Week Ahead: Investors Hoard Cash Amid Recession Fears

 | Oct 10, 2022 05:18AM ET

According to Bank of America, investors are holding on to more cash, saying the pace was the highest since April 2020 amid fears of a looming recession. That means stocks could fall further as they don’t fully reflect that risk.

Markets are likely to see new lows in October as the specter of recession weighs on corporate earnings, although S&P 500 had its best week since late June, and the short-rally could be continued till important resistance levels.

US stocks were starting to price in an economic contraction. Conversely, in Europe, equity outflows continued for a 34th straight week, the longest streak since 2016. Therefore, it’s so contrarian to be ‘’Bull’’ at this very moment due to the cheaper valuations of US stocks.

Why is that? Because the strong dollar puts the profit of US companies at risk and simultaneously undermines the Fed. Thus, as demand weakens globally and domestically, investors should not expect corporate earnings to remain near record levels. The current gap between corporate earnings and asset prices, or even better S&P 500, as you can see on the chart, is at its widest on record.