In a rare development, every firm on Wall Street – from JPMorgan Chase (JPM) to Goldman Sachs (GS) – expects stocks to rise in 2025.
According to tabulations from MarketWatch, not a single Wall Street firm is forecasting that the stock market will decline in the New Year.
The median Wall Street target is for the benchmark S&P 500 index to rise to 6,600 in 2025, which is 9% above current levels.
Analysts at Mizuho Securities (MFG) say the consensus view would put the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio for stocks in the 23 to 24 times range that is expensive but not excessive by historic measures.
Other analysts on Wall Street say the bullish calls for stocks in 2025 might be too conservative given the projected rise in corporate earnings over the coming year.
Analysts, economists and traders on Wall Street see a combination of gradually decreasing interest rates, a strong U.S. economy, and robust corporate earnings driving stocks higher.
While there is some risk that the tax cuts and tariffs planned by president-elect Donald Trump could spark a rise in inflation, Wall Street is becoming less concerned with that scenario.
Several analysts say that the consensus view on Wall Street has become that everything president-elect Trump says and does is to help his bargaining position, and most firms are not taking the threats seriously.
The S&P 500 index is up 27% this year and currently trading at 6,032.38, near its all-time high.