Don't expect Fed pivot 'anytime soon' - Hightower's Stephanie Link

Nikada

Investment strategist Stephanie Link said Monday that the Federal Reserve will likely continue its hawkish policy into the foreseeable future, as it ignores possible pain in the stock market to focus on getting inflation under control.

"The Fed is not going to pivot anytime soon," the chief investment strategist at Hightower Advisors told CNBC.

Link added that Fed Chair Jerome Powell likely won't take his cues from the financial markets. Instead, she expects him to concentrate on incoming inflation data, which has remained elevated in recent readings.

"I don't think they're going to look at the markets. They're just going to look at the data and we'll have to see, in the next couple of months, what that looks like," she said. "Unfortunately, [inflation is] going to be higher for longer, so that's why rates have to be higher for longer."

The S&P 500 (SP500) (NYSEARCA:SPY) spiked 3% last Wednesday after Powell gave a speech that included signs that the Fed could begin slowing its aggressive rate hikes as early as the upcoming policy meeting, scheduled for the middle of this month.

However, the benchmark equity average hasn't made additional progress since, finishing fractionally lower on Thursday and Friday. In fact, Wednesday's rally was the S&P 500's only higher finish in the past six sessions.

On a more granular level, Link was asked about potential catalysts for individual stocks coming up in the near term. She noted a healthcare event coming up for GE (GE), as well as an investor day for Lowe's (LOW).

In terms of upcoming earnings, Link spotlighted releases due out in the next few days from Broadcom (AVGO) and Costco (COST). AVGO will follow results from Marvell (MRVL) last week. Meanwhile, COST results come out on the heels of disappointing sales results.

For more on the overall market, see why Morgan Stanley equity strategist Mike Wilson believes it might be time to take profits after the recent bear market rally.