Market bull Tom Lee is still keen on stocks, even after Monday’s historic rebound and Tuesday’s declines.
“These are great entry points for people because you’ve got so many stocks down and [Monday] had a feel of ‘get me out of everything,’ which has been part of this fire strike,” Fundstrat’s head of global research told CNBC’s “Halftime Report” on Tuesday. “People have to look at this as a really attractive opportunity in 2022.”
Stocks fell Tuesday, a day after the major averages staged a historic comeback. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 1,115 points before closing higher on Monday, while the S&P 500 recovered from a 4% intraday drop to end the day up 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite lost almost 5% before ending Monday’s session up 0.6%.
Lee has previously said that while the first half of 2022 could be shaky for stocks, the second half of the year could be good. He stood by that prediction Tuesday.
“These are levels associated with an extremely oversold market,” he said. “The one thing people have to remember is if they are participating in this buyers’ strike, the recovery can be violent, and then they’re going to miss potentially over three days of 5%, 6%, 7% gains. … Six months out, this is a great entry point.”
He added that the market has by now priced in so much bad news that the Federal Reserve meeting in March could end up being a big buying opportunity.
“The market feels fragile,” Lee added. “If we’re fearful of the Fed and the geopolitical tensions plus inflation, that means we’re pricing in a lot of bad news. That’s the perspective that’s important to keep in mind. This doesn’t mean to get out of stocks at all costs … this is going to be a great setup for a second half.”
Lee, also known for being a bitcoin bull, noted that while the sell-offs in cryptocurrencies and stocks appear to be linked, the bitcoin narrative isn’t necessarily changing and may even be in for promising next chapters.
“In some ways [crypto] becomes a more attractive project because so much of mining has moved to the U.S. … There are a lot more payment rails coming and I think the adoption is continuing to grow,” he said. “That’s the key to bitcoin, more wallets.”
He also reiterated that, even in crypto, things will look better in the second half of the year if investors can.
“It’s been ugly,” he said. “With a hyper-volatile asset class … crypto is not going to have a good week. We’re just seeing through the darkest days now, but again, I don’t think that’s where we are in June.”