(Bloomberg) — A five-day rally in the S&P 500 looked set to stall amid unease over expensive equity valuations and the composition of President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming cabinet.
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Contracts on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes slipped about 0.2%, while Tesla Inc., the EV maker seen as a prime beneficiary of a Trump presidency, dropped in premarket trading after a post-election surge that lifted its valuation past $1 trillion. Other so-called Trump trades remained in play, however, with Treasuries falling, the dollar hitting a one-year high and Bitcoin hovering just below $90,000.
The election outcome has taken investors’ US equity exposure to the highest in three years, suggesting the rally could run out of steam, according to Citigroup Inc. analysts. Traders are also pondering the potential for Trump’s economic policies, including trade tariffs and immigration crackdowns, to spur inflation and affect the path for Federal Reserve monetary policy.
“If we have those tariffs kicking in, if we have those so-called deportations, those would have an outright inflationary impact, and so would result in higher bond yields,” said Kevin Thozet, a member of the investment committee at Carmignac. “Higher bond yields across the curve may start to bite at some point,” especially at a time of lofty stock-market valuations, he said.
Ten-year Treasury yields rose six basis points as the market reopened after Monday’s holiday.
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Markets are now focusing on the make-up of the incoming Trump administration. Fears for the future of China’s relationship with the US played out in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, which shed more than 3%. US-listed Chinese stocks, such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and PDD Holdings Inc. also fell.
Bloomberg News reported that Senator Marco Rubio — known for his aggressive stance on China — is expected to be named secretary of state. Representative Mike Waltz, who views China as a “greater threat” to the US than any other nation, is in line to be national security advisor. Tom Homan, named as “border czar,” was criticized for harsh immigration policies implemented during Trump’s first term.
With Europe also seen as vulnerable to tariffs, the Stoxx 600 equity gauge dropped 1.1%.
