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Markets were buffeted by tariff fears last week, with more uncertainty looming.
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Yet, market sources tell BI they’re not worried, and see trade jitters creating opportunity.
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“If you’ve got a longer-term view, some of these dips taking place are buying opportunities.”
President Donald Trump sent markets on a rollercoaster this week with his announcement and subsequent delay of tariffs against two of America’s top trading partners.
However, some in the market see the uncertainty and volatility caused by trade worries as a buying opportunity in a year that will ultimately see the economic growth narrative win out and deliver more stellar stock gains.
Investors and economists who spoke to Business Insider said they believed stocks would be propelled by pro-growth tailwinds this year, as well as other ongoing catalysts, like the AI boom. They also expressed doubts that Trump would implement tariffs as severely as he first proposed.
Clark Bellin, the chief investment officer at Bellwether Wealth, thinks stocks are on track to end the year strong. He believes the market could return 9%-12% in 2025, thanks largely to the strength of the US economy.
The job market and economic growth are on solid footing, with the unemployment rate remaining near a record-low last month and GDP expected to accelerate to 2.9% in the current quarter, according to the Atlanta Fed’s latest GDPNow reading.
Inflation, meanwhile, has ticked up but remained relatively tame in December, rising 2.9% year-over-year.
“Inflation isn’t skyrocketing. It’s not necessarily plummeting like people would hoped, but I think the Fed kind of analyzing things and being consciously optimistic and actually achieving their soft landing is pretty good,” Bellin told BI.
He added that his firm had reduced some of its exposure this week to sectors that could be most impacted by tariffs, in order to create “dry powder” on the sidelines.
“If you’ve got a longer-term view, some of these dips taking place are buying opportunities,” Bellin said. “We’re going to continue to watch some of our proprietary indicators and make a strategic decision when we put some of that money back to work.”
José Torres, a senior economist at Interactive Brokers, thinks the market could see another 10% gain in 2025, thanks largely to Trump’s pro-growth policies. That makes each sell-off fueled by Trump’s political moves a possible buy-the-dip moment for investors, he told BI.
“We think stocks are going to go higher,” Torres said, pointing to the president’s plan to slash taxes, loosen regulation, and boost domestic manufacturing. Don’t think that tariff risks are going to derail the really positive domestic momentum that’s likely to occur this year.”
