Appaloosa Management’s David Tepper said that the stock market may endure a little pain with tariffs on China, but that the markets will eventually adjust.
Tepper says he’s about 25 percent exposed to the S&P 500, has been ‘too cautious’ recently
David Tepper says that Tepper School of Business is like no other in the country
CNBC’s Scott Wapner is joined by Appaloosa Management’s David Tepper, who owns the Carolina Panthers, to discuss the opening of the Tepper Quad, which will house the Tepper School of Business of Carnegie Mellon University.
Tepper: Putting tariffs on China will impact currencies, but it might be worth it
Appaloosa Management’s David Tepper said that tariffs on China were a “blunt” move for the Trump administration, but that maybe it was the right move because it is for the “future of our country”.
Q2 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc
Transcript
I wanted to know something about the stock market when you made that call this Tepper rally. Do you think it was going to be this good. I.
Did. You know I didn't know how good it was going to be. I mean it was. It was a long time ago and I think it was 2010 or Niaz and February of 10 to February 10. Look it has been. You know it's even been better than I thought for sure. No question about it because I I I actually was basically basically saying you know that you know the QE was basically going to move the markets and we've had a lot of QE. I'm amazed that there's still QE going on in the world in Europe and such although we're tightening now. You know there are definitely tighter conditions so you know that the tide is turning a little bit the ECB is going to do a little bit. So we're. We're Konneh very late and in this in this loose we are kind of late and it's the tide is just turning. From being loose to being a little tighter. So. You know sort of a late evening sort of game here.
OK. You went to the innings. Question what inning do you think we're in in this cycle and this bull market. Others have opined you know whether it's Jamie Diamond or others we could be in the sixth inning. The other day was talking about maybe the seventh inning. What does David Tepper say we're getting we're in. Well.
I mean I kind of if you look at a different way. OK let's say that. I'll give you. There's always these moments that you go back and forth and different things can happen right. So if if we don't have if we come if we do the tariffs on China that's going to make it a little bit tough on the market here just going for it. I don't know if that's an inning question or not in any question but it does get to valuations and where we should be if we put on a lot of tariffs and I'm not saying we shouldn't or should just make it factually. That's the case so I don't know how that's in the market. And the other thing if we don't have it then you know we'll probably have you know the question is how fast will the economy go. Because China is stimulating and there simply because I think the tariffs are coming. And so that's that might have a factor pushing us over into higher interest rates.
So it's kind of a little tricky at this point in time. So if you ask me what inning we're at I think it's late inning game you know I'll say a different way than the sixth seventh inning because I don't play the way those other guys play because a Gozal difference I can say to CA thing but you know what happens with baseball sometimes those extra extra innings. That happens so if you look at the marker right now you say.
It is Mark enough because you ask a question next if I don't just say it anyway. So I could say this to me the market's fair value if you don't have tariffs on China. OK. But if you do have tariffs on China the question is how high does a dollar go and then where will earnings be in that case and then the market will be rich at this level. Is that the number one worry you have. Trade tariffs. And I think it's I think it's I think it's an interesting question How much is in the market. If it's in the market twenty five percent on a what. Is this I say it's in the market 20 percent. OK because I don't want to mix numbers that they'll put a 25 percent tariff on 200. OK or they'll put some other tariff and I don't know how much it is it'll put a 25 percent tariff on whatever it is 450 500 billion of goods. I don't know if that's from the market. And the reason that matters is not and people say it doesn't matter economically what will move the currency.
Ok it just has to move the currencies just math. And you know you can get different people who are in power can scream and cry about a move in the currency. It's math. You put on tariffs you'll move currencies and move that currency you move the Chinese currency to European currency will move with it and you move all currencies will have a stronger dollar and lower dollar earnings if that goes that way which is fine I must say that may not. That's fine. If we have a strategy and we think China's is one of see if I should be politically correct stealing our stuff is not politically correct to say you usually are. I was I wasn't I decided no. No politically correct.
If there still are technology we have to do something about it. So I'm not I'm not against that. You know trying to figure out if they are or somehow barring some of our best stuff. Permanently barring some romanticism on how you use it that way make them. That's how you get them to stop. So. I don't know how you know and this is very blunt. What they chose. I I'm not a proponent of how blunt it is but maybe it's right and maybe we should take a little pain if it happens and that's just a cost because we're talking about the future of our country.
And you know so I think you know Trump's always had this in his mind. So I think it's his top of his Monem. You know it might be right. So I know people criticize him one way or another but how do you get them to stop with the technology. I mean you know it's it's a really interesting question. I put it back to you how to get them to stop.
