Equity markets seem to be slowing down after a strong start to the year. The S&P 500 is up about 1.5% in February after gaining 6.2% in January. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average tell a similar story. What is cooling the market down? Among other things, the prospect of persistent inflation and further interest rate hikes as well as “rolling recessions”. But although bearish sentiment has permeated the market, fund manager Barbara Doran takes a different view. “The market has gone up and there seems to be a real appetite [for stocks]. people come in; You started the year with a lot of money. Part of it was just bear market positioning, but with the breadth we saw in January, it feels like the start of a bull market, dare I say,” Doran told CNBC’s Street Signs Asia last week. The chief investment officer and senior portfolio manager at BD8 Capital Partners said the US consumer remains strong – the unemployment rate is at a 53-year low and there is an estimated $1 trillion in unspent Covid-19 stimulus payments as inflation continues to fall . There are few discernible negative catalysts on the horizon: investors seem to be more focused on opportunity than risk alone. A bull market stance is developing slowly, albeit weakly,” she added. “If you’re a long-term investor, stay on your guns and wait for opportunities in stocks that may have become too expensive,” she said. and 50%. and has gained market share in both areas, according to Doran. Other metrics like revenue and trips have also shown double-digit improvements, she added. “They expect to break even in the next quarter or two and then they start making real money next year. It has a solid balance sheet with over $4 billion in cash. And the inventory is in the warehouse where there is none [price-to-earnings] because there’s no revenue, but I think there’s significant upside here,” she said. Walmart is another top pick from Doran. She said the stock is a “well-positioned defensive name” that will hold up “resiliently” in a recession. The stock is also a “long-term winner,” Doran said. “They’re massive in size and they’ve also been very innovative in terms of e-commerce adoption [sales]. They were really ahead of the game there. They improve the customer experience and I think they will continue to be a compounder in the portfolio,” she said, giving the stock a 15% near-term upside potential. Their selection is rounded off by Starbucks. The stock is toying with China reopening for the second half of 2023, and Doran estimates the company will grow its earnings per share by 15% to 20% over the next few years — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to the coverage.
