Investing legend Byron Wien says the stock market will respond favorably to Joe Biden's climate and foreign relations policies

• Investing legend Byron Wien told CNBC on Friday that the stock market will respond positively to Joe Biden's policies on climate change and inequality.
• Wien also said Biden's top priorities — getting COVID-19 under control and creating jobs — will be good for stocks. Biden's tax policy that may harm stocks will be secondary to these two priorities, he said.
• "We're not going back into a bear market. We're not going back into a recession. I think growth is going to be gradual and I think equity returns are going to be modest, and I don't think inflation and interest rates are going to rise much," Wien added.

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Wall Street veteran Byron Wien told CNBC on Friday that the stock market could react positively to a Joe Biden victory.

"I think Biden will deal more effectively with inequality, with climate change, and I think those are positives for the market," said the vice chairman of Blackstone's Private Wealth Solutions group.

"I think that Biden has a better chance of bringing the country together. I think Biden will reestablish more constructive relationships with our foreign allies," he added.

While some investors are concerned that Biden's tax policies may hurt stocks in the long term, Wien said the Democratic presidential nominee's initial priorities to create jobs and control the virus will boost the market.

"I think the top two priorities for Biden are going to be getting the virus under control and creating jobs," said the investor. "I think raising taxes and other things that might be less favorable for the market are probably going to be secondary to those two objectives. So if we get those two objectives first, that could be good for the market."

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Wien added that he is impressed with how quickly the economy is recovering. However, he said the US will face a period of higher unemployment, and certain businesses that were crushed by the coronavirus may never reopen. Growth will be "gradual," and investors should brace for more modest stock gains in the future, said Wien.

"We're not going back into a bear market. We're not going back into a recession. I think growth is going to be gradual and I think equity returns are going to be modest, and I don't think inflation and interest rates are going to rise much," he said. "And at these interest rates, the market can withstand a pretty high multiple, and so I think the outlook is favorable but expectations should be modest."