Guide to the Markets LIVE
FRED API + JPM GTM PDF | May 22, 2026 | Weekly (FRED) + Quarterly (PDF)
S&P 7,446 10Y 4.6% NL $5.9T VIX 17.4
Dashboard Overview
WEEKLY
Weekly Snapshot
Net Liquidity at $5.91T — Inside the Transition Zone ($5.5-6.0T). RRP at $0.02T still provides some buffer.
Labour market mixed: Apr26 NFP solid at +115K. 3-month average +48K. UMich sentiment depressed at 53.3 (long-run avg ~77).
10Y at 4.6%, curve flat at 89bps (avg ~153). Credit spreads tight (IG 75bps, HY 280bps) — limited cushion if conditions deteriorate.
S&P 500
7,446
May 21, 2026
VIX
17.4
Elevated
Fed Funds
3.6%
Eff. Daily Rate
10Y UST
4.6%
Real 2.1% | BE 2.4%
Unemployment
4.3%
NFP +115K
CPI YoY
3.8%
Core 2.7%
Net Liquidity
$5.91T
Transition Zone
IG / HY Spread
75 / 280
bps OAS (tight)
Treasury Yield Curve
10Y-3M: 89bps (avg ~153bps)
As of May 22, 2026
Real GDP Growth (QoQ SAAR)
Latest: 0.7% (4Q25)
BEA advance estimate, Jan 30 2026
CPI Inflation (YoY)
Headline 3.8% | Core 2.7% | Feb 2026
BLS release Mar 12, 2026
Nonfarm Payrolls (MoM, K)
3mo avg: +48K
BLS release Mar 7, 2026
Net Liquidity Framework
WEEKLY
Net Liquidity = Federal Reserve Balance Sheet (WALCL) − Treasury General Account (TGA) − Overnight Reverse Repo (RRP)
Net Liquidity
$5.91T
Transition Zone
WALCL
$6.71T
Fed Balance Sheet
TGA
$0.78T
Treasury Account
ON RRP
$24867M
Near zero!
Net Liquidity vs S&P 500
FRED API data, weekly since January 2015
—— Net Liquidity (left, $T) —— S&P 500 (right) - - $6T supportive - - $5.5T stress
As of May 22, 2026 (FRED Wednesday close)
Zone Assessment
Thresholds relative to Estimated Lowest Comfortable Level of Reserves (LCLoR)
Above $6.0T (Ample Reserves)
Broadly supportive of risk assets and smooth market functioning.
$5.5T - $6.0T (Transition Zone)
Liquidity cushion declining; heightened market sensitivity to Fed QT and TGA shifts.
NOW
Below $5.5T (Reserve Scarcity)
High risk of market stress, elevated funding costs, and asset drawdowns.
$5.91T. RRP at $0.02T still provides some buffer.
Components (FRED API, May 20)
FRED series: WALCL, WTREGEN, RRPONTSYD
ComponentMillionsTrillions
WALCL (Fed BS)6,713,643$6.714T
TGA Balance781,293$0.781T
ON RRP24,867$0.024867T
Net Liquidity5,907,483$5.907T
Near-zero RRP = structural shift. TGA increases now drain NL dollar-for-dollar with no buffer.
Money Market Stress: SOFR − IORB Spread
Banking panic gauge: when reserves dry up, interbank borrowing costs surge above the Fed's IORB floor rate
SOFR
3.50%
May 20
IORB
3.65%
Fed floor rate
Spread
-15 bps
Safe
Below 0 bps: Ample Reserves (Healthy)
Banks are flush with cash. Market liquidity is robust and highly supportive of risk assets.
0 to +2 bps: Buffer Depleted (Caution)
Excess liquidity is drained. Markets become highly sensitive to Fed QT and Treasury issuance.
+3 to +5 bps: Funding Stress (Tight)
Interbank competition for cash increases. Upward momentum for equities is heavily constrained.
Above +5 bps: Reserve Scarcity (Critical)
Systemic funding stress. High risk of violent equity drawdowns and forced deleveraging.
FRED: SOFR, IORB | As of May 22, 2026
Liquidity Support Ratio: NL / S&P 500
Market foundation scanner: how many dollars of net liquidity underpin each index point
Current Ratio
0.80
Below -1σ!
All-Time Mean
1.41
Historical avg
-1σ Level
1.11
Warning threshold
Adaptive Z-Score
-1.42σ
Stressed (3yr window)
At 0.80, the ratio is deep in Critical territory (below 0.90). The S&P 500 has severely outrun its liquidity support.
Calculated: NL ($B) / S&P 500 index | As of May 22, 2026
NL/SPX Fixed Zones
All-time thresholds — how extreme is the ratio vs the full 10-year history
Above 1.60: Abundant Liquidity (Euphoria)
Excess cash easily justifies premium valuations. Broadly supportive of sustained rallies.
1.20 – 1.60: Healthy Range (Balanced)
Liquidity and valuations are well-aligned. Market direction is primarily driven by earnings.
1.00 – 1.20: Support Thinning (Caution)
Equities are outpacing liquidity creation. Further upside requires strong fundamental catalysts.
0.90 – 1.00: Overstretched (Fragile)
Below -1σ threshold. Minimal cash buffers leave markets highly vulnerable to macro shocks.
Below 0.90: Extreme Divergence (Critical)
Severe valuation imbalance. Acute risk of mean reversion and aggressive drawdowns.
NL/SPX Adaptive Z-Score
3-year rolling window — how extreme is the ratio vs the recent trend
Above +1.0σ: Liquidity Surplus
Ratio elevated vs recent trend. Liquidity tailwind supporting above-average equity returns.
-0.5 to +1.0σ: Normal Range
Ratio tracking recent trend. Market driven by fundamentals, not liquidity.
-1.0 to -0.5σ: Thinning
Ratio drifting below recent trend. Equities beginning to outpace liquidity creation.
-1.5 to -1.0σ: Stressed
Meaningful divergence from trend. Historically a contrarian zone — forward returns often positive.
Below -1.5σ: Extreme Stretch
Severe divergence from recent trend. High risk of mean reversion via equity correction or NL expansion.
Rates & Credit
WEEKLY
Fed Funds
3.6%
2Y
3.8%
10Y
4.6%
TIPS 1.9%
30Y
5.1%
IG OAS
75bps
Avg 145
HY OAS
280bps
Avg 502
Yield Curve
Slope: 89bps (avg ~153)
As of May 22, 2026
Rate Decomposition
RateValueFRED
Fed Funds3.62%DFF
2-Year4.04%DGS2
5-Year4.22%DGS5
10-Year4.57%DGS10
30-Year5.11%DGS30
TIPS 10Y2.13%DFII10
Breakeven2.39%T10YIE
10Y-3M89bpsT10Y3M
30Y Mortgage6.51%MORTGAGE30US
Fixed Income Detail
QUARTERLY
FI Sector Yields & Returns (p.35)
SectorYield2026 RetMaturity
2Y UST3.79%0.23%2yr
5Y UST3.92%-0.14%5yr
10Y UST4.30%-0.31%10yr
30Y UST4.88%-0.14%30yr
U.S. Agg4.57%-0.05%8.2yr
IG Corps5.14%-0.54%10.4yr
U.S. HY7.40%-0.50%4.8yr
Munis3.77%-0.18%13.4yr
MBS4.83%0.40%7.1yr
Lev. Loans8.80%-0.44%4.7yr
FOMC March 2026 Projections (p.33)
FOMC YE: 3.62% | Market: 3.40% | Long-run: 3.10%
Metric202620272028L.Run
Real GDP 4Q/4Q2.42.32.12.0
Unemployment 4Q4.44.34.24.2
Headline PCE2.72.22.02.0
Core PCE2.72.22.0
Economy — FRED Data
WEEKLY
GDP 4Q25
0.7%
SAAR
CPI
3.8%
Core 3.2%
PCE
3.5%
Core 3.2%
Unemp
4.4%
NFP
+115K
Claims
209K
Sentiment
53.3
UMich avg ~77
GDP Growth
Labor & Consumer
IndicatorValueFRED
Unemployment4.3%UNRATE
NFP MoM+115KPAYEMS
Avg Hourly Earnings$37.41CES05
JOLTS Openings6,866KJTSJOL
JOLTS Hires5,554KJTSHIL
JOLTS Layoffs1,867KJTSLDL
Init. Claims209KICSA
UMich Sentiment53.3UMCSENT
Debt Service %11.3%TDSP
CC Delinquency2.9%DRCCLACBS
Hyperscaler CapEx ($bn) — p.24
GOOGL, AMZN, META, MSFT, ORCL
Tariffs on U.S. Imports — p.26
Eff. rate Mar 31 2026: 12.0% | Peak Apr 8 2025: 30.0%
AI Adoption by Sector — p.25
% firms using AI, Mar 2026
Federal Budget — p.29
2026: $7.4T spending | Deficit $1,853bn (25%)
Spending
Social Security$1,666bn (22%)
Medicare$1,287bn (17%)
Net Interest$1,039bn (14%)
Non-def. Disc.$996bn (13%)
Defense$885bn (12%)
Medicaid$708bn (10%)
Revenue
Income Tax$2,751bn (37%)
Payroll Tax$1,826bn (25%)
Customs Duties$418bn (6%)
Corporate Tax$404bn (5%)
Net Debt/GDP: 99.4% | CBO projects 120.2% by 2036
Equities
QUARTERLY
S&P 500
7,446
Fwd P/E
19.7x
30yr: 17.2x
CAPE
37.2x
Avg: 28.7x
EY Spread
-0.3%
Negative!
EPS '26F
$320
'27:$373 '28:$414
Margin
14.1%
4Q25
EPS Growth — p.7
Mag 7 vs S&P 493 — p.9
Index Concentration — p.8
Top 10Rest 490S&P 500
Fwd P/E23.0x18.0x19.7x
Avg P/E20.8x15.9x16.8x
Mkt Cap %37.9%62.1%100%
Earnings %33.2%66.8%100%
Valuations — p.5
MeasureCurrent30yr AvgSignal
Forward P/E19.7x17.2xNear +1sd
CAPE37.2x28.7xElevated
Div Yield1.6%2.0%Below avg
EY Spread-0.3%0.7%Negative!
Margin 4Q2514.1%~10%Record
Annual Returns vs Drawdowns — p.17
Avg 14.2% intra-year drop, positive 35 of 46 years
Small / Mid / Large — p.14
MetricLargeMidSmall
Fwd P/E20x17x23x
Int. Coverage8.3x4.0x1.4x
% Unprofitable5%14%39%
Down. Revisions1%3%21%
Analysts/Co26187
39% small caps unprofitable vs 5% large. Interest coverage 1.4x vs 8.3x.
Sector Returns & Valuations — p.16
SectorWtYTDP/EAvgGrthDYBetaFgn%
Energy4.0%38.2%20.1x13.8x12.7%2.6%1.137%
Materials2.1%9.7%18.5x15.7x24.6%1.7%1.053%
Financials12.6%-9.3%14.0x12.9x9.5%2.1%1.129%
Industrials9.0%4.6%23.5x16.9x9.9%1.5%1.136%
Cons.Disc.9.9%-9.2%24.7x20.6x10.8%2.1%1.235%
Tech32.9%-9.1%20.0x18.7x34.6%0.7%1.252%
Comm.Svcs10.3%-6.9%19.1x18.6x11.2%0.9%1.149%
Real Estate2.0%4.9%16.9x17.3x4.3%3.8%0.919%
Health Care9.5%-4.9%16.9x15.1x8.3%2.2%0.733%
Staples5.3%7.7%22.0x17.9x6.6%2.6%0.640%
Utilities2.5%8.3%18.7x16.0x10.3%2.8%0.52%
International & Global
QUARTERLY
DXY
120.6
Trade-Weighted
US % ACWI
63%
vs 40% in 2010
Global Equity Returns (USD) — p.44
Region'26 YTD202515yr Ann
ACWI ex-US-0.6%33.1%6.1%
EAFE-1.1%31.9%6.8%
Eurozone-4.2%41.3%6.8%
EM-0.1%34.4%4.1%
Japan1.5%25.1%7.3%
China-8.9%31.4%3.2%
Taiwan9.1%39.8%13.9%
India-18.1%4.3%4.8%
Brazil19.2%50.4%0.7%
Global Valuations — p.48
Forward P/E by region vs 20yr avg
ACWI ex-US at -29% discount to US (20yr avg: -19%)
Global PMI (Mar 2026) — p.50
Composite (Mfg + Services)
DM Policy Rates — p.51
Fed
4.25-4.50%
BoE
4.50%
BoJ
0.50%
ECB
2.50%
Bull avg 70 months (+221%), Bear avg 14 months (-39%). Expansions avg 49 months.