Equity market deserves benefit of the doubt, says Truist's Keith Lerner

Market Overview & Strategy - The market deserves the benefit of the doubt, favoring growth sectors like technology, communication services, and industrials [1] - Economic data suggests the economy is cooling but not collapsing, with solid retail sales and declining initial job claims [2] - Earning estimates for the market continue to move higher, supporting a positive underlying trend [2] - The market is warming up to a 30-year rate floating around 5%, with focus on the velocity of the move [3] Hedging & Portfolio Allocation - Gold remains a diversifier in portfolios, performing well when stocks and bonds decline [4] - The firm is more focused on the equity side, seeing more upside overall in the market [5] - International equities have been moved to neutral, but the firm maintains a US bias, favoring US large caps and growth sectors [6][7] - International equities experienced mean reversion after underperforming since the 1990s last year [6]