Navellier Dismisses Emerging Markets: 'Everybody's In A Recession Except For Us'

Louis Navellier, the growth investor behind Navellier & Associates, joined Benzinga’s PreMarket Playbook Thursday morning to discuss American exceptionalism in equity pricing, growth stocks and economic indicators impacting the markets.

International Stocks: Navellier says he doesn’t pay attention to emerging markets.

“Everybody’s in a recession except for us,” Navellier said. “The growth in Asia is very weak, Thailand just cut their rates this week… we think China’s going to be the next Japan with rates at or near zero. They have huge demographic problems in Asia.”

The investor also noted weakness in Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom, France and Germany, which have experienced recessions.

Navellier says the United States’ food and energy independence is a significant advantage. He noted President Donald Trump‘s efforts to onshore industries currently operating in other countries. He also said states competing on business growth provide a unique framework for American success.

Growth Stocks: Navellier does not think that growth stocks are overvalued at their current valuations.

“I don’t mind paying a premium for NVIDIA [Corp] (NASDAQ:NASDAQ), which is a monopoly. If you look at Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI), it’s trading at a single-digit forecast of PE ratio. My average small-cap stock is only trading at 4.9 times next year’s estimated earnings. There’s not a valuation problem.”

Economic Indicators: Consumer confidence fell in February for the second straight month, perhaps a concerning sign for the U.S. economy. While Navellier has previously noted the February reading as a reason for concern, the investor says the concerns over sentiment may be weather-related.

Navellier also noted positive manufacturing indicators and global news developments as reasons for positivity in the near future.

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