Monday, November 9th, 2020, Marked A Historic Inflection Point Following Up On The March 9th, 2020, Inflection Point

2020 has been a year that will stand out in the history books. Financial markets have seen their own share of history in 2020, including significant inflection points, both those readily apparent, and those that have existed behind the scenes.

In the energy sector, March 9th, 2020 was a significant inflection point, where many energy equities, including Occidental Petroleum (OXY) declined over 50% in a single trading session, and alternatively, leading natural gas equities, including EQT Corp. (EQT), Cabot Oil & Gas (COG), and Southwestern Energy (SWN) actually finished higher amid the energy carnage, as I chronicled and outlined in the following two public articles.

The Long Oil, Short Natural Gas Trade Is Officially Dead

The United States Natural Gas Fund Was Up On A Historic Down Day For Energy

While natural gas equities have shined in the energy complex in 2020, energy stocks, and value stocks have generally continued to be out-of-favor, however, the inflection point might have been reached on November 9th, 2020.

A Record Change In The Relative Performance Of Momentum Stocks Occurred On November 9th, 2020.
S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) Had Its Best Relative Performance Day Versus SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) Ever On November 9th, 2020!
FAANG Stocks Had Worst Relative Performance Day Since Acronym Gained Popularity On November 9th, 2020!

Takeaway Thoughts

Sometimes an inflection point is obvious, hitting an observer over the head, and sometimes it is more discreet, requiring some time to appreciate what has transpired. With energy stocks, which are the fulcrum of the value opportunity, continuing to outperform this past week ending Friday, November 20th, 2020, including the Energy Select SPDR Fund (XLE) rising 5.7%, the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) rising 6.6%, and the VanEck Vectors Oil Services ETF (OIH) rising 10.9%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) declined 0.8%, and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) declined 0.2%, market participants may look back to November 9th, 2020, and view it as a line of demarcation between the “Have’s” and the “Have Not’s”.

Golden Age Of Indiana College Football

FYI…this is an article about sports, resilience, and the apparent golden age of Indiana football. For the record, like most born and bred Hoosiers, basketball is my favorite sport from Butler to Indiana to Purdue to Notre Dame to the high school basketball scene, however college football is undergoing a renaissance in Indiana. This is being written on the morning of Saturday, November 21st, ahead of a big Indiana versus Ohio State football game today. Concurrently, I am working on a market update article that will be published shortly after this one, so if you are not a sports fan, just move on, and look for the next post about the financial markets.

Last night, I was out on the town (well sort of), which is an accomplishment in of itself in 2020, and I caught the ending of the Purdue versus Minnesota college football game at the establishment I was visiting. To recap, Purdue appeared to take the lead on a beautifully thrown touchdown pass that was called back for offensive pass interference that seemed to not happen.

Purdue’s coach, Jeff Brohm correctly disputed the play, in my opinion, and his outburst was relatively restrained, given the circumstances. On the very next play, Purdue’s quarterback (Plummer), not a relative of that Plummer, who had been excellent all game, threw an interception, which was an unfortunate turn of events that short circuited what was an exciting end to the game. That play overshadowed the return of Rondale Moore, Purdue’s heralded Indiana born and raised wide receiver (though he did play football across the Ohio River for a Louisville powerhouse), who rose from obscurity to a quiet level of fame among those who follow football closely. For the record, Moore, like Plummer, had an excellent game, notching 15 receptions for 116 yards and one rushing touchdown.

Following the game, many sports fans from ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt to former Boilermaker’s to casual fans like me, were in disbelief at the sudden turn of events.

Unfortunately, in life, and in sports, and in the markets for that matter, there are bad beats, and you have to recover and be resilient.

Speaking of looking forward for Indiana’s major college football programs, there is a lot to be thankful for as we enter Thanksgiving week 2020. Notre Dame is ranked #2, after dispatching Clemson in a thrilling college football game that The Ringer’s Rodger Sherman wrote was, “The Game That Defined the Weirdest Season in College Football History“, and I have to agree with that characterization, and Indiana, undefeated after four games and ranked #9 in the country plays third-ranked Ohio State in a game that will go a long way in deciding the Big Ten’s East Division champion.

As a proud long-time Indiana resident and sports fan, there is a changing of the seasons here, and basketball, which will return to the forefront of Indiana sports fan’s minds in the not too distant future, is being replaced by a golden autumn of fall college football.