U.S. shares will finish 2023 nearly unchanged from their present degree — however could have a bumpy experience to get there, based on Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson.
The highest-rated strategist sees a “unstable path” to get to his 2023 year-end S&P 500 base-case goal of three,900 index factors, about 2% beneath the place the gauge closed on Friday. He expects shares to fall as earnings estimates come down, earlier than rebounding within the second half of the 12 months.
“The trail ahead is rather more unsure than a 12 months in the past, and prone to carry a number of twists and days/weeks of regret for buyers regretting they traded it otherwise,” Wilson wrote in a notice on Monday. Within the short-term, he sees the stock-market rebound sparked by final week’s good inflation knowledge working for a couple of extra weeks.
The portfolio strategist — who accurately predicted the droop this 12 months and is ranked No. 1 within the newest Institutional Investor survey — mentioned consensus earnings estimates for 2023 are nonetheless a lot too excessive. His base case is for U.S. firm earnings to say no 11% in 2023, earlier than a robust rebound in 2024 as optimistic working leverage returns.
His feedback sound one other warning for U.S. corporations wrapping up their weakest earnings season because the first quarter of 2020, marked by the influence of excessive inflation, a stronger greenback and a few dramatic revenue warnings.
Wilson expects the S&P 500 to trough between 3,000 and three,300 index factors — at the very least 17% beneath present ranges — within the first quarter. He recommends buyers keep defensively positioned from a sector and elegance standpoint “till the estimates replicate the bust.” After upgrading staples, the strategists are chubby on that sector in addition to healthcare, utilities and defensively-oriented vitality shares.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategist Mislav Matejka is extra optimistic. He sees continued assist to fairness markets from a peak in bond yields, cooling inflation, gentle positioning, and the chance of a smaller-than-typical earnings contraction, based on a report on Monday.
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