Credit tightening and data-center delays threaten the debt-funded AI boom behind the S&P 500. Junk-bond sales fell from $51B in September to $7B in October's first three weeks; CCC yields hit a four-year high, though quality firms still borrowed. Per S&P Global, 146 data-center projects were delayed or canceled, potentially weakening buildout credit. With 40% of the index in 10 names, this is dot-com and 2008 combined; stocks have not caught up, and even good firms may be sold. x.com 

High debt and rate hikes make a big US equity correction likely. Warsh said nothing useful despite hot CPI and PPI after two weeks of hawkish rhetoric, while the rest of the Fed fence-sits. A debt crisis is incoming, and some funds will blow up soon. Big caps are the last leg; the bigger correction could be something like 20%. It is not a good time to buy dips. x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com 

Hyperscaler credit stress and weak financials-versus-staples leadership warn of downside risk in the S&P 500 consolidation. Spreads have broken July wides, though an upside breakout is probable if financials stabilize. So far, tech weakness has lowered yields as Fed hikes are priced out, letting defensives rally and the S&P chop. If the Fed signals Nasdaq weakness won't stop tightening without better data, the tech-yield link could break in an uncomfortable, 2018-like direction. x.com  x.com  … Show more

US stocks look increasingly vulnerable: high interest rates are making long positions harder, while more bearish setups are appearing as the market worsens. x.com 

US large-cap equities are vulnerable because earnings have not caught up with total market capitalization. The market is farther from its 200-week moving average than at any point in 18 years, and cracks are starting to show; staying bullish ignores these risks. Rate hikes remain possible, oil is still high, and yields may climb again, so now is the time for caution. x.com  x.com 

US stocks could face a meaningful correction because the macro backdrop is deteriorating across bonds and inflation. The secular bull market is still expected to continue afterward, with a key factor potentially limiting the correction's severity. x.com  x.com 

US stocks remain vulnerable because leveraged long positions could amplify an unwind of the mania. The SPY-versus-long-Treasury trade has given back only a few weeks of its gains. x.com 

US stocks are in a bubble that could end more like 1929 than 1999, given massive leveraged consumer debt and the belief that the party is only getting started. This is the most negative stance on the market since 1999. Only about 5 to 10 companies still look worth owning, mostly non-US stocks that aren't bubbly like US stocks. x.com 

The US Treasury's doubled buybacks of long-dated debt should loosen financial conditions, which is bullish for US stocks and long-dated Treasuries. Buybacks rise to at least $4B per operation on 10- to 30-year paper, clearing sticky off-the-run supply from dealer balance sheets and putting a soft cap on long-end yield spikes after 30-year yields hit multi-decade highs. x.com 

The US large-cap correction isn't over until interest rates top and bonds bottom, which hasn't happened yet. The summer 2023 S&P 500 correction ended right when bonds bottomed in October, with TLT trading massive upside volume, and there is no sign of that now. Higher rates keep pressuring real estate, where lots of money has been trapped since 2022, a possible source of downside dislocation, and an aggressive further rise in rates could bring a panic bottom. x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com