Happy Thanksgiving week, Fireside Charts readers! The 10-year treasury yield hit a three-year low in early September (and has been lingering below 2% ever since) but a look back through 2012 has us wondering if it could be poised to rise. Meanwhile, the high-yield bond spread has already established some upward momentum as investors begin to demand more reward for taking on risk—can you guess how much the spread has jumped since the lows of 2017? And whose government-bond shopping spree could put black Friday to shame? Turning to sectors, while Energy is still disappointing, Financials are cruising toward their January ’18 high. Could they soon top the record print? Finally, does the approaching close of the 2010’s have the markets feeling nostalgic for bygone eras? Our focus may be on Thanksgiving this week, but market capitalization is outpacing nominal GDP like it’s New Year’s ’99…
1. Are interest rates basing for a leg higher?
![U.S. treasury yields](https://blog.investbcm.com/hubfs/11.25%20chart%205-2.png)
Source: The Chart Store, as of 11/22/19
2. High Yield seems to be demanding a full percent more spread than during the “uber-calm” of 2017-early 2018.
![junk bond credit spread](https://blog.investbcm.com/hubfs/11.25%20chart%204.png)
Source: The Chart Store, as of 11/22/19
3. Yet the lower credits are flashing a warning signal…
![high yield credit spread](https://blog.investbcm.com/hubfs/11.25%20chart%203.png)
Source: The Chart Store, as of 11/22/19
4. Someone has to buy our Government’s debt!
![bank treasury purchases](https://blog.investbcm.com/hubfs/11.25%20chart%201.png)
Source: FRED from 11/25/19
5. For all the jawboning going on in the energy markets, the energy sector is still in a rut…
![s&p 500 energy sector](https://blog.investbcm.com/hubfs/11.25%20chart%208.png)
Source: The Chart Store, as of 11/22/19
6. Will the Financials Sector finally break through resistance?
![s&P 500 financials sector](https://blog.investbcm.com/hubfs/11.25%20chart%207.png)
Source: The Chart Store, as of 11/22/19
7. The markets do “feel” a bit like 1998/99…
![market cap %gdp](https://blog.investbcm.com/hubfs/11.25%20chart%206.png)
Source: The Chart Store, as of 11/22/19
8. Did the 19.7% drawdown in 4Q18 (which went over 20% intraday) count as a correction and reset the growth clock?
![S&P 500 composite november 2019](https://blog.investbcm.com/hubfs/11.25%20chart%209.png)
Source: The Chart Store, as of 11/22/19
9. Still contracting…
![Kansas city manufacturing index](https://blog.investbcm.com/hubfs/11.25%20chart%202.png)
Source: WSJ Daily Shot, from of 11/24/19