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Exclusive: Goldman CEO says "I'd be cautious" of stock market

Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon is preparing for more stock market volatility, particularly in the near term, and currently sees some "excess in markets," he told Axios in a phone call this week.

Why it matters: Solomon is the latest in a long list of high-profile CEOs, fund managers and investment strategists to warn that stock prices may be running away from reality.

What he's saying: "The markets have been quite ebullient as of late. You know, I think there's some excess in markets."

  • "I think there's a lot of retail participation in markets that's certainly making markets a little bit more ebullient. I'd be cautious about some of that."

Driving the news: U.S. equity indexes bounced back strongly from Monday's selloff and are again trading near all-time highs, despite coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S. and around the world rising to new record highs.

By the numbers: Analysts at Bank of America Research noted Tuesday that S&P 500 earnings are estimated to have fallen by 15% but the index finished 2020 up 18.4% and set 33 record highs during the year.

  • Stocks have risen 56% in two years.

The big picture: "I do think the recovery just won't be a straight line, and you know, I think the markets are pricing in, you know, just everything working perfectly as we come out of this, and I'm sure there'll be bumps along the way."

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Jan 20, 2021 - Economy & Business

Janet Yellen said all the right things to reassure the markets

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Treasury Secretary nominee and former Fed chair Janet Yellen's confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday showed markets just what they can expect from the administration of President-elect Joe Biden: more of what they got under President Trump — at least for now.

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Why it matters: The 2010 treaty is the last remaining constraint on the arsenals of the world's two nuclear superpowers, limiting the number of deployed nuclear warheads and the bombers, missiles and submarines which can deliver them.

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