While many stock analysts see a stock-market correction soon amid slowing economic growth, JPMorgan sees it differently, predicting the S&P 500 will reach 4,700 by year-end.
That would represent a 5% gain from the recent level of 4,481. The index at last check gained 0.8%.
“Despite concerns about the recent downshift in economic and business cycle momentum, we remain confident that strong growth lies ahead and activity is bound to reaccelerate,” JPMorgan strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas wrote in a commentary cited by CNBC.
“We remain positive on the equity outlook, and expect S&P 500 to reach 4,700 by end of this year and surpass 5,000 next year on better-than-expected earnings.”
Stock bears point to the spread of Covid, waning government stimulus, falling consumer confidence and a slowdown in hiring growth.
“We see these risks as well-flagged and in some cases overdone,” Lakos-Bujas said.
“As long as Covid continues to ease, strong momentum should continue into 2022 as businesses start to rebuild depleted inventories and ramp-up [capital spending] from historically depressed levels.”
Among the stocks that JPMorgan recommends are United Rentals (URI Get United Rentals, Inc. Report, Southwest Airlines (LUV Get Southwest Airlines Co. Report and General Motors (GM Get General Motors Company (GM) Report.
Last week, Binky Chadha, chief global strategist at Deutsche Bank, said stock valuations are quite stretched, and that could mean a rough stumble is in store for the market.
The valuations are “historically extreme” in almost any metric, he said in a commentary cited by MarketWatch.
As a result, “With the current cycle advancing very quickly, the risk that the correction is hard is growing,” Chadha said.
