Overview
- Deutsche Bank targets the S&P 500 at 8,000 by end-2026—about 18% above its Dec. 17 level—while Morgan Stanley projects a 14% rise and LPL Financial guides to roughly 8%.
- Forecasts point to corporate AI spending, anticipated Federal Reserve rate cuts and tax incentives as the main supports for next year’s market.
- Vanguard describes the AI investment phase as a three-to-five-year, double-edged cycle that can lift productivity yet tighten the field of winners.
- Recent performance has been concentrated in the “Mag 7”—Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla—according to data highlighted by Apollo’s Torsten Slok.
- Investors are showing more interest in industrials such as General Electric and RTX after a Truist upgrade, while Goldman Sachs recommends international diversification and staying invested.