DAX: Stocks Rally Fatigued After Mixed Trade Headlines

 | Nov 22, 2019 05:45

A growing number of analysts, ourselves included, have long waited for a correction in the stock markets. But the wait must continue as conflicting signals regarding the US-China trade deal prevents market participants from taking bold directional positions, with most speculators happy to remain nimble in this market environment. Still, a short-term retracement may be on the cards judging by this week’s price action.

The markets have been propped up by optimism that the US and China will soon end their trade dispute, with the rally finding additional fuel from major central banks’ ultra-loose monetary policy stances. However, over the last couple of days, one or two reports have emerged that said the two sides are not as close to agreeing a “Phase One” trade deal as the markets had anticipated. Indeed, Reuters reported yesterday that the deal may not be completed by the conclusion of this year after all. As a result, stocks slumped, although Washington later tried to ease concerns by suggesting – once again – that “progress is being made.” Today, a report by South China Morning Post said the US may delay the December 15th tariffs, if a deal is not reached by then.

While this helped the indices to come off their lows, the bulls were hesitant to step in meaningfully. The markets are increasingly getting fed up with the rhetoric. Investors now want to see action as we head to year end. In any case, we continue to think that much of the optimism is already priced in given the sharp gains on Wall Street over the past several weeks. So, if the two sides were to agree on some sort of a phase one deal eventually then the potential upside move for stocks could be limited anyway.