Stocks Discount Too Much Easing and Optimism

Stocks Discount Too Much Easing and Optimism
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Daniel Lacalle
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Commentary

The S&P 500 Index has risen to a new high, and close to its record level. Complacency seems to be taking hold of market participants because the latest leg up has been driven entirely by multiple expansion. According to Bloomberg, the price-to-earnings ratio of the S&P 500 has erupted back to 19.2 times, almost a 10 percent increase in valuation with no discernible improvement in earnings or margins. The latest round of revisions shows consensus estimating a -0.28 percent growth in earnings for this year. Consumer confidence is back at 2022 lows, and the economic surprise index is also weakening. What are investors betting on? Good old quantitative easing to return.

Daniel Lacalle
Daniel Lacalle
Author
Daniel Lacalle, Ph.D., is chief economist at hedge fund Tressis and author of the bestselling books “Freedom or Equality” (2020), “Escape from the Central Bank Trap” (2017), “The Energy World Is Flat”​ (2015), and “Life in the Financial Markets.”
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