The United States is headed for a V-shaped rebound from its present economic slump and investors with a 12-month horizon are advised to get back into stock markets, according to Citigroup investment strategist Clarke Winter.
Top sector picks at present valuations, identified by a Citigroup investment team during a visit to Hong Kong, were telecommunications and information technology companies, as well as financial services.
On Friday, chairman and chief executive for global investment management and the private banking group, Thomas Jones, singled out China as an area of strategic interest for the group.
'It is not the time for index investing or broad-brush 'throw-the-dart' investing,' Mr Winter warned, adding that a period of high volatility and uncertainty still lay ahead, along with more corporate failures.
That, in turn, meant hedging and arbitrage strategies would also pay dividends as securities moved within broad and fairly predictable bands.
Mr Winter said the uncertainty made it difficult to predict the timing of the rebound as a result of monetary and fiscal stimulation, but this could come as early as the first quarter of 2002, or be delayed into the third quarter.
Rama Krishna, head of global equity research for Citigroup Asset Management, said healthcare was a promising investment sector.
