DC Lite #214

Welcome back to DC Lite: Daily Chartbook’s free, entry-level newsletter containing 5 of the day’s best charts & insights. Upgrade to get all 30 charts.

1. Magic mortgage rate. "Consumers need mortgage rates to start with a 5 before they dive back into the housing market."

2. JOLTS. Job openings rose by 329k to 8.04m in August against expectations of a modest decline. The number of quits fell to the lowest since August 2020 while hires and total separations were mostly unchanged.

3. USO call volume. Call volume spiked in USO (the largest ETF tracking WTI crude oil futures) following escalations in the Middle East.

4. Non-dealer positioning. Non-dealer (i.e., all investors less market makers) in US equity futures is at record highs.

5. Valuation vs. first cut. And finally, “P/E Ratios at the beginning of Fed easing cycles: 2024 has the highest P/E at the start of a Fed cutting cycle in 60+ years.”

See: Marlin Capital