UPDATE: Is this 'the beginning of the end?' Billionaire Bill Ackman shares his thoughts on the big market retreat
Shawn Langlois
Billionaire hedge-fund giant Bill Ackman was asked on Thursday whether the nasty market rout that dragged the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite down 5% is about to usher in a dark stretch for stocks.
His answer was no. But also, maybe.
The Pershing Square Capital CEO explained in an interview with Bloomberg TV (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2020-09-03/bill-ackman-on-markets-spacs-airbnb-stripe-video) that the upcoming presidential election and the fracture that it's already caused across the U.S. will only serve to create more uncertainty in the coming weeks and months.
Most notably, tech stocks, with their "extraordinary" valuations could be vulnerable, he said. Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) have been among the big leaders during the market rebound from the initial plunge in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But both were hit hard on Thursday.
While the broader decline was certainly a steep one, Ackman said it shouldn't come as much of a surprise, considering how "remarkably strong" stocks have been since getting crushed in March.
Read:Here's one way to save capitalism, according to Ackman (https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bill-ackman-on-saving-capitalism-every-child-in-the-u-s-could-be-given-enough-money-at-birth-to-become-millionaires-by-retirement-11598893294)
Earlier this year, Ackman was credited in an op-ed for the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/29/opinion/coronavirus-hedge-funds.html) for nailing "the single best trade of all time (https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-the-single-best-trade-of-all-time-netted-one-investor-a-26-billion-profit-2020-04-29)" when he set up a $27-million hedge against the market right before the March drop. Eventually, his relatively modest bearish bet turned into a $2.6-billion winner.
Meawnhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed just off session lows but still finished down more than 800 points. The S&P 500 shed 125 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gave up 598 points.
-Shawn Langlois; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 05, 2020 08:15 ET (12:15 GMT)
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