CNBC Pro contributor Josh Brown brushed off President Donald Trump’s U.K. trade deal plan that’s sent the market higher on Thursday and warned that the recent upswing could lose steam. “Against all odds, the U.S. managed to make a trade deal with its greatest ally of the last 200 years,” Brown, CEO of Ritzholtz Wealth Management, quipped on CNBC’s “Halftime Report.” Markets have recently rebounded after Trump first sent stocks cratering with his announcement of broad and steep tariffs in early April. The latest leg up came on Thursday, with the S & P 500 rising more than 1% after Trump unveiled plans for a deal with the United Kingdom. “All the market really needed to kind of regain a little bit of trust that things are going to work out well was good headlines,” Brown said “That’s all we’re getting right now.” But he cautioned that this positive period may not last. Brown said that he isn’t sure what the next upward catalyst for the market will be a few weeks down the road after earnings season, which has been considered positive, wraps up. In “two weeks, I don’t know what the upside catalyst will be unless we get more deals,” Brown said. “Maybe that’ll be good enough, but you’re not going to have that backdrop of companies coming out with earnings.” Specifically, Brown said the current market advance can be attributed to the blend of the performance this earnings season and the fact that the multiples have come down. Of the more than 87% of S & P 500 companies that have reported this season, about 77% have surpassed expectations, according to FactSet. Taking reports and expectations for those to come, Brown pointed out that there’s a 12% year-over-year growth rate for earnings. That’s “fabulous” considering multiples are declining and that it comes amid a period of negative economic sentiment, he said “When you also consider that the multiple has come down as these companies have beaten and exceeded expectations, it’s been like the right elixir that we needed to pull ourselves out of that funk,” Brown said. While the market has roared back to life in recent weeks, the S & P 500 flirted with bear territory on an intraday basis as Trump’s initial announcement created uncertainty and ratcheted up fears of a recession. But the S & P 500 is now up around 0.7% since April 2, the day Trump initially unveiled the plan for import taxes. .SPX YTD mountain S & P 500, year to date ‘Defensive’ tech? Brown also pointed out that large technology companies have shown themselves during this earnings season to be more defensive than initially thought. Brown pointed to Netflix and Spotify as two examples of companies selling products that he said look more like a consumer staple than an electronic product due to stable demand. ( Read the Best Stocks article from Josh on Spotify here . ) “We might have a stock market that is more defensive than it used to be — even in the tech sector, which, quite frankly, is the only sector that matters,” he said. Elsewhere in tech, Brown said he added eBay to his best stocks group. He noted that the stock has proven itself to withstand periods of economic downturns and is considered cheap for its earnings. “EBay is the granddaddy of the recession-resilient technology company,” Brown said. “It’s slow growth … but it’s reliable growth, and that’s what people are looking for right now.” ( Read Josh’s full eBay take here. ) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. INVESTING INVOLVES RISK. EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC. JOSH BROWN IS THE CEO OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND MAY MAINTAIN A SECURITY POSITION IN THE SECURITIES DISCUSSED. ASSUMPTIONS MADE WITHIN THE ANALYSIS ARE NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC” TO THE END OF OR OUR DISCLOSURE. Click here for the full disclaimer.
