The market is still not low enough for investors to buy dips in droves

Thomson Reuters

• Market shocks from trade war concerns still aren't enough to satisfy bargain hunters looking to buy any dips.
• Price-to-earnings multiples are still high.
• Expect the Fed to continue on its rate-hike schedule.
• Bargain investors should look at international stocks, where valuations are lower and growth has upside.

Last year’s stellar equity market was notable for its resilience as well as the magnitude of the gains. In 2017 investors simply shrugged off an increasingly unconventional U.S. political landscape. This is no longer proving to be the case. Until recently, events in Washington D.C. were blamed for the volatility, but other catalysts were responsible. Now, policy is having an effect. This, in turn, may be impacting the price investors are willing to pay for stocks.

Why is policy proving more disruptive this year? The simple answer is that the most recent trade dispute has the potential to affect the real economy. Any significant disruption in trade, and by extension the global economy, comes at a particularly inopportune time. For most of the past six months, investors have been raising their expectations for growth in general and capital spending in particular. An ill-timed trade dispute calls both assumptions into question.See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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