I investigate whether news sentiment and trader positions are
influenced by the macroeconomic variables suggested by
Bessembinder and Chan (1992) as factors in futures pricing.
The identified factors include changes in interest rates as determined
by 3-month treasury bills, changes in the credit spread, and
changes in the dividend yield of the S&P 500. The results reported
in Table 6 suggest that news sentiment is significantly more negative
when the credit spread is increasing, and when the dividend
yield is increasing. A tightening credit market and rising dividend
yield (commonly a result of falling stock markets) are generally
consistent with a recessionary environment.
The credit spread has a significant negative relationship with the net position of
speculators, suggesting that as credit becomes more expensive
they are forced to take smaller positions. The opposite is true of
hedgers which suggests that they may be less constrained by credit
costs, since margin requirements are smaller owing to the fact that
hedgers also produce the physical asset.
commonly a result