SocGen: “Global Earnings Are Back To 2014 Levels; Stocks Are 15% Higher”

Is it QE or is it earnings?
With the Dow starting off the final quarter with a bang, surging to new all time highs alongside the S&P, few care what is prompting the latest surge in risk assets, which is a problem because as One River CIO Eric Peters noted yesterday, we have gotten to the point where measures of market performance have mutated into trading vehicles (and price targets) – such as the VIX, which drifted lower after an early spike today that appeared to briefly break the Nasdaq, and launch today’s buying spree. And with everyone selling vol, the implication is that there is nothing to be worried about, even if the actual indicator of implied vol is no longer relevant as it itself has become the most actively traded product by retail and institutional investors alike (hardly surprising to anyone who has read Soros’ 10+ year old ruminations on market reflexivity).
Whatever the reason though, stocks continue to levitate and not just in the US, but across the world, with SocGen’s Andrew Lapthorne reporting that the MSCI World index surpassed 2000 for the first time and in turn has delivered its eleventh successive month of positive total returns. This ranks as the second longest period of consecutive gains for MSCI World since its formation in 1969, with realised volatility collapsing as a consequence.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Oct 2, 2017.