Leon Cooperman is short S&P 500 above 6,400, says market will be down next year

Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman said he’s short the S & P 500 above 6,400, though he expects the index will fall short of those levels and be down in 2025. “I am short the S & P above 6400, and I don’t think we get there, and I think the market is down next year,” Cooperman said Wednesday on CNBC’s ” Squawk Box .” “If I had a guess, but it’s just a guess.” The chairman and CEO of the Omega Family Office made his cautious comments even with stocks surging on Wednesday after Donald Trump won the 2024 U.S. presidential election . The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time high shortly after trading opened, and the S & P 500 briefly topped the 5,900 threshold. The S & P 500 closed Tuesday’s session at 5,782.76. However, the investor expects the market is “fully priced” given ongoing risks, such as the conflict in the Middle East, as well as the rising fiscal deficit. “I expect under Trump we’ll have more growth, higher interest rates, and clearly the market has more confidence. That’s what’s being reflected this morning,” Cooperman said, adding. “I would think that the market is reflecting a degree of optimism that may be uncalled for.” In particular, he expects rising Treasury yields will weigh on equity prices. “I’m not short anything, but my inclination would be to sell stocks on strength,” Cooperman said.