Breakfast with David Rosenberg

(pragcap.com)The bulls enjoyed and the bears endured a massive 37% rally in the S&P 500 from the March 9th lows to the May 8th highs. Both in terms of duration and magnitude, this proved to be the most intense rally during this 20-month long bear market. And, the bounce has been so impressive that it has taken what was widely considered to be a massively undervalued stock market in early March to one that is now at least moderately expensive. (The FTSE All-World market P/E ratio on forward earnings estimates is now around 15x, well above pre-Lehman collapse levels and nearly double the lows for the cycle.)

Since the rebound from the March 9th lows was again led by the four sectors that led the decline during the bear phase – financials, consumer discretionary, materials and industrials – it stands to reason that this was just another counter-trend rally. What we know about history is that the sectors that led the downturn are never the ones to emerge as leaders in the next sustainable bull market.

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