We expect equities to continue to trade sideways as investors await more clarity about the economic outlook. In our view, the first half of the year's weakness was an anomaly, and better growth lies ahead. Global growth is also improving. While risks are inherent, we believe the positives outweigh the negatives. The main wildcard is what will happen when the Fed raises rates, which we think will be more likely in September rather than this week. Having said that, we do not think the backdrop will turn overly punitive for stock prices when this does happen. Equities have remained remarkably resilient this year, pushing ahead modestly in the face of rising uncertainty. Volatility is likely to remain elevated, and we expect some sort of consolidation or downturn at some point. Over the longer term, however, modestly improving growth, still-accommodative global monetary policy and relatively attractive valuations argue for retaining overweight positions in equities. As we've previously men...
