The stock market swoon that began in late summer may have taken the hopes for a massive year off the table, but equities could still rally going into 2024, according to Oppenheimer. John Stoltzfus, the firm’s chief investment strategist, said in a note to clients on Monday that he was cutting his year-end 2023 target for the S & P 500 to 4,400 from 4,900. The new target is still nearly 7% above the index’s close of 4,117.37 on Friday. .SPX YTD mountain The S & P 500 has fallen from its late summer highs. “We view the three-month corrective occurrence experienced by stocks since August as likely near an end. Valuations have come down substantially across the sectors … and resilience remains the operative word for the U.S. economy,” Stoltzfus wrote. “We remain positive on equities and view fixed income as highly complementary for diversification purposes though not broadly competitive with equities over the mid- to longer term,” Stoltzfus continued. Oppenheimer’s new target is still above the average of 4,358 in the CNBC Market Strategist Survey . Stoltzfus previously had the highest target among major Wall Street strategists tracked in the survey. The change comes after the S & P 500 entered a correction — a decline of 10% of more — last week. The slide for stocks has coincided with a continued rise in Treasury yields and rising international tensions in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. “Having experienced more than a few Fed Fund hike cycles since 1983 the recent pullback in stock prices is neither atypical in a process of a Fed funds hike cycle nor should turbulence be unexpected with a significant jump in geopolitical risk,” Stoltzfus said. The S & P 500 remains 7% higher for the year. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
