ASX 200: The Place To Be In A Low-Volume World

 | Sep 23, 2016 06:45AM ET

  1. US equities once again the place to be as implied volatility is smashed for the second day in a row. The Nasdaq 100 the index of choice for traders to express a bullish bias on US equities, although the S&P 500 is looking constructive too, with a session gain of 0.7%.
  2. In the S&P 500, financials lagged (no shock there given the three basis point flattening of the yield curve), with REITS and telcos working well. Volumes were in-line with the long-run average.
  3. Initial USD weakness was met with some better buying as the session grew and this seems to have taken some of the heat out of further risk sentiment.
  4. AUD/USD traded to a high of $0.7675 (session range of $0.7604 to $0.7604) and sits mid-range now. With the RBA holding a neutral bias it seems further upside could be seen in AUD/USD. A weekly close above $0.7720 (trend resistance drawn from the August 2013 low) would be the key to open up good upside. A renewed period of low volatility would clearly help the higher yielding currencies.
  5. Put GBP/AUD on the radar with price making a series of lower lows. The pair is eyeing a break of a$1.7000 area again after recently rallying to a$1.7802. Given the strength behind the selling I’d use the five day EMA as guide to trial stops lower.
  6. Renewed focus has been placed financial risks. Not only did we get the weekend report from the Bank of International Settlement (BIS) highlighting the leverage in China, but yesterday’s report from the United Nations suggesting the third leg of the financial crisis is yet to come (source: Telegraph) is also a worry. The fact is the Fed are playing a dangerous game and almost pushing the ‘hunt for yield’ trade as far as they can. The Fed have crushed volatility again in yesterday’s meeting and the trade once again is to be long yield, but this cannot go on forever without huge consequences.
  7. The ASX 200 is likely to test 5400 on open today (+0.5%), taking the weekly gain to 104 points or 2%. After the poor run it’s no surprise to see the ASX 200 outperforming and despite having an elevated price-to-earnings ratio (which developed market hasn’t?) the index also has the highest yield. International money managers know the ASX 200 is a yield play and with volatility so low and more confidence that the AUD just isn’t going to collapse as many had forecasted Australia, we expect short-term outperformance from the Aussie market.
  8. Keep an eye on what worked well yesterday, with solid gains seen in names like resources and industrials like Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR), Aconex Ltd. (AX:ACX), Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (AX:FMG), MDN, Newcrest Mining Ltd. (AX:NCM) and Independence Group NL. (AX:IGO). Further gains in Resolute Mining Ltd. (AX:RSG) takes its annual gain to a lazy 808%.
  9. BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) Ltd. (NYSE:BHP) and Commonwealth Bank Of Australia's (AX:CBA) adr’s (American Depository Receipt) are both pointing to fairly flat opens, although CBA looks better bid of the two on the open. Both BHP and RIO had huge gains in London, but the adr’s are not suggesting it will necessarily flow through to Aussie trade today. Watch for any break in BHP through the recent high of $21.57 as the momentum and trend traders will be happy to add here.
  10. Next week we all become political analysts with the First Presidential Debate taking place at 11:00 to 12:30 aest at Hofsta University in New York. There are a number of topics that have been pre-released and these include ‘achieving prosperity’, ‘securing America’ and ‘America’s direction’. Its show time, the debate and should make entertaining television.
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    The ASX has found its mojo after a period of strong underperformance. It’s interesting to see such a strong inverse correlation between the ASX 200 and US volatility index (VIX) and this simply highlights the use of the ASX 200 as a vehicle to trade volatility and the ‘hunt for yield’. However, while we can see this inverse correlation first hand by simply overlapping the two charts, one can see that the big gains actually came from the names most exposed to a falling USD and that is the commodity plays and the industrial names that are naturally so leveraged to this space. As we have seen in the last six weeks or so implied volatility is absolute key as a catalyst for the local market.