Economic Indicators

Does the labor force participation rate, measured monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics along with employment and unemployment rate, predict U.S. stock market returns? An increasing (decreasing) participation rate may may indicate strong (weak) employment demand and therefore a strong (weak) economy. To investigate, we relate participation rate to performance of the S&P 500 Index as a proxy for the stock market. Using monthly participation rate and index level during January 1948 (limited by the former) through December 2021, we find that: Keep Reading

Do monthly business inventories data, released with a lag of about 1.5 months, reliably predict U.S. stock market behavior? To investigate, we relate monthly change in business inventories to monthly S&P 500 Index return. Using survey-based monthly seasonally adjusted business inventories and the S&P 500 Index during January 1992 (limited by business inventories data) through November 2021, we find that: Keep Reading

A subscriber asked about a strategy that rotates among equity sectors according to changes in interests rate as set by Federal Reserve Bank monetary policy. To investigate, we consider the following nine sector Standard & Poor’s Depository Receipts (SPDR) exchange-traded funds (ETF):

Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB)
Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE)
Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF)
Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI)
Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK)
Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP)
Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU)
Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV)
Consumer Discretionary Select SPDR (XLY)

We use monthly effective federal funds rate (EFFR) as the interest rate. We consider two EFFR-based variables: (1) monthly change in EFFR; and, (2) 3-month slope of EFFR for signal smoothing. For each variable and each sector ETF, we consider two tests: (1) correlation of the variable with ETF return each of the next three months; and, (2) average next-month ETF returns across ranked fifths (quintiles) of the EFFR variable. The first test looks for linear relationships, and the second test looks for non-linear relationships. Measurements are at month ends, with a 1-day delay for ETF return calculations to ensure availability of EFFR data. Using monthly levels of EFFR since September 1998 and dividend-adjusted monthly levels of the above sector ETFs and of SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) since December 1998 (limited by sector ETFs), all through November 2021, we find that: Keep Reading

A subscriber asked about a strategy that rotates among equity sectors according to the Leading Economic Index (LEI), published monthly by the Conference Board (see “Leading Economic Index and the Stock Market”). To assess LEI usefulness for sector rotation, we consider the following nine sector Standard & Poor’s Depository Receipts (SPDR) exchange-traded funds (ETF):

Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB)
Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE)
Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF)
Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI)
Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK)
Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP)
Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU)
Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV)
Consumer Discretionary Select SPDR (XLY)

We consider two LEI-based variables: (1) monthly change in LEI; and, (2) 3-month average change in LEI (average of current value, revised value for prior month and twice-revised value for two months ago) for signal smoothing. For each variable and each sector ETF, we consider two tests: (1) correlation of the variable with ETF return each of the next three months; and, (2) average next-month ETF returns across ranked fifths (quintiles) of the LEI variable. The first test looks for linear relationships, and the second test looks for non-linear relationships. Monthly measurements employ closes on LEI release dates, generally after the market open about three weeks after ends of calendar months reported. Using monthly changes in LEI from archived Conference Board press releases and contemporaneous dividend-adjusted daily levels of the above sector ETFs and of SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) from mid-July 2002 (limited by LEI press releases) through mid-November 2021 (233 monthly LEI observations), we find that: Keep Reading

Do U.S. non-farm job openings, a measurement from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey run monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, have implications for future U.S. stock market return? High (low) job openings rate may indicate a strong (weak) economy and/or may signal high (low) wage inflation. To investigate, we relate job openings to performance of SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) as a proxy for the stock market. Using monthly job openings (which has a release delay of about six weeks) during December 2000 through September 2021 and monthly dividend-adjusted returns for SPY during December 2000 through October 2021, we find that: Keep Reading

Since May 2006, the ADP National Employment Report has offered a monthly estimate of U.S. nonfarm private sector employment growth using actual payroll data. The report is designed “to predict private-sector employment prior to the release of the CES [Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly Current Employment Statistics survey] report.” Do the ADP estimates predict U.S. stock market returns on the release day or over the interval to the next report? To investigate, we use both as-released (from press releases) and as-revised ADP data (from the historical dataset), calculated as percentage changes relative to the prior-month private employment base in the latter. Using the specified monthly data and matched daily opening/closing and dividend-adjusted closing prices of SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) during April 2006 through October 2021, we find that: Keep Reading

The monthly Cass Freight Index is a “measure of North American freight volumes [shipments] and expenditures… Data within the Index includes all domestic freight modes and is derived from $28 billion in freight transactions processed by Cass annually on behalf of its client base of hundreds of large shippers. These companies represent a broad sampling of industries including consumer packaged goods, food, automotive, chemical, OEM, retail and heavy equipment… The diversity of shippers and aggregate volume provide a statistically valid representation of North American shipping activity. …Volumes represent the month in which transactions are processed by Cass, not necessarily the month when the corresponding shipments took place. The January 1990 base point is 1.00. …Each month’s volumes are adjusted to provide an average 21-day work month. Adjustments also are made to compensate for business additions/deletions to the volume figures.” Cass typically publishes the index level for a month about the middle of the following month. Does freight data usefully anticipate economic trend and thereby U.S. stock market returns? To investigate, we relate level of shipments and changes in shipments and expenditures to SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) returns. Using monthly Cass Freight Index levels and monthly dividend-adjusted SPY returns as available during January 1993 (limited by inception of SPY) through October 2021, we find that: Keep Reading

Does the U.S. employment quit rate, a measurement from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey run monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, have implications for future U.S. stock market or U.S. Treasury bond return? A high (low) quit rate may indicate a strong (weak) economy and/or may signal high (low) wage inflation. To investigate, we relate quit rate to future performance of SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) as a proxy for the stock market and of iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) as a proxy for government bonds. Using monthly quit rate (which has a release delay of about six weeks) during December 2000 through August 2021 and monthly dividend-adjusted returns for SPY and TLT as available during December 2000 through September 2021, we find that: Keep Reading

A subscriber asked whether risk assets tend to struggle for about two years after low values of the ratio of corporate debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). To investigate, we use Non-financial Corporate Debt Securities and Loans as a proxy for corporate debt. Both debt and GDP series are quarterly, seasonally adjusted and have release delays of about one quarter. We then form the corporate debt-to-GDP ratio and relate its behavior to that of the S&P 500 Index. Using quarterly data for the three series from the fourth quarter of 1951 (limited by availability of quarterly data for the debt series) through the second quarter of 2021 for the economic/financial series and the third quarter of 2021 for the S&P 500 Index, we find that: Keep Reading

Do any of the major U.S. stock market sectors systematically lead or lag the overall market, perhaps because of some underlying business/economic cycle? To investigate, we examine the behaviors of the nine sectors defined by the Select Sector Standard & Poor’s Depository Receipts (SPDR) exchange traded funds (ETF):

Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB)
Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE)
Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF)
Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI)
Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK)
Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP)
Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU)
Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV)
Consumer Discretionary Select SPDR (XLY)

Using monthly dividend-adjusted closing prices for these ETFs, along with contemporaneous data for SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) as a benchmark, during December 1998 (sector ETF inception) through August 2021, we find that: Keep Reading