The equity market is due for a cooldown, according to several strategists, who are telling clients to begin positioning themselves defensively in preparation for a slow-growth earnings environment next year. “We think the ‘too high, too fast’ rally is ripe for a breather” in the first quarter of next year, Barclays’ head of U.S. equity strategy Venu Krishna wrote in a note Tuesday. A seven-week long advance of some 14.6% in the S & P 500 is greater than any seven weeks of consecutive gains over the last two decades, Krishna pointed out. Investors haven’t taken their foot off the gas ever since Treasury yields peaked in late October. The latest push higher, which sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 37,000 for the first time , came in response to Federal Reserve officials last week again leaving rates unchanged and signaling that several rate cuts are in store for 2024. The S & P 500 has rallied almost 24% this year, but is up 11% in the fourth quarter alone. After closing Tuesday at 4,768, the benchmark index used by most professional investors to measure their performance is now less than 1% from surpassing its record close set in January of 2022. On average, market observers expect the S & P 500 to end next year at 4,881, according to the consensus target compiled in a CNBC …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnThe equity market is due for a cooldown, according to several strategists, who are telling clients to begin positioning themselves defensively in preparation for a slow-growth earnings environment next year. “We think the ‘too high, too fast’ rally is ripe for a breather” in the first quarter of next year, Barclays’ head of U.S. equity strategy Venu Krishna wrote in a note Tuesday. A seven-week long advance of some 14.6% in the S & P 500 is greater than any seven weeks of consecutive gains over the last two decades, Krishna pointed out. Investors haven’t taken their foot off the gas ever since Treasury yields peaked in late October. The latest push higher, which sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 37,000 for the first time , came in response to Federal Reserve officials last week again leaving rates unchanged and signaling that several rate cuts are in store for 2024. The S & P 500 has rallied almost 24% this year, but is up 11% in the fourth quarter alone. After closing Tuesday at 4,768, the benchmark index used by most professional investors to measure their performance is now less than 1% from surpassing its record close set in January of 2022. On average, market observers expect the S & P 500 to end next year at 4,881, according to the consensus target compiled in a CNBC …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
