May 8, 3:00 pm EST
Over the past 24-hours, global markets were obsessed with the President’s move to renew sanctions on Iran. The oil market swung around. And so did stocks, to a degree.
These are important events. They are news-worthy events. And they carry plenty of shock-value. But, without underplaying the importance, we’ve seen this movie (bold change) a lot over the past 16 months, under the Trump presidency. And despite the risks that many have feared along the way, we’re seeing a better economy, healthier companies and healthier consumers. And we’re seeing the potential for reform in the trade imbalances that led to the financial crisis.
It’s the tough talk, tough positioning and the “credibility to act” that is producing results. And Trump is working from a position of strength, leveraging the biggest economy in the world, and an economy that is leading the global economic recovery. And he continues to tick the boxes on his game plan of change (global and domestic).
But the risks from the bold change has only provided more fodder for those skittish investors that don’t believe in the growth story. That continues to reinforce their views of an ugly outcome in global financial markets. And that continues to keep investors under-exposed to stocks.
However, with the fundamental backdrop strong, and valuations cheap (relative to low interest rate environments), that should keep the cash from the doubters chasing stock prices as they move higher.