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Good jobs report can’t overcome coronavirus fears — what to watch now
Stocks fell on Friday as even a good jobs number couldn’t overcome coronavirus fears.Here’s what five experts are looking at now.Ed Hyman, chairman of Evercore ISI, said despite worries about China slowing down, the momentum in the economy is there.”I think the pullback is really still a worry about the virus and … our team…
Stocks fell on Friday as even a good jobs number couldn't overcome coronavirus fears.
Here's what five experts are looking at now.
Ed Hyman, chairman of Evercore ISI, said despite worries about China slowing down, the momentum in the economy is there.
“I think the pullback is really still a worry about the virus and … our team has GDP growth at zero in the first quarter. We survey 21 companies in China and that survey dropped this week about 2 points to just 41. It was as high as 70 in years past. So, China is really slowing and that worries people for sure. But I think there is still a lot of momentum here and … there's a lot of liquidity in the system, money's everywhere.”
Jimmy Dunne, vice chairman of Piper Sandler, said it could be worse than what people think.
“[The coronavirus] is definitely going to have an effect. … It won't have as much effect on our traditional banking U.S. clients, but it does have an effect on the overall economy and the real effect is the perception that whatever we're hearing, multiply it by 10 because that is the reality. If this was what it was, I think it would be somewhat containable. The real feeling is that they don't always allow the truth to interfere with a good story. So, I'm worried about how much it really is.”
Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, said one corner of the tech space will dictate investor feelings toward stocks.
“What they've done with tech is that they've ripped a lot of things out of it that we used to follow. We used to look at FANGs [Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google parent Alphabet] and say ‘Oh this is tech.' And so what's left in tech … what moves technology in general is now two things — semiconductors, software. They've pulled out the Facebooks so now we say to ourselves what can really drive a continued tech rally? And you've already got stocks like Microsoft and the big software components at record highs. It's the volatility in the semis now that is determining from week to week whether we feel good or bad about the trend in technology stocks.”
Joe Terranova, senior managing director at Virtus Investment Partners, praised this resilient, record-high market.
“The last 10 years has been about growth, it's about not being afraid to step in and buy stocks that are at the highs. … We are making a recovery in the market — pull up Amazon, pull up Microsoft, both stocks at all-time highs … yes, there are still concerns about the coronavirus, yes the 10-year yield is trading at levels that make all of us uncomfortable … but it's about the resiliency.”
Shannon Saccocia, chief investment officer at Boston Private Wealth, said investors are seeking comfort in safe haven sectors in the wake of the coronavirus.
“I think if you think about what's happened with the coronavirus and you think about a shift to safe haven assets, I actually feel that some of these mega-cap U.S. companies, especially in the technology sector are being seen as safer havens. If you go to Treausrys, you go to the dollar, we've certainly seen flows there. But I think for U.S. investors who see this as, for better or for worse, I think we are expecting this not to have a significant economic impact. And so, they're looking at names that they feel comfortable with and I think that's why we are seeing the flows to the names that have done really well over the last couple of years.”
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