Are Emerging Markets Sending A Warning Signal For Cyclical Vs. Defensive Stocks?
* December 1, 2016
The abrupt jump in cyclical vs. defensive share price ratio appears to have been driven solely by external forces, i.e. the sell-off in the bond market, rather than a shift in underlying profit drivers. For instance, emerging markets (EM) and the cyclical vs. defensive share price ratio have tended to move hand in hand. The former is pro-cyclical, and outperforms when economic growth prospects are perceived to be improving. Recent sharp EM underperformance has created a large negative divergence with the cyclical vs. defensive share price ratio. The surging U.S. dollar is a growth impediment for many developing countries with large foreign debt liabilities. By extension, the growth impetus required to support deep cyclical sector profit outperformance may be elusive. As a result, we expect re-convergence to occur via a rebound in defensive vs. cyclical sectors.