Marko Kolanovic: Markets are close to a ‘Trump put,’ selloff is a ‘clown show’
Apr. 08, 2025 9:09 AM ET
By: Monica L. Correa, SA News Editor
The stock market is close to a “Trump put” that will push the president to change his trade policies, according to Marko Kolanovic, former J.P. Morgan chief strategist and co-head of global research.
The “Trump put,” as he said, is somewhere around 4,800 on the S&P 500 ( SP500), around 260 points lower than its current trade level.
Kolanovic, who is known for his bearish convictions over the last few years, said that President Donald Trump is “starting to see that he basically lost this.”
“Trump can say he doesn’t care about markets,” he said. “But markets lead the economy.”
The president said he is firm in not planning to pause his tariff plans despite the market’s selloff, and that his goal is to fully eliminate bilateral trade deficits. U.S. stocks lost about $5T last week, after President Trump’s tariff announcements.
“It’s kind of like…a clown show and really has to be wrapped up soon,” Kolanovic said. “Because it’s not just bad for markets and the economy, it’s actually bad for Trump, too.”
He believes the markets are near the end of a “phase one” of the selloff, with the second phase happening as signs of a recession start to unwind.
“This situation, though similar in price/vol action, is fundamentally different than Covid,” he said via X.com. “It’s one-man-made. Analogy would be that in Covid we had vaccine, but didn’t want to give it out due to price negotiations. It is not as bad situation as not having the vaccine.” |
