This Week's Message: Why We Remain Growthy

Question: Why, with all of this volatility, aren't we moving client portfolios to a defensively biased allocation?

Bonus Quote of the Day

According to Bloomberg's Michael Regan, Johnson and Johnson's specific woes -- as well as maybe triggered electronic sell programs -- are notably contributing to today's decline in the major averages:

Quotes of the Day: Yet Another Source of Volatility

While the headlines this morning suggest that today's rout is all about global growth fears, there can be little doubt that the legal issues facing President Trump are yet another contributor to market volatility. 

Quick note on current conditions...

As I type, Dow futures are pointing to a 220-point hit at the open. Headlines credit weak data out of China overnight, followed by weakening sentiment readings out of Europe.

Of course this weakening of conditions comes as no surprise to you (regular blog-reader), as that, as we've been preaching since the very beginning of this year (before, actually), is an unavoidable condition/consequence of the uncertainty fostered by any threat of a protracted trade war between the world's two largest economy.

Quick Note on Present Conditions: A Market in Limbo

As I type the Dow and the S&P 500 are barely clinging to gains this morning, while the Nasdaq Comp is down .27%.

As we've stated multiple times herein over the past few months, current  macro conditions do not allow us (so to speak) to move to a markedly defensive posture within client portfolios -- despite the presently heightened level of downside volatility. In other words, general conditions suggest that stock price action presently deviates from fundamental reality.

Brief Note On This Morning's Action

As I type, Dow futures are, once again, pointing to a 300+ point jump at the open. While the Charlie Brown risk is still huge, there is -- at this very early point in the trading day -- a hint that the headline support may be a bit better in the near-term.

Bonus, And Untimely, Quote of the Day

The market is sending a clear signal (as this morning's 470 point Dow decline [+370 to -100] attests) that the time for public browbeating is over, and that serious negotiations that lead to a lasting solution need to begin.