Tom Lee: September is set up to be a strong month for stocks
Summary
Tom Lee of Fundstrat argues against September caution and expects stocks to have a strong month as inflation fears fade and the odds of a September Fed hike drop to zero. He also says the AI trade still has strength and views data center pushback as a real but addressable issue. He cites crypto's recent rally and historical tendency to lead the S&P by about a month as a positive signal for equities.
- Tom Lee takes a contrarian bullish stance on stocks for September.
- He expects the jobs report, CPI, and FOMC sequence to show inflation weakening.
- He thinks the odds of a September rate hike may drop to zero.
- He argues broad caution means stocks can rally on bad news.
- He views the AI trade as still having strength and strategic value.
- He sees data center opposition as a real but manageable issue for AI.
- He notes crypto has historically led the S&P by about a month.
Ideas
Stocks set up for strong September
Tom Lee is contrarian bullish on stocks for September. He expects the jobs report, August CPI, and September FOMC decision to show inflation weakening, potentially dropping the odds of a September rate hike to zero, and argues that widespread caution means the market may rally on bad news because the last sellers have already sold.
AI trade still has strength
Tom Lee argues the AI trade still has a lot of strengthening front and remains strategically important for the U.S. He acknowledges data center pushback from voters and some Republican governors is a real issue, but says the AI industry is creating jobs and benefits and can address the concerns.
