JPMorgan Goes Against the Tide to Stay Bullish on US Stocks: Cherish the "Golden Pit"

Odaily News: Amid pressure from AI giants calling for a slowdown, sticky inflation, and the looming threat of rate hikes, US stocks plunged across the board on Monday, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plummeting nearly 6%. Yet JPMorgan reaffirmed its bullish stance against the tide, warning that blind pessimism can easily lead to missing out on gains.

Mislav Matejka, JPMorgan's Head of Global and European Equity Strategy, also once again issued a warning to aggressively bearish investors: while surging oil prices do suppress valuations, blindly betting against US stocks is extremely dangerous before the overall earnings expansion of American companies has been disproven. Once US President Trump subsequently attempts to cool tensions in the Middle East through diplomacy, or if third-quarter earnings exceed expectations, the forces of excessive shorting may face a fierce backlash from returning capital.

On this basis, JPMorgan as early as August had already raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 Index from 7,800 points to 8,000 points against the tide, and expects earnings per share of its constituent stocks to surge 29% year-over-year to $350.