Yahoo Finance Video
Investors banking on strong corporate results to lift stocks need to watch out for the "canary in the coal mine" says Ben Laidler, eToro global markets strategist. He tells Yahoo Finance’s Rachelle Akuffo to expect a “down earnings season” in the first quarter as he laid out his roadmap for how he thinks corporate results will shakeout in the wake of March's banking turmoil. Laidler says reported numbers are “going to look good,” with the strongest earnings to come from “small caps, the cyclicals, consumer discretionary names.” However he suggests looking under the hood, as those companies could suffer the most in an economic slowdown. That's “inevitably coming” he adds, labelling this results season as a “little bit of a head fake.” Laidler says his fear is “what comes next”, anticipating “downbeat” guidance in earnings reports. Specifically in focus for Laidler is the tightening of lending conditions by banks. This has been the topic of some debate in recent weeks, with the likes of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the IMF seemingly on different pages. He clarifies he wouldn’t consider the turmoil following SVB and Signature Bank’s collapses a “crisis,” but instead a “banking scare.” More an issue of individual banks “rather than the system,” but still with real macroeconomic consequences. Commodities in particular are “particularly sensitive” to the slowdown of growth. We have yet to see the final fallout from the banking turmoil, and Laidler encourages all to monitor earnings as they're reported this week. Key Video Moments: 00:00:25 - Commodities are the "canary in the coal mine" for slowdown in growth 00:00:56 - Tech, healthcare remain defensive 00:01:24 - Reported numbers will look "good" for earnings season 00:01:48 - Guidance will be more downbeat, looking ahead 00:02:00 - Best earnings will come from companies that will suffer the most from economic slowdown For more of Rachelle’s conversation with Ben Laidler, click here.
