• Fundstrat’s Tom Lee is rising extra bullish on the inventory market amid this yr’s 16% surge within the S&P 500.
• Lee boosted his year-end worth goal for the index to 4,825 from 4,750, which might characterize new file highs, if reached.
• “We now have had an enormous decline in inflation, and… the inflation battle is the battle the Fed is waging and seemingly profitable,” Lee mentioned.

Wall Avenue’s greatest bull is getting extra bullish on the inventory market after the primary half of the yr delivered eye-watering positive aspects for traders, with the S&P 500 up about 16% whereas the Nasdaq 100 surged 39%.

Fundstrat’s Tom Lee raised his year-end S&P 500 worth goal to 4,825 from 4,750 in a Monday notice, which might characterize potential positive aspects of 8% from present ranges and new file highs for the inventory market, if reached.

His confidence in his bullish market name is derived from an ongoing decline in inflation, which ought to give the Federal Reserve extra respiratory room in its financial coverage selections, in addition to inventory market valuations which can be “not demanding” and a possible growth in productiveness due to synthetic intelligence.

“We had an enormous decline in inflation, and as we argued for many of 2022, the inflation battle is the battle the Fed is waging and seemingly profitable,” he mentioned, including that he expects headline inflation to downshift in the direction of 3% by the top of the yr.

If consensus expectations on Wall Avenue flip extra dovish consistent with that view, inventory costs might soar as traders start allocating their $5.5 trillion money pile again into equities, in keeping with Lee.

He additionally noticed that the ahead price-to-earnings ratio of the S&P 500, excluding mega-cap tech shares, was 15.7x firstly of the yr, and now stands at 16.4x, which is “barely” greater. Lee mentioned he expects the valuation a number of to proceed to broaden for the inventory market as company earnings development inflects positively.

“We imagine P/E ought to broaden as corporations are seen as resilient and we’re firstly of a brand new EPS cycle,” he mentioned.

Additionally serving to drive that revenue development, in addition to a continued rally on the inventory market, is the rise of AI, which Lee known as a possible “supercycle” akin to the arrival of the PC within the 1980’s, the web within the 1990’s, and cloud computing within the 2010’s. 

“AI might be the beginning of a supercycle,” Lee mentioned, highlighting a latest presentation from Coatue Capital. “And Nvidia first-quarter outcomes have been the ‘aha’ second. The timing is smart. AI additionally solves the inflation downside. By the way in which, does not this justify the surge in FAANG? Not as a bubble however because the signal of the emergence of this cycle.”

Lee stays by far essentially the most bullish market strategist this yr. The typical S&P 500 year-end worth goal is simply 4,091, in keeping with information from Bloomberg. Probably the most bullish market strategist after Lee is Brian Belski of BMO, who has a 4,550 year-end worth goal for the S&P 500.