Quote from Mvic:
This small sample is indicative of what many people think. They see a recession coming and are selling, have sold, or are short. I think the portfolio margin rules are going to have a bigger impact than expected, there will be a rally as the Iran Uk situation resolves itself shortly and oil falls. We will get some uptick in housing data from early spring sales and cooler inflation data. Maybe even a few tech companies pulling it out for one more quarter by fudging the numbers one more time. In short we will have a rip roaring rally, most likely to new highs. Then, when the smart money is really out having unloaded to the shorts and the retail suckers who rush to get back in, the market will fall hard as the buyers exhaust themselves and the economic data is too stark to ignore.
That's an excellent analysis but I'm still thinking the market will be under pressure for the following reasons:
Oil - Driving season approaching, hurricane season approaching, Iran and the British sailors, implied volatility for options on oil stocks is below average level of last two years indicating complacency. If anything, oil's been unusually stable recently which probably has a lot to do with why Iran is stirring the pot.
Market highs and earnings - We're less than 3% off the recent alltime highs even though upcoming earnings are likely to be the worst they've been in a couple of years. I have some doubt that the market has really priced that in after last fall's runup. The recent recovery rally didn't show a lot of conviction volume-wise. Of course, if earnings come in in the high single digits then that's less of an issue.
Trade issues with China - China's response to the US re sanctions doesn't look good. Even if this issue gets resolved relatively quickly, it will be a negative for the market for the next week or two.
Housing market, subprime issues - This has already been beaten to death so I won't go on about it here. Suffice it to say, an increase in bankruptcies and a decrease in home ownership doesn't usually boost the economy or stocks.
Washington DC Clusterf___ - This is more in the area of editiorial opinion but, regardless of political beliefs, we have the worst political leadership (Republican and Democrat) in this country in at least 100 years. I have zero confidence in Washington's ability to address any of the multitude of issues currently facing the US. Stunning incompetence and stupidity all around.
A lot of your points, Mvic, are very plausible, though. Especially re Iran and the British sailors. If that gets resolved quickly and peacefully, oil gets hit and stocks rally. And negative sentiment is ramping up so that's bullish.