Hope, fear and greed can be measured in many ways on Wall Street and we are told to "sell hope and buy fear" by the great investors, sages and textbooks of all time. It is difficult to buy fear and even more difficult to sell hope, since hope tends to go on longer and go higher than anyone can imagine. But the downside is more consistent and similar, as you'll see in the chart.
What I'd like to show you here with this chart is the price action of the US stock market in a unique way that shows "sentiment" (see the blue line labeled "RgMov" together with a price & volatility pattern that has many people nervous for the past couple of years. Sentiment as measure by the blue line "RgMov" peaked 2 years ago in August 2014 and has been declining in a significant way that is reminiscent of major stock market bottoms as in 2003 and 2009. Note the magnitude of the drop and the duration and severity. We have had many months where all or most of the price action has been on the downside, which makes people "feel" like stock prices are always having a rough time.
Compare this pattern of "psychology" which prevailed at the 1993 time frame and led to a sideways 1994 market before the bull market continued in 1995-1999. Note how the 1987 crash was the PEAK VOLATILITY event and then there was CONVERGENCE during the rally phase into 1994, for 7 years. Note also how the 2009 market was the PEAK VOLATILITY event and there was CONVERGENCE during the rally phase into 2016, for 7 years. Average True Range Percentage (ATR%) declined to its lowest level this month as it did back in 1993. People naturally get scared when volatility declines to a low level, as it has been "THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM" in the 2007 example, so analysts, commentators and investors are looking at this pattern and drawing the conclusion that we are repeating 2007 again.
I think we are repeating 1994 right now and if the right tax laws change as they did in 1994 where Bill Clinton reduced tax rates on start-ups to 15% and made the "internet tax-free" - we could see upside. In 2007, to explain why we aren't repeating that time frame, the Gov't slammed the breaks on bank lending by cutting bank leverage from 40:1 down to 11:1 which crushed real estate, lending and asset prices. I don't see that now or anytime on the horizon since we are at 11:1 leverage now. This time in the US is closer to 1993-1994 than 2007-2008.
October 23, 2016 9:29PM EST
Tim West