Craig Johnson Still Believes US Stocks Will Climb for Years – Here’s Why

Jon Economy

The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Russell 2000 have moved sideways over the last couple of months as global markets have outperfomed. Looking at long-term trends and forces, however, US stocks should continue in a structural bull market that will last years more, Piper Jaffray’s Craig Johnson recently told Financial Sense Newshour.
Long-Term Bull Market
We aren’t simply in a bull market, Johnson noted. Investors need to think of this specifically as a long-term, structural bull market.
There are two big forces coming to bear that will keep markets structurally bullish, Johnson stated. The current market has about 20 to 25 percent fewer stocks than in 2000. Also, we’re seeing companies buying back a huge amount of their own stocks.
As a result, there are fewer shares outstanding overall. If we get a repatriation of capital held outside the US due to tax reform or amnesty, it will go toward dividends and further share buybacks.
Though many have suggested valuations are already extended, Johnson doesn’t agree. If we see 10 percent earnings growth next year, coupled with a tax rate cut, we’ll likely see a pickup in bottom-line earnings growth, he noted.

This post was published at FinancialSense on 05/24/2017.