It’s that time of year when Wall Street’s top strategists tell clients where they see the stock market heading in the year ahead. Typically, the average forecast for the group predicts the S&P 500 climbing by about 10%, which is in line with historical averages.
There’s always a long list of reasons to be worried and dump stocks. So during those stretches when markets are down, it’s pretty easy to just back into a narrative that seems to make sense.
(Friday market open) Bearish sentiment already prowled Wall Street thanks to skyrocketing Treasury yields, a hawkish Federal Reserve, 10-month highs in crude oil, a firm dollar, and the autoworkers’ strike, so growing fear of a government shutdown is arguably the last thing investors need.
(Wednesday market open) Welcome to Fed Day. Major indexes clawed back into the green in premarket trading, boosted by falling crude oil prices and lower Treasury yields. But trading might lack direction in the hours leading up to the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates if historic trends hold.