3 ways the pros are trading markets right now
A slew of strong AI-driven earnings helped push the S & P 500 and Nasdaq to all-time highs this week, as renewed optimism over a Middle East peace agreement also lifted sentiment. But markets have remained volatile, amid mixed messages from Washington and Tehran over the state of negotiations. Here are three investment strategies we heard in CNBC’s Singapore and London studios on Thursday to help navigate the noise. Market neutral equities Ed Cole, head of multi-strategy equities solutions at Man Group, said market-neutral equity strategies — which aim to profit from stock picking while minimizing overall market exposure — present “an incredibly opportunity-rich world.” He said the traditional relationship between stocks and bonds — where bonds typically cushioned portfolios during equity sell-offs — has broken down “I think there are very many things you can do to protect your portfolio, but it requires thinking a little bit more creatively away from what has worked over the last 20 years,” he added. Europe’s strategic autonomy .STOXX .SPX 5Y line Stoxx 600 versus S & P 500 over 5 years Daniel Morris, chief market strategist at BNP Paribas AM, is looking through the broader U.S. equity rally with a preference for American tech stocks, as well as peers within emerging markets. Morris is also focusing on the strategic autonomy story within Europe. “The context in terms of the need for Europe to be more independent, if you will, from the U.S., it’s just been reemphasized over and over by developments on various political fronts. So we think that’s going to be, and has been, the key sustainable story in Europe,” he added. Buy bonds and hedge back to dollars Thierry Taglione, managing director and head of fixed income business development in Asia ex-Japan at AllianceBernstein, said investors should be taking advantage of global rate differentials. He’s cautious on the currency market, saying he’s more neutral on Japanese yields than the yen. But Tagilione is keen on Japanese bonds, but hedging back to U.S. dollars, to secure a yield pick up. “We’ve seen these kind of trades where you can take advantage of global rates by buying those global bonds around the world, not just Japan, also in Europe, and hedging back to USD,” he said. “That’s exactly what we’ve been doing in some of our global income portfolios.”
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