According to Piper Sandler, the stock is experiencing some volatility recently, but the long-term outlook shows strong gains ahead. Craig Johnson, the firm’s chief market technical officer, predicts the S&P 500 will soar to 6,600 in 2025. That’s 12.8% higher than where the benchmark closed Tuesday. “The old Wall Street adage ‘A bull market climbs a wall of worry’ sums up the story of this market well,” Johnson wrote in a note. “Over the past two years, the stock market has managed to maintain a steady upward trajectory despite a series of price cuts/corrections, economic concerns, geopolitical tensions, inflation concerns, Rising interest rates and pessimistic news.” “As this Bull Market enters its third year, the combination of a clear shift in Fed policy, the normalization of the yield curve, and a shift in market leadership suggests it ready to continue operations and expand next year,” Johnson added. An extension of the current bull market will come after an incredible recovery in 2024. This year, the S&P 500 is up 22.7%. Johnson expects financial, technology and industrial stocks to lead the broader market index higher in the new year. He also found that small-cap stocks performed better than large-cap stocks. Wall Street must weather many headwinds before the end of the year, including rising Treasury yields and the US presidential election. According to Johnson, once those headwinds have passed, the bull market will continue to move higher. Elsewhere on Wall Street this morning, Baird downgraded McDonald’s to market perform from outperform, citing the fast-food chain’s recent E. coli outbreak This. “While we are confident that MCD can ultimately successfully manage the E. coli issue effectively, increased risks related to the near-term U.S. demand outlook give us pause At the same time, we are seeing signs of an increasingly challenging economic landscape.” outside the US,” analyst David Tarantino wrote.
