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.

Macroeconomics

<ul><li>Very interesting dynamics in markets lately, with the NFP report Friday shocking markets at first glance before sending them back into rally-mode, likely a signal that asset pricing will be more about underlying fundamentals and economic data rather than interest rates alone.</li><li>Despite rate cuts being pushed back a bit by both data and central bankers, the US economy is going strong, and the “interest rates work with a lag” arguments have been swept away for now, which leaves us with good news actually being good news.</li><li>This week’s positioning watch is chart-packed with short and concise text – Enjoy!EquitiesRetail Investors’ allocation towards stocks has remained fairly stable since 2022 and has retracted after the boom in late 2023, but despite having a high correlation with the performance in small vs big equities (Russell 2000 vs S&amp;P 500), Large Cap has outperformed Russell 2000 and other small cap indices by MILES since 2022.</li></ul>

Very interesting dynamics in markets lately, with the NFP report Friday shocking markets at first glance before sending them back into rally-mode, likely a signal that asset pricing will be more about underlying fundamentals and economic data rather than interest rates alone.Despite rate cuts being pushed back a bit by both data and central bankers, the US economy is going strong, and the “interest rates work with a lag” arguments have been swept away for now, which leaves us with good news actually being good news.This week’s positioning watch is chart-packed with short and concise text – Enjoy!EquitiesRetail Investors’ allocation towards stocks has remained fairly stable since 2022 and has retracted after the boom in late 2023, but despite having a high correlation with the performance in small vs big equities (Russell 2000 vs S&amp;P 500), Large Cap has outperformed Russell 2000 and other small cap indices by MILES since 2022.

Positioning Watch – Spread-trades are the way to play the current environment

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

<ul>
<li>Since early November 2023 we have laid out our bullish expectations for a year-end rally that we anticipated would continue into the early part of 2024. </li>
<li>Here we are in the early part of 2024, and we see every reason to continue riding this bull market higher. We see small- and mid-caps resuming uptrends $IWM $VXF</li>
<li>Downgrading Staples (XLP) to underweight after brief stint at market weight. Highlighting several buys within Financials: Property &amp; Casualty Insurance BRK.B, PGR, CB, TRV, ALL, CINF, ERIE, and more</li>
</ul>


Since early November 2023 we have laid out our bullish expectations for a year-end rally that we anticipated would continue into the early part of 2024. 
Here we are in the early part of 2024, and we see every reason to continue riding this bull market higher. We see small- and mid-caps resuming uptrends $IWM $VXF
Downgrading Staples (XLP) to underweight after brief stint at market weight. Highlighting several buys within Financials: Property &amp; Casualty Insurance BRK.B, PGR, CB, TRV, ALL, CINF, ERIE, and more


Continue Riding This Bull Market Higher; Small- And Mid-Caps Resuming Uptrends; Downgrading Staples

<ul><li>Welcome back to our weekly positioning watch, where we as always provide you with our latest findings on sentiment, positioning, and everything in between.</li><li>Conclusions in short:Equities: Tech is now slightly overbought, while Utilities remain both oversold and undervalued.</li><li>Russell 2000 is the cheapest and most oversold index.</li></ul>

Welcome back to our weekly positioning watch, where we as always provide you with our latest findings on sentiment, positioning, and everything in between.Conclusions in short:Equities: Tech is now slightly overbought, while Utilities remain both oversold and undervalued.Russell 2000 is the cheapest and most oversold index.

Positioning Watch – Markets betting on lower rates and higher oil prices

Research from Water Tower Research, Water Tower Research

Water Tower Research

Research from Water Tower Research

Water Tower Research is a leading equity research firm that provides research on micro, small and mid cap companies.

Water Tower Research was founded by Wall Street veterans after witnessing a fundamental shift in the investment research industry with the result being a declining knowledge base among investors, a lack of awareness and a shrinking pool of fundamental research being conducted on companies across the small-cap and micro-cap spectrum. The same issues are now increasingly occurring in the mid-cap space. This sea change within the investment community is impacting not only the companies themselves but also current shareholders and potential investors. With significantly less active sell-side sponsorship by Wall Street, a substantial information gap has developed between companies and various constituents in the financial community. The net result is fewer channels for insight and information to flow between companies and investors.

Equity Research Firm

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul><li>Changes to WTR-CMI. Following the completion of Livent’s merger of equals with Allkem, the new company, with the new name Arcadium Lithium plc, is now trading under the symbols ALTM-NYSE and LTM-ASX, and has replaced LTHM in our index.</li><li>WTR-CMI last week. The S&amp;P 500 appreciated 1.2% last week, while the broader Russell 2000 managed to stay relatively flat, losing 0.3% of its value.</li><li>Our WTR-CMI Index declined 1.2%, dragged down by double-digit losses in lithium stocks and the continuing decline in the value of synthetic graphite maker EAF. </li></ul>

Changes to WTR-CMI. Following the completion of Livent’s merger of equals with Allkem, the new company, with the new name Arcadium Lithium plc, is now trading under the symbols ALTM-NYSE and LTM-ASX, and has replaced LTHM in our index.WTR-CMI last week. The S&amp;P 500 appreciated 1.2% last week, while the broader Russell 2000 managed to stay relatively flat, losing 0.3% of its value.Our WTR-CMI Index declined 1.2%, dragged down by double-digit losses in lithium stocks and the continuing decline in the value of synthetic graphite maker EAF. 

Mat-Chem Notes - For the Week Ended January 19, 2024

<ul>
<li>The SPX, Nasdaq 100, and DJI breaking out to new all-time highs following 3-week consolidations. Russell 2000 (IWM), S&amp;P 400 (IJH), Vanguard ExtendedMarket (VXF), countless other Sectors/industries breaking out also.</li>
<li>This is classic bull market behavior. Considering market dynamics remain healthy, this is all evidence that supports our ongoing bullish outlook.</li>
<li>Software, Data Storage buys: NTAP, NTNX, DBX, VRNS, and CVLT. Investment Banking &amp; Brokerage, Mid-Cap buys: JEF, SF, EVR, MC, and LAZ</li>
</ul>


The SPX, Nasdaq 100, and DJI breaking out to new all-time highs following 3-week consolidations. Russell 2000 (IWM), S&amp;P 400 (IJH), Vanguard ExtendedMarket (VXF), countless other Sectors/industries breaking out also.
This is classic bull market behavior. Considering market dynamics remain healthy, this is all evidence that supports our ongoing bullish outlook.
Software, Data Storage buys: NTAP, NTNX, DBX, VRNS, and CVLT. Investment Banking &amp; Brokerage, Mid-Cap buys: JEF, SF, EVR, MC, and LAZ


Breakouts Proliferate; Bullish Outlook Intact; Small- And Mid-Caps to Lead?

United States

The Russell 2000 Index is comprised of the smallest 2000 companies in the Russell 3000 Index, representing approximately 8% of the Russell 3000 total market capitalization. The index was developed with a base value of 135.00 as of December 31, 1986.

Russell 2000 Index (RTY INDEX)

Positioning Watch – Spread-trades are the way to play the current environment

Very interesting dynamics in markets lately, with the NFP report Friday shocking markets at first glance before sending them back into rally-mode,...

Steno Research

Continue Riding This Bull Market Higher; Small- And Mid-Caps Resuming Uptrends; Downgrading Staples

Continue Riding This Bull Market Higher; Small- and Mid-Caps Resuming Uptrends $IWM $RTY $VXF; Downgrading Consumer Staples $XLP to Underweight...

Vermilion Research

Positioning Watch – Markets betting on lower rates and higher oil prices

Welcome back to our weekly positioning watch, where we as always provide you with our latest findings on sentiment, positioning, and everything in...

Steno Research

Mat-Chem Notes - For the Week Ended January 19, 2024

WTR-CMI last week. The S&P 500 appreciated 1.2% last week, while the broader Russell 2000 managed to stay relatively flat, losing 0.3% of its value.

Water Tower Research

Breakouts Proliferate; Bullish Outlook Intact; Small- And Mid-Caps to Lead?

Breakouts Proliferate; Bullish Outlook Intact; Small- and Mid-Caps to Outperform? $SPX $QQQ $DJI breakout to all-time highs, $IWM $IJH $VXF,...

Vermilion Research