2021 was an anomaly in the stock market, thanks to the pandemic and a “retail revolution.” Coming into 2022, many speculate that it’s time for a long-awaited bear market. However, this speculation has been happening for months, yet the bear market hasn’t come.
Is it finally here? Is this just another short-term dip before another takeoff? What kinds of stocks are going to be taking off in 2022?
We asked Roger Scott of WealthPress to help shed some light on the 2022 stock market and help us start on the right foot. Roger Scott has over 25 years of experience as a professional trader and is the head trader for WealthPress.
WealthPress is a group of experts dedicated to teaching new investors and offering trading services to those wishing to gain experience and earn money at the same time.
The Pandemic is Priced in
Thanks to Omicron, we will likely see a glimpse of the behavior at the beginning of the pandemic. However, Roger Scott believes that the market, for the most part, has adapted to COVID-19 and that many prices already have the end of the pandemic priced in.
This means many people buy stocks, thinking about how they will react once quarantines are lifted, and people feel safe going about their everyday lives.
No More Federal ZIRP
ZIRP (Zero Interest-Rate Policy) is a federal policy that has helped the stock market since 2020. However, this is likely to change in 2022. Roger Scott says investors should prepare for uncertain market conditions.
Expect at least two interest-rate hikes in 2022 and that these hikes are not going to be good news for stocks. Inflation has already been hitting hard, which may force the Federal government’s hand even sooner and make them act more aggressively.
Supply Chain Change
There has been a massive problem in the supply chain created by the pandemic. This problem doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon in 2022. However, Roger Scott thinks it may actually turn out to be a good thing, long-term.
Many Americans realize that supply chains are vulnerable when they rely on overseas manufacturing and trading. He expects to see a lot of this manufacturing move back to the states.
FAANG May Fall
Many believed that FAANG stocks (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google) would underperform in 2021. However, this didn’t exactly happen.
Traders like Roger Scott are still waiting for these Stocks to calm down. They believe that it’s inevitable. While some may still be good long-term holds, traders do not believe their current patterns are sustainable.
2022 may be the year that all of these stocks finally come back down to reality, which will leave the door open for smaller tech stocks. But, after 2021, Scott cannot promise anything.
The Chip Shortage is Continuing
Intel expects the chip shortage to last through 2022 into 2023. We asked Scott what the implications of this chip shortage are, and he explained just how many industries it affects. Many cars can’t be sold without a chip, computers, and phones, of course, and just about every product on the market needs chips.
Roger Scott says he will be buying up chip stocks due to how long the shortage will last. However, he suggests not investing too much in stocks that rely on a quick solution to the shortage.