Politics

Ultimate insider vs. ultimate outsider, and no winner

Why election is important for energy: Mark Grant
VIDEO2:1402:14
Why election is important for energy: Mark Grant

There was no clear winner or loser in Monday night's presidential debate, said Mark Grant, managing director at Hilltop Securities, on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday morning.

Grant was not willing to view the dollar's fall against the Mexican peso Tuesday morning as an indication of who won the debate.

There was, however, an interesting duality between the candidates, he said. "Forget the politics of being a Democrat or a Republican for a moment. You've got the ultimate insider in [Hillary] Clinton and the ultimate outsider in [Donald] Trump," Grant said.

Though Grant is firmly independent and has not financially supported either candidate at this point, he sees Trump's outsider attitude as politically attractive to Americans unhappy with the direction of the country and believes that it makes the real estate mogul likely to win November's election.

One area where Grant saw a meaningful divide is in energy. Clinton is against coal and the fracking industry; Trump is in favor of them. Either way, Grant said, he would like the United States to become energy-independent and "not reliant upon Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq, and these countries that are fostering terrorism in our country."

Overall, the debate struck Grant as underwhelming and not focused on economic issues he wanted to see discussed. It left the question of who the next president will be still unclear, which feeds into market activity.

Grant foresaw markets going back into lower yields again and noted their movement after the Fed's decision not to raise interest rates, which he believes to have been the right decision.