Wall Street has rewarded its most patient investors handsomely over the past 10 years. Is there more to come?
“As long as corporate profits are growing, that’s usually the oxygen for further gains in the stock market,” said David Lefkowitz, senior Americas equity strategist at UBS Global Wealth Management. “The risk of recession grows,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA, noting that the U.S. economy’s current expansion will become the longest in history by the end of July.
That slide culminated on December 24, when the S&P 500 closed 19.8 per cent below its all-time high. A drop of 20 per cent or more would have ushered in a bear market. “It was a good-sized correction that freaked everybody out,” Detrick said. “Then the realization comes that the economy is on good footing.”