MARKET INSIGHTS

Weekly market commentary

11/nov/2024
  • BlackRock Investment Institute

Zeroing in on secular forces, not cycles

Market take

Weekly video_20241111

Vivek Paul

Opening frame: What’s driving markets? Market take 

Camera frame

We are in a world where multiple, starkly different outcomes are possible. The decisive US election outcome has stoked uncertainty about future US policy.

At our 2025 Outlook Forum last week, BlackRock investment leaders met to discuss how to invest given large structural shifts happening now.

Title slide: Zeroing in on secular forces, not cycles 

1: Tracking the transformation 

We have seen unusually sharp swings in 10-year US Treasury yields with key macro releases. We think that reflects investors viewing incoming data through the lens of a typical business cycle when structural changes are at play.

The goal of the Forum was to track the transformation being driven by these structural changes. We evolved our macro scenarios to better understand and position for the likely market impact. 

2: US strength and geopolitics in focus

Our portfolio managers are broadly positive on US stocks even if valuations look steep by some measures. The contrast with lagging European economic growth and stock performance remains stark.

Geopolitical fragmentation was consistently discussed given wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and tense China relations.

3: Gauging AI’s potential

AI and its energy and investment needs were still in focus following our June Forum. We generally agreed that the AI buildout can broaden to include other beneficiaries.

Quantifying AI’s longer-term economic impact remains a challenge, but we think it has the potential to reshape economies and boost economic growth.

Outro: Here’s our Market take 

Our Forum discussion sought to clarify how structural shifts are driving the investment opportunities we see while assessing what’s in the price.

We think having a solid framework is key for anchoring views in this unusual environment.

Closing frame: Read details: blackrock.com/weekly-commentary

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Forum takeaways

Market-moving events can highlight structural shifts underway. Our investment leaders grapple with the implications of a world shaped by supply.

Market backdrop

US stocks soared last week, marking their largest weekly gain of the year. Small caps and banks led the way following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.

Week ahead

This week, US CPI will help gauge if inflation is still falling toward the Fed’s 2% target. Recent PCE data indicates inflation will settle higher in the medium term.

We are in a world where multiple, starkly different outcomes are possible. The decisive US election outcome has stoked uncertainty about future US policy. At our 2025 Outlook Forum last week, BlackRock investment leaders met to discuss how to invest given large structural shifts happening now – and we updated the range of scenarios we considered feasible six months ago, reflecting our discussions on US exceptionalism, geopolitics and artificial intelligence (AI).

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Sensitive to surprises

Sensitivity of US 10-year yield to economic surprises, 2003-2024

The chart shows that 10-year US Treasury yields have swung sharply with key macro releases this year.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Source: BlackRock Investment Institute, with data from LSEG Datastream, October 2024. Notes: The line shows how sensitive the US 10-year Treasury yield is to economic surprises, using regression analysis to estimate the relationship between US 10-year Treasury yields and the Citi Economics Surprise Index over a rolling six-month window. This is only an estimate of the relationship between the 10-year Treasury yield and economic surprises.

Our Outlook Forum took place against the backdrop of a momentous US election. Markets welcomed the decisive result that took some near-term uncertainty off the table – even as medium-term policy uncertainty remains. Shifting narratives, from AI booms to recession fears, have driven volatility this year. Markets can overreact to these shifts. We have seen unusually sharp swings in 10-year US Treasury yields with key macro releases. See the chart. We think that reflects investors viewing new data and news through a business cycle lens when broader structural changes are at play. We have been nimble with our tactical view changes this year to lean against narrative-driven volatility. The goal of last week’s Forum: tracking the transformation driven by these structural changes. We evolved our macro scenarios to better understand and position for the transformation’s opportunities.

Structural forces at play

US exceptionalism – strong economic and corporate earnings growth – was a topic of debate at the Forum. Our portfolio managers are broadly positive on US equity markets. They noted this has more room to run, even if US stock valuations look steep. The contrast with lagging European economic growth, and stock performance, remains stark. Forum participants also spied a disconnect in Fed policy. The Fed cut its policy rate another 25 basis points last week as it sees inflation moving closer to its 2% target. Yet financial conditions are loose after a historically sharp tightening cycle. This unusual backdrop reinforces our view that this is not a typical business cycle – but rather an environment where structural forces are at play.

The geopolitical fragmentation mega force – or structural shift impacting returns now and in the future – ran through most discussions. The incoming US president takes office at a time of greater global fragility given wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and ongoing tensions with China. A punishing year for incumbents around the globe is pressuring G7 partners. Germany is headed for a new election. This follows France's divided election outcome earlier this year. The reform proposals laid out by Mario Draghi detail the challenges Europe faces. China rolled out some details of its fiscal stimulus highlighting its weak growth near term – and also faces long-term challenges from an aging population. AI will increasingly take center stage in geopolitics, featuring heavily in US-China strategic tech competition. Under the Biden administration, the US has elevated AI to the core of its military and technological priorities.

The debate on the impact of the AI mega force keeps evolving. Much of the discussion at our last Forum in June centered on AI and its energy and investment needs. That was still a focus – and we generally agreed that the AI buildout can broaden to include other beneficiaries. Quantifying AI’s longer-term economic impact remains challenging, but we think AI has the potential to eventually reshape economies and boost economic growth.

Our bottom line

Our Forum discussion sought to clarify how structural shifts are driving the investment opportunities we see while assessing what’s in the price. We think having a solid framework is key for anchoring views in this unusual environment.

Market backdrop

US stocks soared to new all-time highs last week, notching their largest weekly gain of the year. Small caps and banks led the way as possible beneficiaries of a second Trump term. US 10-year Treasury yields finished around 4.30%, down slightly on the week after jumping to four-month highs. A telegraphed 25-basis point Fed rate cut failed to move markets. Pricing of future cuts has come closer to our view, yet we still see rates settling higher than markets do.

This week, we focus on US CPI to see if inflation will keep falling toward the Fed’s 2% target. Short-term inflation has been decreasing, with immigration boosting the labor supply and cooling wage growth. However, recent services PCE data remains sticky, indicating that inflation may settle above 2% in the medium term. Long-term, structural supply constraints – like a shrinking workforce due to population aging – are expected to keep inflation pressures persistent.

Week ahead

The chart shows that gold is the best performing asset year-to-date among a selected group of assets, while Brent crude is the worst.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results. Indexes are unmanaged and do not account for fees. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Sources: BlackRock Investment Institute, with data from LSEG Datastream as of Nov. 7, 2024. Notes: The two ends of the bars show the lowest and highest returns at any point year to date, and the dots represent current year-to-date returns. Emerging market (EM), high yield and global corporate investment grade (IG) returns are denominated in US dollars, and the rest in local currencies. Indexes or prices used are: spot Brent crude, ICE US Dollar Index (DXY), spot gold, MSCI Emerging Markets Index, MSCI Europe Index, LSEG Datastream 10-year benchmark government bond index (US, Germany and Italy), Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global High Yield Index, J.P. Morgan EMBI Index, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Broad Corporate Index and MSCI USA Index.

Nov. 12

UK employment data

Nov. 13

US core CPI

Nov. 15

UK GDP; Japan GDP

Read our past weekly commentaries here.

Big calls

Our highest conviction views on tactical (6-12 month) and strategic (long-term) horizons, November 2024

Note: Views are from a US dollar perspective, November 2024. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events or a guarantee of future results. This information should not be relied upon by the reader as research or investment advice regarding any particular funds, strategy or security.

Tactical granular views

Six to 12-month tactical views on selected assets vs. broad global asset classes by level of conviction, November 2024

Legend Granular

Our approach is to first determine asset allocations based on our macro outlook – and what’s in the price. The table below reflects this. It leaves aside the opportunity for alpha, or the potential to generate above-benchmark returns. The new regime is not conducive to static exposures to broad asset classes, in our view, but it is creating more space for alpha. For example, the alpha opportunity in highly efficient DM equities markets historically has been low. That’s no longer the case, we think, thanks to greater volatility, macro uncertainty and dispersion of returns. The new regime puts a premium on insights and skill, in our view.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. The statements on alpha do not consider fees. Note: Views are from a US dollar perspective. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast or guarantee of future results. This information should not be relied upon as investment advice regarding any particular fund, strategy or security.

Euro-denominated tactical granular views

Six to 12-month tactical views on selected assets vs. broad global asset classes by level of conviction, November 2024

Legend Granular

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Note: Views are from a euro perspective, November 2024. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast or guarantee of future results. This information should not be relied upon as investment advice regarding any particular fund, strategy or security.

Meet the authors
Jean Boivin
Head – BlackRock Investment Institute
Wei Li
Global Chief Investment Strategist – BlackRock Investment Institute
Vivek Paul
Global Head of Portfolio Research – BlackRock Investment Institute
Ben Powell
Chief Investment Strategist for the Middle East and APAC — BlackRock Investment Institute

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