With FAANG stalled, the market ‘needs leadership from somewhere’

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The once high-flying FAANG names are stalled and won’t lead the stock market going forward. That’s the assessment from Bob Doll, senior portfolio manager and chief equity strategist at Nuveen Asset Management.

FAANG is an acronym for some of the biggest tech stocks including Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Netflix (NFLX), and Google (GOOG, GOOGL).

Facebook, Amazon and Apple have lost more than $250 billion in market cap since their most recent 52-week highs.

The stock market has failed to recover from a wave of volatility that started in early October, which was sparked by fears of future tech stock growth, an aggressive Federal Reserve and trade war fears.

“We need some leadership from somewhere. I don’t think it’s going to come from [FAANG],” Doll said.

Doll is unsure if any leadership in the markets will emerge anytime soon. “That’s why we’re in this churning process,” he said, referring to the stock market volatility over the past several weeks. “That’s going to frustrate the bulls and the bears.”

FILE PHOTO: Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to a screen projection of Facebook logo in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to a screen projection of Facebook logo in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Meanwhile, there is a profile of stocks that Doll likes:

  • Companies that have positive free cash flow.

  • Companies that are more domestic and less international.

  • Companies that benefit from rising rates.

“It’s a stock picker’s market,” he said. “It’s always a stock picker’s market.”

Scott Gamm is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @ScottGamm.

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