Wall Street is no longer betting on Trump
https://www.axios.com/wall-street-betting-biden-trump-3f92627c-812f-42a3-a79c-2192787170f9.html
Betting markets have turned decisively toward an expected victory for Joe Biden in November — and asset managers at major investment banks are preparing for not only a Biden win, but potentially a Democratic sweep of the Senate and House too.
Why it matters: Wall Street had its chips on a Trump win until recently — even in the midst of the coronavirus-induced recession and Biden's rise in the polls.
What we're hearing: "We’re looking for higher taxes," Stephen Gallagher, U.S. chief economist at Société Générale, tells Axios, noting that a Biden win now looks "more and more certain."
The big picture: It's not just a reversal from Trump. If implemented, Biden's proposed tax hikes on individuals, corporations and financial market gains would be the most significant since Bill Clinton.
https://www.axios.com/wall-street-betting-biden-trump-3f92627c-812f-42a3-a79c-2192787170f9.html
Betting markets have turned decisively toward an expected victory for Joe Biden in November — and asset managers at major investment banks are preparing for not only a Biden win, but potentially a Democratic sweep of the Senate and House too.
Why it matters: Wall Street had its chips on a Trump win until recently — even in the midst of the coronavirus-induced recession and Biden's rise in the polls.
- The shift is the latest indicator of how quickly the political and business worlds have aligned in the view that Trump is unlikely to win a second term as COVID-19 infection numbers have spiked again and the economy looks to be stalling.
- And according to Kace Capital Advisors managing director Kenny Polcari, "Talk of a Democratic sweep [is] now common" among investors.
What we're hearing: "We’re looking for higher taxes," Stephen Gallagher, U.S. chief economist at Société Générale, tells Axios, noting that a Biden win now looks "more and more certain."
- "In the first two years of the Trump administration the markets were very focused and driven by the tax cuts and the anticipation of what that does for after-tax corporate profits and the overall impact on the economy."
- "Now we have to position ourselves to look for some reversal of that."
The big picture: It's not just a reversal from Trump. If implemented, Biden's proposed tax hikes on individuals, corporations and financial market gains would be the most significant since Bill Clinton.
- Stable and/or falling capital gains, dividend, individual and corporate tax rates for much of the past two decades have been an under-appreciated boost to stock prices," Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors, said in a recent note to clients.
- Reversing that trend "could complicate the outlook for future stock returns."
- The Nasdaq is up 9% and the benchmark S&P 500 has risen 4% since June 1, during which time betting odds have moved from a 2-point spread in favor of Trump to a 20-point spread for Biden, according to the RealClearPolitics database.
- In fact, "with global central banks and governments at the ready to add to the 'liquidity,' there may just be enough to go around to push risk markets ever higher."
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