Wilbur Ross: Investors shouldn't lose confidence because of the unknown

Brian Sozzi
·Executive Editor

Deal with it. That was basically the message to investors from U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Tuesday.

“Markets have had a tremendously big run, and that naturally makes people worried,” Ross told Yahoo Finance’s editor-in-chief Andy Serwer at the All Markets Summit conference.

Ross was asked about how worried investors should be about the Trump administration’s stance on the trade war with China.

“Investors always need to worry about whatever is a source of uncertainty,” Ross said. “People shouldn’t just lose confidence simply because they’re afraid about the unknown.”

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 18, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 18, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

The former money manager turned government official did strike an upbeat tone on the health of the U.S. economy. But, his comments will likely do little to quiet a worried market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 600 points on Monday fueled by a combination of rising trade war fears and concerns over global economic growth. A warning from a key Apple supplier Lumentum Holdings – and what that means to the tech king – did nothing to boost market sentiment, either. Chip stocks such as Nvidia and Advanced Micro devices subsequently cratered on the news.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said Tuesday that exposure to tech stocks among fund managers have reached its lowest level since February 2009 this month.

Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan said this week that the risk of a U.S. recession within the next year is now at 32% versus 25% for much of 2018.

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Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @BrianSozzi

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