S&P 500 Weekly Win Streak Ends at Nine Array ( [cookie] => e3525f-fb9044-ba0db7-127322-1111b6 [current_usage] => 2 [max_usage] => 2 [current_usage_crypto] => 2 [max_usage_crypto] => 2 [lock] => 1 [message] => [error] => [active_member] => 0 [subscriber] => 0 [role] => [visitor_id] => 143783 [reason] => [method] => ) 1 and can accesss

“Your age is the sum total of your physical condition, the condition of your mind, and how you feel.” ~ Jack LaLanne

Good evening,

After the joys of the holiday season and a 2023 in which the S&P 500 rose more than 24%, the rough markets in the first four trading days of the year proved somewhat jarring. Fundstrat Head of Research Tom Lee was on a much-needed vacation this week but nevertheless weighed in on the “terrible start for equities.” Lee, who has previously spoken of how the year tends to play out in its first five trading days, said “this turmoil in the first week of trading is telling us to brace for a challenging year.”

Yet Lee’s outlook for 2024 as a whole remains constructive and largely unchanged, with a year-end S&P 500 target of 5,200, the bulk of those gains coming in the second half of the year. The tailwinds he sees driving his 2024 forecast remain in place. They include:

• Declining inflation 
• A dovish Fed shifting to managing the business cycle, rather than fighting an inflation war
• Falling interest rates, benefiting consumers, corporates, and valuations
• An upward inflection in PMI boosting earnings growth
• Positive flows as sidelined investors allocate funds back into equities