Morgan Stanley chief says economic boom a story of ‘American exceptionalism’

Morgan Stanley’s chief global strategist said Monday that the belief in American exceptionalism has never been higher among global investors.

“This year has been a story, really, of how well America has done,” Ruchir Sharma, who also heads the Emerging Markets Equity team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“The thing which really strikes me is one of American exceptionalism,” he continued. “We may or may not believe in it, but the financial markets have never believed in it to such an extent.

“Because if you look at the gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world, it’s never been this wide. So undoubtedly, the U.S. economy is doing extremely well,” he said. “Just now the U.S. financial markets are very richly valued, reflecting that performance.”

Mr. Sharma made the comments while discussing China’s slowing economy amid a worsening trade conflict with the Trump administration. President Trump imposed two rounds of tariffs on Chinese imports over what he believes are unfair policies that resulted in an $375 billion trade deficit with the country last year. China retaliated with taxes on $60 billion worth of U.S. exports.