(Reuters) – Citigroup raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 by 15% as it now sees a higher probability of a soft landing for the U.S. economy, as well as, an earnings upside.
The bank sees the S&P 500 ending 2023 at 4,600 points, a 0.4% uptick from Friday’s closing of 4,582.23.
For 2024, the outlook seems brighter with Citi seeing the index jump to 5,000 points, up from a previous forecast of 4,400, and about 9% from current levels.
Citi pushed out its probability of a U.S. recession to the first half of 2024 from the last quarter of this year. The new S&P 500 projections better reflect that, the bank’s strategists said.
The Wall Street bank now projects earnings of $220 per share in 2023 for companies on the S&P 500, up from the $215 projected earlier.
(Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)