Volatility and capital markets strength drive bullish U.S. outlook

Earnings season is ramping up, and investors are finding renewed optimism as U.S. equities continue to show resilience. With geopolitical risks easing and volatility supporting financials, strategists say the path to new market highs remains open.

BNN Bloomberg spoke with Julien Nono-Womdim, vice-president of equity analysis at Goodreid Investment Counsel, about his positive market outlook and three stock ideas—StoneX Group, Piper Sandler and MasTec—which could benefit from the current environment.

Key Takeaways

• U.S. equities are expected to make new highs into year end as earnings hold steady and geopolitical tensions ease.
• Cooling conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe could restore investor confidence and spur capital deployment.
• Volatility remains elevated, boosting trading volumes and benefiting firms like StoneX Group.
• Piper Sandler is positioned to gain from a rebound in U.S. M&A and private-equity deal flow.
• MasTec’s infrastructure diversification and exposure to data centres and power networks support long-term growth.

Read the full transcript below:

ROGER: Investors will have plenty of earnings to digest this week, with nearly one-fifth of the S&P 500 set to report results. Let’s get some perspective on what to expect amid earnings and some ideas for your portfolio. Joining me now is Julien Nono-Womdim, vice-president of equity analysis at Goodreid Investment Counsel. Julien, thanks very much for joining us.

JULIEN: Good morning, Roger.

ROGER: What are your thoughts heading into this? It’s a fairly big week for earnings. We’re going to see some big names. What are you looking for?

JULIEN: In one phrase, as we look into the back half of the year: two steps forward, one step back. As it pertains to earnings specifically, we think it’ll be more or less a nonevent. We remain positive that the trends keeping the market strong this year, last year and even the year before are generally unchanged. Commentary from companies throughout the quarter has been positive.

The second reason we’re positive on U.S. equities is that the geopolitical temperature globally has come down significantly. The Middle East now has a peace deal — something that wasn’t necessarily expected six months ago — and we believe the Russia-Ukraine war will likely end in the not-too-distant future.

ROGER: What gives you optimism for that?

JULIEN: I think the U.S. administration, NATO and everybody else want a conclusion to the war. It’s been several years now, and we’re optimistic.

ROGER: What kind of influence would that have? How much of a bump do you think it would give markets?

JULIEN: The bump would be an easing of concerns — climbing the proverbial wall of worry. If you think about supply chain disruptions tied to the Middle East and Ukraine, an easing of those issues would be favourable for the market. Another factor is that capital craves certainty. A world at war is an uncertain world, and as those uncertainties abate, it allows investors and companies to deploy capital. That’s positive for risk assets.

ROGER: Where would you be focusing? Which sectors do you think would benefit most?

JULIEN: We think there’ll be a continuation of the AI trade — that’s certainly an area of focus for us. We also believe financials, particularly those exposed to capital markets, will continue to do well. There’s also a chance that other cyclical parts of the market could start working in the months and quarters ahead.

ROGER: Let’s start with AI, because everyone talks about the bubble. Do you feel there’s still room for growth here? Are we approaching a kind of new normal?

JULIEN: We have to be cautious with the term “bubble.” There are two elements to a bubble: excess and unsustainability. On excess, we’d argue we don’t see any material excesses yet — the investments being made are by well-capitalized companies, the so-called “Magnificent Seven.”

On sustainability, we’re seeing adoption by corporate America and globally. To the extent those investments drive margin expansion across sectors, then it’s sustainable. People have been talking about a bubble for two or three years now, and we still haven’t seen evidence of one.

The third dimension is valuation. We recognize valuations across the AI complex have increased substantially, and that could impair forward returns, but it doesn’t negate the long-term opportunity.

ROGER: Moving over to financials — any concerns about regional banks? A lot of them will be reporting this week.

JULIEN: Their sensitivity to the U.S. economy is obviously greater than that of their larger, money-centre peers. Risk in any financial institution tends to be localized, but it can become systemic. So far, regional banks that have reported have shown solid results. It’s something to monitor, but we haven’t seen anything to suggest systemic issues are brewing under the surface.

ROGER: Let’s get to some of your stock picks — starting with StoneX Group. What do you like about it?

JULIEN: StoneX is an institutional-grade financial services company that performs well across several segments — foreign exchange trading, commodities trading and international payments. It helps clients hedge their commodity exposure and manage risk.

We like that the company benefits from elevated trading activity. When markets are volatile, StoneX does well. We thought volatility would subside in the second half of the year, but it’s remained elevated — that should bode well for the company. Longer term, we think StoneX will continue consolidating smaller trading businesses in the U.S.

ROGER: The next name on your list is Piper Sandler.

JULIEN: Yes, and the thesis there is based on a recovery in mergers and acquisitions activity, which has been a bit slow to start the year but should pick up through the rest of the year. Piper Sandler has built strong expertise in mid-market M&A and private-equity-linked deals. We expect continued momentum into 2026.

ROGER: And lastly, MasTec — what do you like there?

JULIEN: MasTec is an infrastructure construction company diversified across sectors such as energy and data centres. It’s well positioned to benefit from continued construction activity in the U.S., particularly in power and communications infrastructure.

ROGER: Julien, thank you very much for joining us.

JULIEN: Thanks for having me, Roger.

ROGER: Julien Nono-Womdim is vice-president of equity analysis at Goodreid Investment Counsel.

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This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the Oct. 20, 2025 interview with Julien Nono-Womdim are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.