Keith Lerner

First, the happy clown balloons.

Investors are currently living in the 11th bull market since the 1950s, which is on track to become the seventh to complete at least four full years on October 12th, per a new a- analysis by Truist Co-Chief Investment Officer Keith Lerner.

I'm always shouting out Keith here be he do- because he does great work.

Now, measured against every bull market dating back to the 1950s, the 119% advance sits this, uh, sits near the middle of the pack, well below the 401% gain during the 2009 to, uh, 2020 cycle, and the 582% gain from 1987 to 2000.

The hope is that eye-watering earnings forecasts will keep propelling tech names forward, even with higher rates and a cooling economy bearing down on the rest of the market.

People look around and say, "Which areas of the market can weather this?" said Keith Lerner, chief investment advisor for Truist Advisory Services.

Tech is almost seen as defensive in some ways.

Big tech companies, particularly AI hyperscalers, including Alphabet, Amazon.com, Microsoft, and Meta, have long been known as cash-rich and relatively debt-free companies that can keep growing even when borrowing costs rise.

Now, that of course comes after a period of some volatility, mainly driven by rising bond yields, surging fuel prices, especially diesel prices in the United States, as well as inflation worries.

The Chief Investment Officer of wealth management firm Truist, Keith Lerner, says technology, especially AI, is what's driving the market.

But this breakout today I think is important.

It's, uh, you know, as mentioned, the, the sector's only up three percent since last June.

That's the same level we saw when ChatGPT was launched back in twenty twenty-two.

So I think all in all, you know, tech is le- is leading, and we're also seeing an oversold bounce in some of these other areas of the market today.

So that was Keith Lerner of wealth manager Truist.

And the, uh, the, the chip maker Nvidia, uh, which is the largest company in the world by market capitalization, it's moved towards a market cap of six trillion US dollars.

Unemployment is still only 4.2%.

According to Truist chief strategist Keith Lerner, the US is approaching one of the longest periods in history with unemployment remaining below 5%.

This record goes all the way back to the 1960s.

So we're talking about a labor market that may be weakening while simultaneously approaching a historic employment milestone.

[laughs] Well, what could go wrong?

By the way, I have enough trouble ha- managing my life knowing my own personal data.

I, like, giving it to someone else, I'm, that's not in my comfort zone right now.

Good for you, Gary Cohn.

The Market Zone straight ahead.

Now in the closing bell market zone, Mike Santoli, Truist, Keith Lerner here to break down these crucial moments of this trading day.

Plus, Oliver Rennick, he is standing by live from the SIBO global markets in Chicago.

Pippa Stevens tracking the action in the energy market today.

Keith, we'll talk to you soon.

Thank you.

That's true as Keith Lerner is there clapping in the clothes on this Monday.

You'll see it's red across the board.

Let's get more on where the market stands right now.

Bring in Truist Wealth CIO Keith Lerner.

Good to have you here at Post 9, Keith.

Great to be with you guys.

Keith, thank you.

Great to be with you guys.

Keith Lerner.

All right, so here's our roadmap for the rest of the hour.

All right, the Market Zone from Los Angeles today.

Mike Santoli and Truist's Keith Lerner here to break down these crucial moments of the trading day.

Oliver Renick is standing by live from the Cboe Global Markets in Chicago.

We're also looking at two sectors moving on today's rate decision.

That's Diana Olick.

All right.

Keith Lerner, you suggest the bull market remains intact.

Tell me more.

Stocks, uh, bouncing back today even with oil above $100, the 10-year near 5% in yield and the Fed back in play.

With the S&P 500 still up about 12% this year, earnings remaining strong, is this resilience or complacency? With us now is Keith Lerner, Truist Wealth and Chief Investment Officer and Chief Market Strategist.

Keith, good to see you.

Hey, Mike.