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Morgan Stanley Sees Fed as Greater Threat to Stocks Than Omicron

  • Faster tapering of asset purchases viewed as main headwind
  • Strategists see S&P 500 trending lower, valuations declining
Updated on

Stock investors probably have more important things to worry about than the emergence of the new coronavirus strain, according to Morgan Stanley’s strategists. 

While “not that concerned about omicron as a major risk factor for equities,” the strategists led by Michael Wilson see headwinds building elsewhere, after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled the possible accelerated tapering of asset purchases. “Tapering is tightening for the markets and it will lead to lower valuations like it always does at this stage of any recovery,” the strategists wrote in a note to clients.