From net neutrality to new tax legislation, there are many factors that could impact the markets in 2018. Commonwealth Financial Network CIO Brad McMillan and Icon Advisors CIO Craig Callahan share their outlooks for the year ahead.
"December has been messy, with people trying to guess the effects of net neutrality and the tax bill," says Callahan. "But we expect the leadership from last year to continue into next year." Callahan says he expects the market to move up about 10 percent in 2018 from a very neutral pricing seen today.
"I think we've already seen all the good things that we are going to see here," says McMillan. "Even though this will be positive in the short run, it's going to be a one-off effect." McMillan says after we get past the next quarter, he doesn't expect to see much impact from tax reform in the markets.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Thursday that the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. in the current fiscal quarter will be sourced from India, while iPads and other devices will come from Vietnam as the company works to avoid the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on its business. Apple’s earnings for the first three months of the year topped Wall Street’s expectations thanks to high demand for its iPhones, and the company said tariffs had a limited effect on the fiscal second quarter’s results. Cook added that for the current quarter, assuming things don’t change, Apple expects to see $900 million added to its costs as a result of the tariffs.
