Omega Advisors founder Leon Cooperman said today that the current bull market will go higher one more time, but it’s the last leg it has, and that if Elizabeth Warren goes on to win the White House, stocks will crater 25% or more.
“There’s one more leg left in the market. It could be 10% up over the next six months,” Cooperman said during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” program. “I don’t see euphoria other than in the IPO market, and that has already been corrected.”
The ongoing bull market is the longest ever on record, beginning in March of 2009. Since then, the S&P 500 has skyrocketed 300%, with about 20% of that rise coming in 2019.
But fears of a global economic slowdown and uncertainty over the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, has made investors a little gun shy. The U.S. manufacturing sector has contracted for the first time in years and reports this morning showed consumer confidence and spending, which makes up about two-thirds of the gross domestic product, also is sagging.
“If the president resorts to another round of tariffs, that will increase the probability of a recession, and if we have a recession the stock market drops at least 25%,” Cooperman said.
The U.S. and China reached a small agreement on Friday to hold off raising tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports from 25% to 30% in exchange for Beijing purchasing American agricultural goods. Farmers in the states have been absolutely hammered by retaliatory tariffs.
But the two sides still appear far apart on trade and China would like another round of talks before signing off on a more broad agreement.
Cooperman then went on blast Warren, again saying “You don’t make poor people rich by making rich people poor” in regards to the Massachusetts senator’s wealth tax. Warren’s wealth tax would institute a 63% effective tax rate on the wealthy.
“If Elizabeth Warren is elected president, in my opinion, the market drops 25%,” says legendary investor Leon Cooperman. “Bernie Sanders same thing.” pic.twitter.com/Liemy298my
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) October 16, 2019
Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman says the Fed should not be cutting interest rates pic.twitter.com/FbM1EikuDX
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) October 16, 2019