stocks

There isn't a Trump trade left in the market, equity strategist says

Key Points
  • Stocks were little changed Wednesday afternoon, after President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday evening, a decision that few people saw coming.
  • Now some equities strategists are emphasizing that the days of the Trump trade in the market are over.
No Trump pro-growth agenda: Strategist
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No Trump pro-growth agenda: Strategist

There isn't a so-called Trump trade in the stock market anymore.

At least that's what one analyst is saying.

"What really matters to investors is the underlying strength of the U.S. economy," Jonathan Golub, RBC's chief equity strategist, told CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Wednesday. "That's really been the case for the past five months."

Golub spoke with CNBC as stocks were treading water Wednesday afternoon, the day after President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, a decision that few people saw coming.

The top catalysts for the market now are solid economic fundamentals and improving global conditions, the equity strategist said. The Dow, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have traded higher of late because "earnings are great," and "underlying economics" are better, Golub added.

"When I talk to large institutional investors, Trump isn't even coming up as an agenda item," he said.

The S&P 500 traded just above breakeven, with energy stocks rising more than 1 percent to lead advancers by late Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1 percent, and the Dow Jones industrial average also traded slightly lower, falling about 20 points.

"The Trump agenda is sort of a mixed blessing for the stock market," said David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.

The "fuller Trump agenda" — most of which remains on the table to be passed — "wouldn't be particularly good for the market anyway," Kelly said.

He agrees with Golub that economic fundamentals matter more at this point, when it comes to stocks. "The worst thing for the stock market would be the Federal Reserve raising rates aggressively."

The days of the "Trump darling stocks" — those that "torpedoed ahead" after the presidential election — are over, Golub told CNBC.

A sign of this? Stocks were largely muted on Wednesday amid a political uproar in Washington with Comey's departure.

"There is no Trump trade," Golub emphasized.

—CNBC's Fred Imbert contributed to this report.