist, Steno Research

Andreas Steno

Head of Research and Global Chief Strategist

Macro and Geopolitical Research House

Steno Research

Steno Research is a new macro and geopolitical research house. We are based out of Copenhagen, Denmark, but have an international team and a strong network of sources and partners around the world. The team is lead by Andreas Steno, previous global head of strategy at Nordea Bank, and Mikkel Rosenvold, former chief consultant in the Danish Ministry of Finance.

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul><li>Hello everyone, and welcome back to our weekly positioning watch, where we as always try to dig down into the latest positioning data and give you an overview of what’s moving narrative currently.</li><li>Sentiment and positioning are still skewed towards hopes of a soft landing, with bets being placed on lower yields, a weaker dollar, booming equities and almost non-existent credit spreads – ironically a prime condition for an upcoming recession (which is still our base case for H1 2024).</li><li>General media and story counts are also all about the soft landing vs recession, with the mentionings of “recession” back at pre-COVID levels, while soft landing counts are on the rise, although pulling a bit back from recent highs.</li></ul>

Hello everyone, and welcome back to our weekly positioning watch, where we as always try to dig down into the latest positioning data and give you an overview of what’s moving narrative currently.Sentiment and positioning are still skewed towards hopes of a soft landing, with bets being placed on lower yields, a weaker dollar, booming equities and almost non-existent credit spreads – ironically a prime condition for an upcoming recession (which is still our base case for H1 2024).General media and story counts are also all about the soft landing vs recession, with the mentionings of “recession” back at pre-COVID levels, while soft landing counts are on the rise, although pulling a bit back from recent highs.

Positioning Watch – All About the Soft Landing Narrative

Political Analyst | Steno Research, Steno Research

Anne Sandager

Political Analyst | Steno Research

<ul>
<li>On Wednesday, the European Commission made a formal recommendation to start EU membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.</li>
<li>Ukraine is thereby catching up to countries such as Montenegro, Serbia, and North Macedonia whose accession processes have been underway since the 00s.</li>
<li>Accepting Ukraine with a population of 43,79 million into the EU will be the end to the Union as we know it.</li>
</ul>


On Wednesday, the European Commission made a formal recommendation to start EU membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.
Ukraine is thereby catching up to countries such as Montenegro, Serbia, and North Macedonia whose accession processes have been underway since the 00s.
Accepting Ukraine with a population of 43,79 million into the EU will be the end to the Union as we know it.


EUROPOLITICS WATCH: Opposition Victory in Poland Opens Door for Ukraine in the EU?

Macroeconomics

<ul><li>We received the first inflation evidence from the Euro area already earlier today as the German regional office in Brandenburg released the preliminary October numbers printing at 0.0% MoM.</li><li>That is a very soft reading, fitting hand in glove with our dovish EUR-flation view, and it looks favorable both in unadjusted and seasonally adjusted terms.</li><li>A reasonable expectation (based on seasonal patterns + trend) would be to expect a 0.2-0.3% MoM print in Brandenburg for October, so it strengthens our case for a material dovish surprise.</li></ul>

We received the first inflation evidence from the Euro area already earlier today as the German regional office in Brandenburg released the preliminary October numbers printing at 0.0% MoM.That is a very soft reading, fitting hand in glove with our dovish EUR-flation view, and it looks favorable both in unadjusted and seasonally adjusted terms.A reasonable expectation (based on seasonal patterns + trend) would be to expect a 0.2-0.3% MoM print in Brandenburg for October, so it strengthens our case for a material dovish surprise.

EUR Inflation Watch: A Dovish Surprise in the Making

Technical Analyst, Vermilion Research

Joe Jasper

Technical Analyst

Technical and Quantitative Research

Vermilion Research

Vermilion’s objective is to deliver timely, actionable, and unique technical research to professional investors through the application of our various technical indicators.

Our research strategists seek to highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various technical and quantitative indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. Our unique research methodology, centered on relative strength, enables our strategists to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing the universe of actively traded stocks into discrete sectors, then into industry groups. We then apply our technical and quantitative tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sector or group, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. We provide a historical perspective that often reveals, through our long-term charts, how price patterns often repeat themselves over time.

Technical Analysis

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF / Technical Analysis

<ul>
<li>We continue to believe that a bearish intermediate-term outlook is appropriate as long as the YTD downtrends remain intact on MSCI ACWI (ACWI-US), MSCI ACWI ex-US (ACWX-US), and EAFE (EFA-US).</li>
<li>We would turn bullish only on reversals of those downtrends. With that said, a bear market rally has officially begun, something that we have discussed since our Sept.29 Int'l Compass</li>
<li>We expect to see rallies to their respective YTD downtrends (ACWX, EFA, etc.). We highlight buys that are likely to outperform on this bear market rally.</li>
</ul>


We continue to believe that a bearish intermediate-term outlook is appropriate as long as the YTD downtrends remain intact on MSCI ACWI (ACWI-US), MSCI ACWI ex-US (ACWX-US), and EAFE (EFA-US).
We would turn bullish only on reversals of those downtrends. With that said, a bear market rally has officially begun, something that we have discussed since our Sept.29 Int'l Compass
We expect to see rallies to their respective YTD downtrends (ACWX, EFA, etc.). We highlight buys that are likely to outperform on this bear market rally.


Bear Market Rally in Progress as DXY, Global Sovereign 10-Yr Yields Fall; Buy Ideas Within Leaders

<ul>
<li>Last week we noted that the bullish reversals had begun, with the MSCI ACWI (ACWI-US), STOXX Europe 50, and SPX the first few to reverse topside their 4-month downtrends.</li>
<li>As we discuss below, bullish reversals are proliferating globally, something that continues to support our belief that global equities are bottoming.</li>
<li>Global growth Sectors continue to gain momentum and have emerged as leadership -- overweight growth. Sectors covered today include Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Industrials -- add exposure</li>
</ul>


Last week we noted that the bullish reversals had begun, with the MSCI ACWI (ACWI-US), STOXX Europe 50, and SPX the first few to reverse topside their 4-month downtrends.
As we discuss below, bullish reversals are proliferating globally, something that continues to support our belief that global equities are bottoming.
Global growth Sectors continue to gain momentum and have emerged as leadership -- overweight growth. Sectors covered today include Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Industrials -- add exposure


Bullish Reversals Proliferate; Stick With Growth; Buy Ideas in Tech, Discretionary, & Industrials

France

The CAC 40, the most widely-used indicator of the Paris market, reflects the performance of the 40 largest equities listed in France, measured by free-float market-capitalization and liquidity. 

CAC 40 (CAC INDEX)

Positioning Watch – All About the Soft Landing Narrative

Hello everyone, and welcome back to our weekly positioning watch, where we as always try to dig down into the latest positioning data and give you...

Steno Research

EUROPOLITICS WATCH: Opposition Victory in Poland Opens Door for Ukraine in the EU?

The support of Poland will be key for Ukraine heading into negotiations with the EU. The Polish election on Oct 15th enjoyed significant...

Steno Research

EUR Inflation Watch: A Dovish Surprise in the Making

We received the first inflation evidence from the Euro area already earlier today as the German regional office inBrandenburg released the...

Steno Research

Bear Market Rally in Progress as DXY, Global Sovereign 10-Yr Yields Fall; Buy Ideas Within Leaders

Bear Market Rally in Progress as $DXY, Global Sovereign 10-Year Yields Decline. Italy FTSE MIB with a bullish YTD downtrend reversal, Switzerland...

Vermilion Research

Bullish Reversals Proliferate; Stick With Growth; Buy Ideas in Tech, Discretionary, & Industrials

Bullish reversals begun last week in $ACWI, $SPX, and $STOXX Europe 50, with each reversing topside their 4-month downtrends. Now, bullish...

Vermilion Research