JPMorgan Chase warns: Earnings expectations are disconnected from risks, and US stocks may further decline.
Morgan Stanley's Chief Market Strategist, Marko Kolanovic, stated that as the impact of monetary tightening policies on the US corporate sector becomes evident, Wall Street needs to revise its optimistic expectations of double-digit earnings growth for the next few quarters.
According to the Zhongtong Finance APP, Marko Kolanovic, Chief Market Strategist at JPMorgan, stated that as the impact of monetary tightening policies on the US corporate sector becomes evident, Wall Street's optimistic expectations of double-digit earnings growth for the next few quarters need to be revised downward. Kolanovic pointed out that in a restrictive interest rate environment, tightening liquidity, and escalating geopolitical risks, the market's widely expected 12% future earnings per share growth is "disconnected" from the risks posed by weakening consumer demand and reduced pricing power.
Kolanovic said on Monday, "If global central banks do not take preemptive interest rate cuts, we believe that risks will intensify, and the peak effect of restrictive monetary policy is yet to come."
Analysts have begun to lower their profit expectations for companies. Deutsche Bank stated that since the beginning of this earnings season, analysts have lowered their expectations for the fourth quarter by 1.9%, a proportion that "exceeds the typical level."
Kolanovic's views align with those of well-known Wall Street bear and Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson. Wilson stated that the market's expectations for fourth-quarter and 2024 corporate profits are too high, "even in the case of a strong economic performance."
Kolanovic pointed out that small-cap stocks have continued to underperform, investor confidence is weakening, and the decoupling of gold prices and bond yields reflects increasing investor caution, posing further downside risks to the stock market.
Lori Calvasina, Capital Market Strategist at Royal Bank of Canada, also emphasized the "astonishing" pessimistic tone during this quarter's earnings conference calls.
Last week, tech giants including Alphabet-C parent company Alphabet (GOOGL.US) and Facebook parent company Meta Platforms released a series of disappointing earnings reports, dragging the S&P 500 index down 10% from its peak in July. The performance of stock market leader Apple (AAPL.US) will be the next major obstacle for traders this week.
Calvasina said, "The data from S&P 500 index companies is simply not enough to lift the recent sluggishness in the US stock market."