Let's ask Tony Pascarello. He is head of hedge fund client coverage at Goldman Sachs. He's back with us at Post 9.Good to see you. Welcome back. >> Thanks, Scott.>> Nice to catch up with you before we get out of here for 2025. You know, there's something to be said for seeing a durable trend, not making things too complicated and staying with the story for a considerable period of time. I just described you because your point of view and your perspective on this market from the notes that I have read consis ...

for more on the markets. Let's get to our next guest. Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley, CIO and chief US equity strategist.You've come on and you always have some some things that make me um scratch my head or or that I haven't thought. And one one of the things you said not too long ago was that the labor market may have already uh bottomed and that any economic slowdown you saw as kind of a rolling sector uh one to the next slowdown and that could be in the past too. >> That's right.So I mean our call for quit ...

Let's ask Chris Heisy, Maryland Bank of America private bank CIO. He's here. Got your 2026 outlook finished up, ready to go.So, what what's your plan of attack that you're talking to investors about. >> Well, right now the momentum, as you already stated, is this is an elf rally right now on a on the way to a Santa Claus type of rally. Uh so, we're just beginning this right now.We had a lot of >> So, they're working on it. Yeah. They got to finish it up, >> right.They're in the workshop right now and then u ...

Core Viewpoint - The market has faced numerous challenges throughout the year, leading to investor exhaustion, despite a positive earnings season in Q3 [1][2][3]. Market Performance - The year began with complexities surrounding the AI narrative and tariff influences, followed by concerns over the deficit, yet the market remains up in the low teens percentage-wise [2][3]. - Strong earnings reports, including from Nvidia, have not translated into significant stock price increases, indicating a potential market saturation [3][6]. Valuation and Earnings Growth - The current market is approximated to be at fair value around the 6,600 level, based on various metrics including earnings growth and valuation assumptions [5]. - Future earnings growth projections need to continue increasing for the market to rise materially, with recent data showing a nearly one percentage point increase in 5-year earnings growth expectations for the S&P since mid-year [6][7]. Federal Reserve Influence - The potential for a December Fed rate cut could enhance growth prospects and support a year-end rally, although much of the positive outlook may already be priced in [8][9]. - The market is currently navigating high implied growth expectations, which may lead to volatility during earnings reports, but a favorable Fed stance could facilitate a stronger market finish [8][9].

Joining me now is Drew Pettit, US equity strategist over at Croup. Drew, you heard the conversation right now from the macroeconomic perspective. How do you frame that against the market that is still kind of near record highs, but is showing sometimes some signs at least of potential short to medium-term weakness.>> Yeah, it's funny. We've been saying this for a few years now, Dom. The market is not the economy.So the right side of the brain, the creative portion here of the market is what's going on with ...

Let's bring in MJP Wells, Brian Vendig, who's here with me at Impact in Denver. It's good to see you. Uh, your thoughts on this market are what.>> I I think this market's still a buy, Scott. I know people are talking about valuations and concerns, but we just go right back to earnings and we look at earnings coming in better than expectations. Outlook for 2026, 13% EPS growth year-over-year.Um, don't make it all about growth. focus a little bit on value and cyclicals especially if government reopens some of ...

Core Insights - The Federal Reserve's policy and funding markets may pose challenges despite stronger-than-expected earnings growth [1] Group 1: Federal Reserve Policy - The current stance of the Federal Reserve is seen as a potential headwind for the market [1] - Interest rate policies may impact funding conditions, affecting overall market performance [1] Group 2: Earnings Growth - Earnings growth has exceeded expectations, indicating resilience in certain sectors [1] - Stronger earnings may not be sufficient to counterbalance the challenges posed by Fed policies [1]

Joining me now at Post 9, Ben Snder, Goldman Sachs's senior US portfolio strategist. Nice to have you. Uh we're in a pretty good position heading into this week, aren't we.>> Yeah, it looks pretty good. Uh I think it's really important to notice amid all the talk of AI and all of the talk of macroeconomic volatility, how strong earnings have been this year. We've had 12% earnings growth in the first half of the year, the S&P 500 is out now up about 16 or 17%.So most of that has been driven by earnings. And ...

Financial Performance - Tesla's stock price is soaring despite a stunning lack of earnings growth [1] Market Analysis - Tesla stands out in the stock market for negative reasons [1]

Market Performance & Valuation - Russell 2000 outperformed the S&P 500 by 41% versus 35% in 6 months since "Liberation Day" [2] - Small caps have underperformed the S&P 500 for the last 10 years, leading to historically cheap valuations [3] Earnings & Growth - Small caps experienced an earnings recession since 2022 [4] - Forward estimates for small caps saw significant cuts, potentially setting up a positive environment [4] - Earnings are pivoting positive, which is expected to drive stock prices up [5] IPO & Takeouts - September saw one of the biggest IPO markets on record [5] - Federated Kaufman Small Cap Fund has had nine takeouts this year [6] Interest Rate & Economic Outlook - Federated anticipates the market reaching 8,700 by 2027 [7] - The expectation is that the Fed will cut interest rates due to lower inflation and wage growth [7] - A low inflation, Goldilocks growth environment, supported by technology, is expected to benefit longer duration assets like small caps [8] Stock Highlight - Centuri (CTRI) is highlighted as a small cap company benefiting from increased electricity demand due to AI and data centers [8][9]