The S&P 500 Index and its ETFs, like VOO and SPY, continued their strong bull run, reaching their all-time highs as traders remained optimistic about the year. It jumped to a high of $6,945, up by nearly 45% from its lowest level in April last year.
Wall Street Analysts are Bullish on the S&P 500 Index
The S&P 500 Index continued its rally this week, and analysts are optimistic that it has more upside to go this year. A closer look at the 2026 forecasts by most analysts shows that it will end the year above $7,000.
Oppenheimer analysts are the most bullish as they expect it to jump to $8,100 this year. Goldman Sachs analysts see it rising to $7,600, while JPMorgan expects it to hit $7,500. Other highly bullish analysts are from companies like Deutsche Bank, Capital Economics, and Morgan Stanley.
The S&P 500 Index and other American indices have key catalysts this year. For example, the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates several times this year as inflation continues falling. The most recent data showed that the headline inflation dropped to 2.6% in November.
READ MORE: SoFi Stock Slips as Diamond Pattern, Supertrend Points to More Downside
Additionally, corporate earnings are expected to be strong as companies manage Donald Trump’s tariffs well. The fourth quarter earnings season will start next week, and FactSet analysts believe that it will grow by 8.33%. Historically, the real growth rate has been 5-6% higher than estimates.
The artificial intelligence (AI) boom is expected to continue accelerating. In a statement earlier this week, Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO said:
“Rubin arrives at exactly the right moment, as AI computing demand for both training and inference is going through the roof.”
Analysts expect that companies like Nvidia and Palantir will continue growing by over 50% this year. Also, AI giants like Anthropic and OpenAI are expected to go public this year, fueling the momentum in the industry.Â
A closer look at the best gainers in the S&P 500 Index shows that most of them are in the AI sector. Sandisk stock has jumped by 43% this year, bringing the 12-month gains to 638%. Western Digital, Seagate, Lam Research, and Micron have all jumped by over 15%.
Meanwhile, the benefits of Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill will start being felt this week. Also, mergers and acquisitions will continue soaring this year.
SPX Index Technical Analysis
The 12-hour chart shows that the SPX Index has done well in the past few days. It has formed an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, a common bullish reversal sign.
The index has moved above the 50-period and 100-period moving averages and the Supertrend indicators. Therefore, the index will likely continue gaining momentum this year. The initial target will be $7,000, followed by the psychological point at $7,100.
READ MORE: XRP Price Prediction as Ripple’s Supertrend Indicator Turns Green
