Wall Street is wrong — US stock prices 'can't get better than this,' investment manager warns - CNBC News

Wall Street is wrong — US stock prices 'can't get better than this,' investment manager warns
"It can't get better than this, absolutely can't get better than this, but don't worry it will carry on because Wall Street says so … It is nonsense, utter nonsense," Peter Toogood, chief investment officer at financial advisory firm Embark Group, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe."
U.S. stocks jumped on Monday, with risk appetite sharpened by news that the U.S. and Mexico had found common ground on key trade terms.
Market sentiment was also buoyed by comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium in Wyoming last week.
Sam Meredith | @smeredith19
Published on August 28, 2018.
CNBC.com
 A look at the future of US markets Wall Street is wrong — US stock valuations can’t get any better than this: Expert 

It is simply not possible for market participants to make long-term gains from current U.S. stock prices, an investment manager told CNBC on Tuesday.

Wall Street is widely considered to be in a bull market, with the S&P 500 having quadrupled in value since March 2009. Last week, the index's current run-up in stock valuations turned 3,453 days old — making it the longest streak in history, according to some investors' definition.

But, after nine years and five months, a number of investors feel it is now just a matter of time before such a run comes to an end.

"It can't get better than this, absolutely can't get better than this, but don't worry it will carry on because Wall Street says so … It is nonsense, utter nonsense," Peter Toogood, chief investment officer at financial advisory firm Embark Group, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe."

"The valuation metric is a matter of fact, not opinion, OK? You don't buy here, you will not make long-term money out of investing today from these levels. Period."

'Recessions can rain from clear blue skies'
U.S. stocks jumped on Monday, with risk appetite sharpened by news that the U.S. and Mexico had found common ground on key trade terms. The agreement could potentially remove a source of economic uncertainty from financial markets, which had been prompted by President Donald Trump's repeated threatens to scrap the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Market sentiment was also buoyed by comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium in Wyoming last week. Powell said that the U.S. central bank was likely to maintain its policy-tightening program if the economy continues to strengthen.

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"I think, generally, if you look at global stocks, valuations are not that demanding in spite of some of the narrative out there," William Hobbs, head of investment strategy at Barclays, told CNBC on Tuesday.

"Is the global economy about to come to a juddering halt? Now, obviously humility is always appropriate here, recessions can rain from clear blue skies as they always say but… you have got to continue invest accordingly," he added.

Technology stocks
U.S. tech giant Apple is responsible for around 4 percent of the S&P 500's return since March 2009, Reuters reported, with Microsoft ranking second — contributing 2.4 percent to the current bull run.

"If you are a momentum trader then just stay involved and mostly focus on tech stocks, I suspect, because why go anywhere else?" Embark Group's Toogood said.

In recent months, investors have been grappling with heightened trade concerns as Washington takes a more protectionist stance towards its economy and other trade deals under the Trump administration.

The U.S. has slapped tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Mexican and Chinese imports, to which Mexico and China have retaliated.