Strategist Raises S&P 500 Target Amid Market Volatility
- Barclays predicts that robust earnings from leading technology firms will counterbalance losses from other market sectors as the year concludes.
- The forecast suggests an optimistic outlook for the S&P 500, projecting it could reach 5,600 by year-end.
- This prediction highlights the significant role of the tech sector in overall market performance.
In a recent update, strategist Venu Krishna has increased his 2024 S&P 500 target to 5,600, up from 5,300, aligning with the median forecast from the CNBC Pro Market Strategist Survey. This new target suggests a modest upside of less than 1% from the index's close on Monday. The S&P 500 has already surged over 16% year-to-date, achieving record highs and surpassing many Wall Street predictions. Krishna noted that while macroeconomic moderation may hinder earnings per share (EPS) growth outside the technology sector for the remainder of the year, he anticipates that major tech companies will continue to outperform, as they did in the first half of the year. Despite recent pressures on the tech sector, with investors shifting towards more cyclical stocks, Krishna remains optimistic about the overall market stability. He commented on the recent volatility in U.S. equities, suggesting that it is largely driven by technical factors rather than fundamental issues. Krishna believes that the current market dynamics present an opportunity to reset valuations as attention turns to second-quarter earnings for 2024. Additionally, Barclays has expressed a positive outlook for the utilities sector, predicting it will be the only area outside of technology to achieve above-average EPS growth in fiscal year 2024. Looking further ahead, Barclays has set a 2025 S&P 500 target of 6,500, indicating a potential upside of 16.8% from the latest close.