Chart Of The Day: Cyclical Reversion Boosts NASDAQ In Short Term

 | Jul 21, 2022 09:31AM ET

  • Earnings reveal tech sector expectations were lower
  • Banks' higher relative earnings expectations boosted growth sector over value
  • Bank leaders think there is no impending recession
  • US stocks jumped yesterday as earnings were not as bad as anticipated. The NASDAQ outperformed as mega tech earnings beat low expectations, while value companies missed estimates.

    Note the irony.

    Technology stocks are jumping as lower earnings expectations have been beaten.

    Meanwhile, bank earnings have missed expectations which were relatively higher than last year sending the sector lower.

    Another layer of irony is that bank leaders said they do not think a recession is underway even as they underperform growth stocks, which is consistent with the outlook that a downturn is coming.

    Growth stocks have outperformed value sectors by a rough factor of two in the year's first five months.

    Last month, the lead technology shares over cyclical stocks halved to just a 0.25% lead. I argued that the market might have begun a rotation reversal into growth. While rising rates tend to benefit economically sensitive sectors, that is only because of economic expansion.

    However, as the economy is slowing and may even be heading into a recession, demand will fall for all the sectors that benefit during economic growth, putting growth stocks back on the map.

    Even if I'm right, and investors do increase the weight of growth stocks in their portfolios, it doesn't mean the NASDAQ will necessarily exit the bear market, just that its descent will be slower. Let's see what this looks like on the chart.