PNC's Agati: Focus on earnings and ignore the 'haze of uncertainty'

Amanda Agati, chief investment officer at PNC Asset Management Group, says that earnings growth will be the "defining driver" of market performance in 2026, and would be the factor to watch if you could only see one. PNC is forecasting earnings growth of nearly 15% this year, "which is darned good enough to keep the market rally engaged, even with valuations being a headwind." Agati notes that while there is a "purple haze of policy uncertainty" surrounding the market, she does not expect those concerns to derail the market, noting that accelerating earnings and economic growth should power through the headlines.

In the Market Call, Raymond Bridges, portfolio manager at the Bridges Capital Tactical ETF, brings his "aggressively cautious" approach to stocks, talking about where to be opportunistic now.

Emily Fanous discusses the IPX1031 annual Travel Outlook survey, which showed that 94% of Americans plan to travel this year — with more than 40% planning to travel more than they did a year ago — but a large chunk of them will have their memories of those trips stirred by lingering credit card or buy-now, pay-later bills.