Investor Conferences Fill Today’s Data Void
Treading water ahead of tomorrow's Retail Sales and PPI data
Following a new closing high for the S&P 500, one that shrugged off a warmer than expected prints for February CPI data, equity futures are little changed this morning. With no market-moving earnings or economic reports expected today, one might think the market will be treading water ahead of tomorrow’s Retail Sales and Producer Price Index data for February. However, there are several investor conferences, including the Bank of America Consumer & Retail Conference, the Barclays Global Healthcare Conference, and the Citi Technology, Media & Telecom Conference happening today. Investors will be updating expectations for the current quarter and 1H 2024 based on management presentations at these events, looking for signs of strengthening landscapes and noting ones that might be faltering.
For more, be sure to read our Daily Markets column published each day by Nasdaq.
Model Musings
Artificial Intelligence
“Chip maker SK Hynix is planning to make further investments in South Korea to expand and improve its advanced chip packaging technology. According to a report in Bloomberg, the investment will be used to further advances such as lowering power consumption and improving performance to meet the growing demands of AI applications.” Read more here
Digital Infrastructure & Connectivity, Precision Ag & Agri Science
“ZTE and China Mobile are using 5G connectivity to fully automate rice production on 12,000 acres (almost 19 square miles) of marginal land near Da’an City, Jilin Province. A smart irrigation system is helping to make the depleted soil fertile again, while remote controlled machinery and drones have made the farm operations more efficient, productive and sustainable.” Read more here
Homebuilding & Materials
“As the spring home-buying season approaches, there are signs that buying and selling activity in the market may not fully bloom. A combination of still-high mortgage rates and home prices amid historically low housing stock continues to put homeownership out of reach for many—most notably first-time buyers. Many may have to surrender to the reality of elevated home prices and mortgage rates if they want to buy a home in the foreseeable future.” Read more here
“Since 2021, Opendoor has conducted quarterly surveys of over 4,000 prospective home sellers. Year-over-year quarterly tracking (beginning in March 2022) shows relatively little change in the number of sellers who were planning to sell within the year. We even saw a slight decrease in Q2. However, in our December 2023 survey, we saw a substantial 18% increase in the number of homeowners ready to sell in the next 12 months–a higher proportion than we’ve seen in any quarter. We believe this big uptick in sentiment is a byproduct of two factors happening simultaneously: an eagerness to get back into the market and pent-up demand.” Read more here
The Strategies Behind Our Thematic Models
Aging of the Population - Capturing the demographic wave of the aging population and the changing demands it brings with it.
Artificial Intelligence – Software, chips, and related companies that facilitate the collection and analysis of large data sets and autonomous generation of solutions given non-machine language prompts.
CHIPs Act – Capturing the reshoring of the US semiconductor industry and the $52.7 billion poised to be spent on semiconductor manufacturing.
Cloud Computing – Companies that provide hardware and services that enhance the cloud computing experience for users, such as co-location, security, and edge computing.
Consumer Inflation Fighters - Companies poised to benefit as consumers stretch the disposable spending dollars they do have.
Core Holdings – Companies that reflect economic activity and are large enough to not get pushed around by day-to-day market trends. Low-beta, large-cap names able to better withstand economic turmoil.
Digital Infrastructure & Connectivity -The buildout and upgrading of our Networks, Data Storage Facilities, and Equipment.
Data Privacy & Digital Identity - Companies providing the tools and services that verify authorized users and safeguard personal data privacy.
EPS Diplomats - Profitable large capitalization companies proven to produce above-average EPS growth and provide investors with the benefit of multiple expansion.
EV Transition - Capturing the transition to EVs and related infrastructure from combustion engine vehicles.
Guilty Pleasure – Companies that produce/provide food and drink products that consumers tend to enjoy regardless of the economic environment and potential long-term health hazards associated with excessive consumption.
Homebuilding & Materials – Ranging from homebuilders to key building product companies that serve the housing market, this model looks to capture the rising demand for housing, one that should benefit as the Fed returns monetary policy to more normalized levels.
Market Hedge Model – This basket of daily reset swap-based broad market inverse ETFs protects in the face of market pullbacks, overbought market technicals, and other drivers of market volatility.
Luxury Buying Boom - Tapping into aspirational buying and affluent buyers amid rising global wealth.
Market Hedge Model – This basket of daily reset swap-based broad market inverse ETFs protects in the face of market pullbacks, overbought market technicals, and other drivers of market volatility.
Nuclear Energy & Uranium – Companies that either build and maintain nuclear power plants or are involved in the production of uranium.
Precision Ag & Agri Science – Companies that look to address shrinking arable land by helping maximize crop yields utilizing technology, science, or both.
Rebuilding America - Turning the focused spending on rebuilding US infrastructure into revenue and profits.
Safety & Security – Targeted exposure to companies that provide goods and services primarily to the Defense and security sectors of the economy.
Space Economy – Companies that focus on the launch and operation of satellite networks.
The strategies behind our Dividend Income Models:
Monthly Dividend Model – Pretty much what the name says – this model invests in companies that pay monthly dividends to shareholders.
ETF Dividend Model – High-yielding ETFs that provide a range of exposures from domestic equities, international equities, emerging market equities, MLPS, and REITs.
ETF Enhanced Dividend Model – A group of high-yielding ETFs that utilize options to enhance yield through collecting option income.
Don’t be a stranger
Thanks for reading and if you have a suggestion for an article or book we should read, or a stream we should catch, email us at info@tematicaresearch.com. The same email works if you want to know more about our thematic and targeted exposure models listed below.