R B C W E A LT H M A N A G E M E N T GLOBAL INSIGHT W E E K L Y J A N UA R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 5 A C LO S E R LO O K Oil Rout’s Bark Worse Than Its Bite Kelly Bogdanov – San Francisco The crude oil rout is now the third worst since 1984. While this obviously weighs heavily on energy equities, what about the broader stock market? And which markets tend to perform the best? The severe bear market in crude oil prices continues to cause angst, including among equity investors. We’ve had a number of questions about how equity markets typically fare surrounding steep declines in crude oil. Severe Crude Oil Bear Markets Since 1984 (WTI in $) Jul 2008 - Nov 1985 - Jul 2014 - Oct 1990 - Sep 2000 - Oct 1997 Dec 2008 Mar 1986 Jan 2015 Feb 1991 Nov 2001 Mar 1998 Bottom line: oil crashes don’t automatically usher in an equity bear market or lengthy period of poor performance. In fact, the major equity indexes usually fare pretty well after oil prices bottom. Equity markets across regions have rallied following the low point in four of the five previous crude oil bear markets, often by double digits. Among the markets we examined, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index performed the best. On average, they surged 26.9% and 23.1%, respectively, 12 months after the low in oil. The S&P 500 and MSCI EAFE Index (includes Europe and Japan) also performed well, rising an average of 12.5% and 13.5%, respectively. Markets that have a higher share of energy stocks lagged, but still registered positive returns. Canada’s S&P/TSX rose 8.7% and the U.K.’s FTSE All-Share climbed 8.5%, on average. While there was significant variation around the average performance levels cited above, these markets rose in 20 of the 29 performance periods we examined. Click here for authors’ contact information. For Important Disclosures, see page 6. -41.3% -57.4% -67.2% -78.4% -57.2% -53.1% Current Bear Market Source - RBC Wealth Management, Bloomberg; data for current cycle through 1/15/15 M A R K ET P U L S E 3 U.S. banks’ Q4 earnings underwhelm 3 Canadian REITs have a nice shine to them 3 Swiss National Bank U-turn shocks markets 4 Two of Hong Kong’s bellwethers surge on restructuring news Interestingly, all of these equity indexes struggled in the 12-month period following the crude oil bear market at the turn of the century (see Nov 2001 – Nov 2002 data in the table). But that cycle wasn’t solely about oil. It included the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a brief U.S. recession, and most importantly, the bursting of the technology bubble. Many equities, especially in the U.S., were quite overvalued at the time. We believe these factors played major roles in the equity underperformance during this period, much more so than the crude oil bear market. While we acknowledge five samples aren’t enough to draw concrete conclusions about the future and the dispersion among data is wide, they indicate that historically equity markets have typically delivered positive returns after crude oil finds a bottom. This go around, we believe equity markets will fare well after the crude oil low is established—as long as a U.S. recession does not materialize. We continue to view the probability of a contraction as very low, despite the recent softening of economic data and European headwinds. Equity Markets Tend to Rise After Major Crude Oil Downturns Equity Market Returns 12 Months After the Low in Severe Crude Oil Bear Markets FTSE S&P 500 S&P/TSX All-Share Hang Seng MSCI EAFE MSCI EM Apr 1986 – Apr 1987 22.1% 22.7% 23.9% 69.0% 58.6% NA Feb 1991 – Feb 1992 12.5% 2.4% 9.2% 36.3% -9.0% 47.0% Mar 1998 – Mar 1999 20.1% -11.4% 3.8% -2.8% 5.7% -22.9% Nov 2001 – Nov 2002 -20.3% -11.1% -22.4% -12.2% -15.9% 0.3% Dec 2008 – Dec 2009 28.3% 41.0% 28.0% 44.2% 28.2% 68.1% Average 12.5% 8.7% 8.5% 26.9% 13.5% 23.1% Source - RBC Wealth Management, Bloomberg. “EM” stands for emerging markets. MSCI EM data is not available before 12/31/87. WWHHATAT’ S’ SMMOOV VI NI NGGMMA AR RK KETETS S Shifting Winds The plunge in safe-haven government bond yields persisted during the week on concerns global growth is slowing and as the European Central Bank seems set to announce full-blown quantitative easing (QE) at its January 22 meeting. The Swiss National Bank put an exclamation mark on the likelihood of QE when it abandoned its cap against the euro (analysis on page 4). Economic sentiment has shifted. The World Bank cut its global GDP growth forecast to 3.0% from 3.4%, mainly due to headwinds from Europe, Japan, Russia, and Brazil. Copper prices tumbled in sympathy (see chart). Additionally, a surprisingly weak Philadelphia region U.S. manufacturing survey leads RBC Capital Markets to believe the national ISM Manufacturing Index could slide to 50–52 in January from 55.5 (50 separates expansion from contraction). None of this, in our view, portends a recession, but it fuels uncertainties about the pace of growth. Industrial Commodities Have Taken a Turn for the Worse Copper Cash Price on London Metal Exchange ($/lb) $3.50 Copper is down 10.8% year to date and 20.9% since the July 2014 peak $3.30 $3.10 $2.90 $2.70 $2.50 $2.30 Jan 2014 RBC Capital Markets estimates marginal cost support is at $2.40/lb, which is the 90th percentile of the cash cost curve. Since the early 1980s, spot copper prices have rarely dropped below the 90th percentile level. Apr 2014 Jul 2014 Oct 2014 Jan 2015 Source - RBC Wealth Management, RBC Capital Markets, Bloomberg; data through 1/15/15 Equity markets are not walking in lock step so far in 2015. European bourses, China, and Hong Kong rallied during the week and are leading year to date. North American indexes, which have been whipped around more by crude oil volatility, are lagging along with Japan. (Performance statistics are on page 5.) GLOBAL INSIGHT WEEKLY January 16, 2015 2 U N I T E D S T AT E S Kelly Bogdanov – San Francisco ■ ■ ■ ■ Treasury yields plunged during the week, with the 30-year reaching a record low since 1977 and the 10-year retreating to 2012–13 levels. Through Thursday’s close the 30- and 10-year yields have fallen 160 and 131 basis points, respectively, in little more than a year (see chart). On Friday, the 30-year traded down to 2.35% intraday (yes, that is indeed the 30-year yield; that’s not a typo). Lately it’s been a perfect storm. Low and declining European yields continued to tug Treasury yields lower. Also, European deflation risks and the crude oil price collapse are exerting disinflationary pressure on the U.S. economy. Add to that a weak December retail sales report and disappointing Philly Fed Manufacturing survey, and voilà. Some technical indicators have deteriorated as the equity market has sold off. A number of stocks suffered sharp intraday reversals on Tuesday, which led to selling later in the week. To us, this means the market isn’t out of the woods yet. The S&P 500 is down 3.4% from its all-time high reached in late December. Year to date, the weakest sectors are financials (-5.0%) and energy (-4.6%), and the strongest are utilities (+3.0%) and health care (+2.9%). The Q4 earnings season has been shaky so far. Even though beat/miss rates are tracking better than usual (77.5% of S&P 500 companies beat estimates vs. 63% average and 69% recent trend), reports from bellwether companies leave a lot to be desired. Large banks’ earnings reports were downbeat with the exception of Wells Fargo. JPMorgan Chase surprised with a $990M after-tax legal charge and a revenue decline. Bank of America’s profits and revenue dropped year over year. Citigroup’s earnings disappointed and revenues were flat. All three banks suffered from disappointing fixed income trading volumes. It seems the recent volatility in fixed income markets has encouraged less trading, not more. The KBW Bank Index (BKX) fell 4.0% for the week. Not only did these earnings reports pressure the index, but the ongoing plunge in Treasury yields also weighed on banks because it strains net interest margins, a key profit metric. U.S. Treasury Yields Have Retreated Sharply 4.00 30-year Yield 10-year Yield 3.50 3.00 Down 160 bps from high 2.50 2.00 Down 131 bps from high 1.50 1.00 2012 2013 2014 2015 Source - RBC Wealth Management, Bloomberg; data through 1/15/15; “bps” represents basis points believe there is downside risk to analyst earnings estimates absent a significant improvement in the crude oil price. ■ Canadian real estate investment trusts (REITs) continue to offer a historically attractive yield spread relative to 10-year Government of Canada bonds. While future price returns will largely be determined by the magnitude and speed of a potential normalization in the rate environment, we see REITs as an attractive alternative for incomeoriented investors relative to other traditional dividend paying sectors. ■ There was higher than usual volatility in government bonds, with intraday movements of five basis points or more across the curve. The Canadian 10-year yield is currently hovering around 1.50%, which is lower than what a 1-year RBC Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) pays. ■ The loonie continues to mark new 5-year lows along with oil prices. It is currently sitting within four cents of the 2009 low at CA$0.835/US$1. ■ The preferred share market declined despite the rally in bonds, removing some of the gains seen in late December. ■ As a result of perpetual preferred share prices holding in, our fixed income strategies team believes that high coupon preferred shares currently offer some of the best value in the preferred share market. CANADA Patrick McAllister & Alana Awad – Toronto ■ Bank stocks continue to be under pressure as investors assess the potential earnings impact of lower energy prices. Quantifying the direct and indirect influences on bank earnings is challenging with the duration of low energy prices a particularly important and uncertain variable. We GLOBAL INSIGHT WEEKLY EUROPE Frédérique Carrier & Davide Boglietti – London ■ The STOXX Europe 600 Index increased 4.3% to 352.40 for the week. The European Court of Justice’s decision that the European Central Bank (ECB) programme to buy January 16, 2015 3 eurozone countries’ government bonds is within the ECB’s remit emboldened markets. This increased the likelihood of the ECB launching quantitative easing (QE), purchasing sovereign bonds at its next meeting on January 22. ■ ■ A QE announcement could improve sentiment for equity markets, although it is difficult to say how much this is already discounted in valuations and what size would satisfy expectations. The ongoing euro weakness continues to be a positive catalyst for European companies, but we remain skeptical that the QE effect on the real economy would be of the same magnitude experienced in the U.S. After all, the EU economy is more dependent on banks than on capital markets, and yields are already low. Structural reforms remain a prerequisite to any sustainable economic improvement, in our view. In a surprising move that increased financial markets’ volatility, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) abandoned its currency floor rate of 1.20 EUR/CHF, ending its large euro purchases over the past three years (see chart). We surmise that sitting on a large euro reserve and anticipating a potential ECB QE programme that could debase the euro against all major currencies caused the SNB to determine it had to change strategy. In an attempt to reduce the attraction of the Swiss franc as a safe-haven currency, the SNB also brought interest rates into negative territory. The currency move impacts most companies with a high domestic cost base. Swiss National Bank Announcement Sends Swiss Franc Dramatically Higher 0.9 ■ It was a mixed week for Asian equities. A stronger yen put pressure on Japanese stocks, while China’s A-share market resumed its upward move and rallied strongly at the end of the week. ■ Shares of Cheung Kong Holdings (0001.HK) and Hutchison Whampoa (0013.HK), two of the largest and best-known companies in Hong Kong, rallied over 12% at the start of the week after a restructuring announcement. Cheung Kong owns close to 50% of Hutchison Whampoa, a major GLOBAL INSIGHT WEEKLY 0.7 USD/CHF (inverted, right axis) 1.0 0.8 Swiss National Bank announces EUR/CHF limit of 1.20 on 9/6/11 1.1 0.9 1.2 1.3 1.4 2011 1.0 Swiss National Bank removes EUR/CHF limit on 1/15/15 2012 2013 2014 2015 1.1 Source - RBC Wealth Management, Bloomberg; data as of 9:00 pm GMT on 1/16/15 conglomerate. The restructuring will lead to two sister companies being created. CK Property will house all of the property business, while CKH Holdings will hold the other businesses. This will not change the economic value of the two companies’ assets, but it should unlock shareholder value, in our view. Management expects the restructuring will also result in high dividend payments. If approved by shareholders, the restructuring should be completed in the first half of this year. Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa shares will be delisted on the same day shares of the two new companies are listed. A S I A PA C I F I C Jay Roberts – Hong Kong EUR/CHF (inverted, left axis) ■ The Reserve Bank of India surprised the market with a 25-basis point reduction in its benchmark lending rate to 7.75%. A slowdown in inflation has provided the bank with more room to maneuver. Indian stocks and bonds rallied on the decision. ■ Bank Indonesia left its benchmark rate unchanged at 7.75%. Rates were also kept unchanged at a record-low 2% in South Korea. However, the Bank of Korea lowered its growth forecast for the year to 3.4% from 3.9% and its inflation forecast to 1.9% from 2.4%. January 16, 2015 4 M A R K ET S C O R E C A R D Data as of January 16, 2015 Equities (local currency) Level S&P 500 1 Week MTD YTD 12 Mos Govt Bonds (bps chg) Yield 1 Week MTD YTD 12 Mos 2,019.42 -1.2% -1.9% -1.9% 9.4% U.S. 2-Yr Tsy 0.484% -7.8 -18.1 -18.1 10.1 17,511.57 -1.3% -1.7% -1.7% 6.7% U.S. 10-Yr Tsy 1.826% -11.9 -34.6 -34.6 -101.6 NASDAQ 4,634.38 -1.5% -2.1% -2.1% 9.9% Canada 2-Yr 0.873% -7.5 -13.9 -13.9 -17.0 Russell 2000 1,176.66 -0.8% -2.3% -2.3% 0.3% Canada 10-Yr 1.531% -12.4 -25.7 -25.7 -99.8 S&P/TSX Comp 14,309.41 -0.5% -2.2% -2.2% 3.5% U.K. 2-Yr 0.401% 0.0 -4.5 -4.5 -10.6 FTSE All Share 3,520.23 0.5% -0.4% -0.4% -3.6% U.K. 10-Yr 1.534% -6.6 -22.2 -22.2 -127.7 Dow Industrials (DJIA) STOXX Europe 600 352.40 4.3% 2.9% 2.9% 5.5% Germany 2-Yr -0.162% -4.3 -6.4 -6.4 -34.0 German DAX 10,167.77 5.4% 3.7% 3.7% 4.6% Germany 10-Yr 0.454% -3.8 -8.7 -8.7 -132.5 Hang Seng 24,103.52 0.8% 2.1% 2.1% 4.9% 3,376.50 2.8% 4.4% 4.4% 66.8% Nikkei 225 16,864.16 -1.9% -3.4% -3.4% 7.1% India Sensex 28,121.89 2.4% 2.3% 2.3% 32.2% 3,300.68 -1.1% -1.9% -1.9% 5.1% Brazil Ibovespa 49,016.52 0.4% -2.0% -2.0% -1.4% Mexican Bolsa IPC 41,402.01 -2.3% -4.0% -4.0% -1.8% Commodities (USD) Price MTD YTD Shanghai Comp Singapore Straits Times Gold (spot $/oz) 12 Mos Rate U.S. Dollar Index 1 Week MTD YTD 12 Mos 92.67 0.8% 2.7% 2.7% 14.5% CAD/USD 0.83 -1.0% -3.0% -3.0% -8.8% USD/CAD 1.20 1.0% 3.2% 3.2% 9.7% EUR/USD 1.16 -2.4% -4.4% -4.4% -15.1% GBP/USD 1.52 -0.1% -2.7% -2.7% -7.4% AUD/USD 0.82 0.4% 0.7% 0.7% -6.7% USD/CHF 0.86 -15.2% -13.5% -13.5% -4.9% 1,279.70 4.7% 8.0% 8.0% 3.0% USD/JPY 117.63 -0.7% -1.8% -1.8% 12.7% 17.75 7.5% 13.0% 13.0% -11.7% EUR/JPY 135.98 -3.1% -6.1% -6.1% -4.3% Silver (spot $/oz) Copper ($/metric ton) 1 Week Currencies 5,681.00 -7.9% -10.8% -10.8% -22.6% EUR/GBP 0.76 -2.3% -1.7% -1.7% -8.4% Oil (WTI spot/bbl) 48.69 0.7% -8.6% -8.6% -48.2% EUR/CHF 0.99 -17.2% -17.3% -17.3% -19.3% Oil (Brent spot/bbl) 49.95 -0.3% -12.9% -12.9% -53.4% USD/SGD 1.33 -0.5% 0.1% 0.1% 4.3% 3.10 5.1% 7.1% 7.1% -29.4% USD/CNY 6.21 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2.5% 310.91 -3.9% -3.6% -3.6% -10.9% USD/BRL 2.62 -0.4% -1.3% -1.3% 11.0% Natural Gas ($/mmBtu) Agriculture Index Source - Bloomberg. Note: Equity returns do not include dividends, except for the German DAX. Bond yields in local currencies. Copper and Agriculture Index data as of Thursday’s close. Dollar Index measures USD vs. six major currencies. Currency rates reflect market convention (CAD/USD is the exception). Currency returns quoted in terms of the first currency in each pairing. Data as of 9:38 pm GMT 1/16/15. Examples of how to interpret currency data: CAD/USD 0.83 means 1 Canadian dollar will buy 0.83 U.S. dollar. CAD/USD -8.8% return means the Canadian dollar fell 8.8% vs. the U.S. dollar year to date. USD/JPY 117.63 means 1 U.S. dollar will buy 117.63 yen. USD/JPY 12.7% return means the U.S. dollar rose 12.7% vs. the yen year to date. U P CO M I N G EV E N TS SUN, JAN 18 TUE, JAN 20 WED, JAN 21, cont. FRI, JAN 23 Japan Industrial Production Eurozone, Germany ZEW Surveys U.K. Employment Change (70k) U.K. Retail Sales (-0.6% m/m) MON, JAN 19 Eurozone Q3 Gov't. Debt, Deficit BoE MPC meeting minutes Eurozone Markit Manuf. PMI (51.0) China Fixed Assets Ex Rural (15.7% y/y) U.S. State of the Union Address BoC meeting Eurozone Markit Services PMI (52.0) China Retail Sales (11.8% y/y) Canada Manuf. Sales (-0.5% m/m) THU, JAN 22 U.S. Markit Manuf. PMI (54.0) China Industrial Prod. (7.4% y/y) WED, JAN 21 China HSBC Manuf. PMI U.S. Chicago Fed Nat'l Activity China Q4 GDP (7.2% y/y) BoJ meeting Japan Markit Manuf. PMI U.S. Leading Index (0.4% m/m) Eurozone Current Account Japan Leading Index ECB meeting SUN, JAN 25 U.S. markets closed U.K. Unemployment Rate (5.9%) U.K. Public Finances Greek parliament elections All data reflect Bloomberg consensus forecasts where available GLOBAL INSIGHT WEEKLY January 16, 2015 5 AUTHORS Kelly Bogdanov – San Francisco, United States kelly.bogdanov@rbc.com; RBC Capital Markets, LLC. Patrick McAllister – Toronto, Canada patrick.mcallister@rbc.com; RBC Dominion Securities Inc. Alana Awad – Toronto, Canada Distribution of Ratings For the purpose of ratings distributions, regulatory rules require member firms to assign ratings to one of three rating categories - Buy, Hold/Neutral, or Sell regardless of a firm’s own rating categories. Although RBC Capital Markets, LLC ratings of Top Pick (TP)/Outperform (O), Sector Perform (SP) and Underperform (U) most closely correspond to Buy, Hold/Neutral and Sell, respectively, the meanings are not the same because our ratings are determined on a relative basis (as described below). alana.awad@rbc.com; RBC Dominion Securities Inc. Frédérique Carrier – London, United Kingdom frederique.carrier@rbc.com; Royal Bank of Canada Investment Management (UK) Ltd. Davide Boglietti – London, United Kingdom Distribution of Ratings - RBC Capital Markets, LLC Equity Research As of December 31, 2014 Investment Banking Services Provided During Past 12 Months Count Percent Count Percent davide.boglietti@rbc.com; Royal Bank of Canada Investment Management (UK) Ltd. Rating Jay Roberts – Hong Kong, China Buy [Top Pick & Outperform] Hold [Sector Perform] Sell [Underperform] jay.roberts@rbc.com; RBC Dominion Securities Inc. 897 686 112 52.92 40.47 6.61 290 137 6 32.33 19.97 5.36 Explanation of RBC Capital Markets, LLC Equity Rating System D I S C LO S U R E S A N D D I S C L A I M E R Analyst Certification All of the views expressed in this report accurately reflect the personal views of the responsible analyst(s) about any and all of the subject securities or issuers. 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Any U.S. recipient of this report that is not a registered broker-dealer or a bank acting in a broker or dealer capacity and that wishes further information regarding, or to effect any transaction in, any of the securities discussed in this report, should contact and place orders with RBC Capital Markets, LLC. International investing involves risks not typically associated with U.S. investing, including currency fluctuation, foreign taxation, political instability and different accounting standards. To Canadian Residents: This publication has been approved by RBC Dominion Securities Inc. RBC Dominion Securities Inc.* and Royal Bank of Canada are separate corporate entities which are affiliated. *Member-Canadian Investor Protection Fund. ®Registered trademark of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under license. RBC Wealth Management is a registered trademark of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under license. To European Residents: Clients of United Kingdom subsidiaries may be entitled to compensation from the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme if any of these entities cannot meet its obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. Most types of investment business are covered for up to a total of £50,000. The Channel Islands subsidiaries are not covered by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme; the offices of Royal Bank of Canada (Channel Islands) Limited in Guernsey and Jersey are covered by the respective compensation schemes in these jurisdictions for deposit taking business only. To Hong Kong Residents: This publication is distributed in Hong Kong by RBC Investment Services (Asia) Limited and RBC Investment Management (Asia) Limited, licensed corporations under the Securities and Futures Ordinance or, by Royal Bank of Canada, Hong Kong Branch, a registered institution under the Securities and Futures Ordinance. This material has been prepared for general circulation and does not take into account the objectives, financial situation, or needs of any recipient. Hong Kong persons wishing to obtain further information on any of the securities mentioned in this publication should contact RBC Investment Services (Asia) Limited, RBC Investment Management (Asia) Limited or Royal Bank of Canada, Hong Kong Branch at 17/Floor, Cheung Kong Center, 2 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong (telephone number is 2848-1388). To Singapore Residents: This publication is distributed in Singapore by RBC (Singapore Branch) and RBC (Asia) Limited, registered entities granted offshore bank status by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. This material has been prepared for general circulation and does not take into account the objectives, financial situation, or needs of any recipient. You are advised to seek independent advice from a financial adviser before purchasing any product. If you do not obtain independent advice, you should consider whether the product is suitable for you. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Copyright © RBC Capital Markets, LLC 2015 - Member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC Copyright © RBC Dominion Securities Inc. 2015 - Member CIPF Copyright © RBC Europe Limited 2015 Copyright © Royal Bank of Canada 2015 All rights reserved January 16, 2015 7
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