Predicting recession probabilities have fallen sharply from the highs of 2022, the JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) model shows.
In seven of the nine asset classes tracked by the model, from European stocks to investment-grade bonds, current quotes suggest recession chances are below 50%. The value of the S&P 500 suggests traders see a 73 percent chance of an economic downturn in the U.S., up from 98 percent last October, Bloomberg wrote, citing data from the bank.
Do economists predict a recession?
“Most asset classes are showing a gradual reduction in recession risks Thanks to the opening of the Chinese economy, the collapse in gas prices in Europe, and a more pronounced than expected slowdown in U.S. inflation,” said JPMorgan strategist Nikolaos Panikirtzoglu. — The market now sees a much lower likelihood of a recession than in October.”
Meanwhile, his colleague Marko Kolanovic warned that investors may be underestimating the potential pressure that a slowdown in U.S. economic growth could put on stocks in the coming months. At the same time, factors such as a decline in industrial production and retail sales, as well as a rally in the bond market and the Federal Reserve’s promise to keep rates high will play into the bulls’ hands.
Economists, on the contrary, have become more pessimistic-their consensus forecast calls for a 65% chance of a recession versus a 50% chance in October, Bloomberg notes.
Negative signals are also observed in the bond market — the yield on three-month US government bonds exceeds the yield on 10-year securities, indicating that investors are waiting for a slowdown in economic growth in the coming months.
On the other hand, many market participants are hopeful that the world’s central banks will be able to give the economy a soft landing — and it’s precisely because of such hopes that risky assets have rallied in recent weeks.
“I don’t want to say growth will be outstanding, I just think it won’t be a nightmare,” HSBC strategist Max Kettner told Bloomberg. — There are simply no catalysts to a decline and no unpleasant surprises, so the only way is up.”
Earlier we reported that the U.S. Treasury is going to use emergency measures because the national debt is getting closer to the ceiling.