The S&P 500 Index recently entered a correction, having fallen 10% from its February highs as market worries intensified.
As pointed out by Scott Hronert, equity strategist at Citi US, there has been a significant shift in investor sentiment compared to the atmosphere at the beginning of the year. As a result, several major organizations have slashed their forecasts for US GDP growth for the current year and cut their year-end targets for the S&P 500.
However, most of them do not consider the current year as a whole to be a bad one for US equities. Strategists at Yardeni Research lowered their 2025 S&P 500 target from 7,000 to 6,400–which still implies growth of about 14% from current levels. Nor did the forecast come with expectations of lower earnings growth this year.
According to Yardeni Research chief strategist Eric Wallerstein, there have been no particular fundamental changes in the economy, and the decrease in estimates was affected only by uncertainty.
Gargi Chowdhury, one of BlackRock's top strategists, also said her team retains an optimistic view on US stocks. According to her, the price pullback that has occurred is “healthy” and they have no serious concerns about recession.