Jasmine Duan

Maintaining an overweight position on U.S. stocks because earnings growth remains solid, particularly in the tech sector, and the positive outlook justifies the stance despite geopolitical risks and oil price uncertainty.

The speaker states RBC is "overweighting U.S. energy and chemical sector," entered at "very low valuation," and believes they will "benefit from this position" if the war continues. The Iran war has caused an energy crisis, supporting oil prices. US chemical producers have a margin advantage due to reliance on cheaper natural gas versus European/Asian peers. The sector is positioned to be relatively resilient and profitable in a prolonged conflict environment, offering a hedge against ongoing geopolitical risk and energy inflation. A swift and unexpected resolution to the Iran conflict, leading to a rapid normalization of oil prices and a loss of the geopolitical risk premium.