, Columnist
There Is Logic Behind the Stock Market
Even after a rough decline, U.S. equities still aren’t cheap.
Are stocks oversold, or just right?
Photographer: Nikada/iStockphotoThis article is for subscribers only.
Cast your mind way, way back to when U.S. stock indexes were climbing. (It was three months ago.)
Investors were bidding up U.S. stock prices because of climbing corporate earnings — juiced by tax cuts passed during the Trump administration — and expectations of continued healthy earnings, steady profit margins and further growth from markets outside the U.S. Stock buyers also weren’t expecting much up-and-down movements in share prices, which make investors want to pay less for stocks. The S&P 500 Index hit a record high in September. Sunny skies. Calm waters.