5 Questions Bob Doll Is Asking About Today's Markets

Bob Doll, Crossmark Global Investments chief investment officer, expressed some doubt this week that the right economic, corporate and market conditions will align to support the recent improvement of stock valuations. Doll is watching several developments to gauge what may happen next in the financial markets. Last month, updating his 10 predictions for this year, Doll noted that various positive and potentially negative drivers could influence a market that he said was in a "high-risk bull phase." Among the possible upsides, he cited investors' fear of missing out, decent second-quarter earnings, improved inflation and large stashes of cash now sitting on the sidelines. The potential risks included lingering effects from the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hikes, stubborn core inflation and high stock valuations. Several of these issues remain on Doll's radar. In his note this week, Doll said wage trends are well above levels seen in decades and predicted the labor market will stay tight. He explained that the United Auto Workers union is seeking an immediate 20% wage increase in contract talks. Though unionized workers comprise a small percentage of the labor force, their contracts can influence non-union wages, Doll said. Here's a look at some key trends he's monitoring, which were outlined in his weekly "Doll's Deliberations" report released Monday. Pictured: Bob Doll; credit: Bloomberg