Falling growth stocks signal 'end of the bull market,' trader says
- Traditionally high-growth tech stocks have taken the biggest hit in the recent market sell-off.
- If growth equities continue to fall, "that's the end of the bull market right there," says Stuart Frankel's Steve Grasso.
- "This economic recovery has been very narrowly perched within the U.S.," especially the tech sector, says Rich Weiss of American Century.
Growth stocks, which have been leading the stock market, are starting to fade — and that's not a good sign, trader Steve Grasso told CNBC on Thursday.
If growth equities continue to fall, "that's the end of the bull market right there," Grasso, the director of institutional sales at Stuart Frankel, said on "Power Lunch."
U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, adding to October's already steep losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 have fallen more than 4 percent each, while the Nasdaq is down more than 7 percent this month. Traditionally high-growth tech stocks have taken the biggest hit.
Rich Weiss, chief investment officer of multi-asset strategies at American Century Investments, said this could be the end of the recovery.
"You have all the classic signs: Corporate earnings decelerating, ... economic growth decelerating, rising rates at the short and the long end of the curve and a ... painfully narrowly focused bull market in certain sectors and primarily certain stocks," Weiss said on "Power Lunch."
"Cash is still in the running to be king, if not this year, certainly next," he added.
In fact, Weiss is concerned about the outsized influence of the technology sector on the bull market.
"This economic recovery has been very narrowly perched within the U.S.," he said. "Once you look outside the U.S. tech sector, it's really a bloodbath out there, and that has a dramatic effect on our economy."
Among the reasons for the selling on Thursday, according to investors, were worries about the U.S.-China trade war, rising interest rates and lingering worries about possible overvalued U.S. tech stocks.
— CNBC's Fred Imbert contributed to this report.