Stocks are bouncing back from their worst sell-off since December 2018, but economist Dennis Gartman is warning that this is not a dip worth buying.
Equities are “egregiously” over-valued relative to measures such as sales, profits and the size of the economy, according to Gartman, who last year ended his daily newsletter after three decades. The spread of the coronavirus is threatening global growth, and investors should buy safety assets such as gold and government bonds, he said.
“I’m afraid rallies are to be sold into, not weakness to be bought,” Gartman said in an interview on Bloomberg Radio with John Tucker. “I’m amused or dismayed at how many people are still willing to buy the dip, and this dip is far more serious than people want to anticipate at this point.”
The S&P 500 was up 1.5% as of 10:38 a.m. in New York, rebounding after a four-day, 7.6% slump that was biggest retreat since late 2018. Shares had sold off after cases of the coronavirus climbed in countries from South Korea to Italy and Iran.
Gartman’s view echoes that of Mohamed A. El-Erian, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist who wrote on Tuesday that the virus-induced sell-off “isn’t a buy-the-dip opportunity” because there’s little evidence right now supporting the notion of a V-shaped recovery.
“You want to be long the gold market, short the stock market, and long the bond market,” Gartman said. “That’s the trade to have. I have that in my own account and continue to recommend it.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.