A trade deal between the United States and China may be priced into the stock market “to a degree” — but there are still places to find opportunity, billionaire investor Mario Gabelli told CNBC on Monday.
There are “still a lot of interesting nuggets out there,” the Gamco founder said on “Closing Bell.”
U.S. stocks rose on Monday after President Donald Trump said he would delay implementing additional tariffs on Chinese goods. The president took to Twitter on Sunday to report there has been “substantial progress” in trade talks between the U.S. and China, but he did not state a new deadline for a deal to be struck.
“As you are looking at a likely deal with China months ago, you started saying, ‘Look, Trump positioned it well. It’s like a CEO positioning the economy for a year from now so that he has a strong economy in the spring of 2020 when the election is running,'” Gabelli said.
With the stock market gaining on the positive trade news, he’s keeping his eye on a few things that could still present an opportunity for investors.
One of these is Wynn Resorts. Gabelli is waiting to see what will happen with the company’s big bet on its $2.6 billion resort in Massachusetts. The gaming license has been under review amid allegations against former CEO Steve Wynn — but it was delayed after Wynn filed a lawsuit against his former company and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, or MGC. He had argued that Wynn Resorts violated his attorney-client privilege when it cooperated with the MGC’s investigation into sexual harassment complaints first outlined by The Wall Street Journal.
Last week, the MGC settled its lawsuit with Steve Wynn, allowing it to move forward on deciding Wynn Resorts’ suitability “as soon as possible.” The gaming company responded by saying it has been working closely with the commission and Steve Wynn to reach a resolution and “we are hopeful a hearing before the commission will be scheduled soon,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Gabelli is also looking to the gaming industry in Macau and what impact a potential trade deal will have. “Will the deal with the Chinese allow Macau to get the license renewals with greater expectation?” he said.
“Every day you have new opportunities,” Gabelli said.
— CNBC’s Contessa Brewer contributed to this report.