The investment bank that predicted the U.S. rally has given the S&P 500 its most bullish outlook for 2026

Oppenheimer Asset Management chief investment strategist John Stoltzfus, who a year ago correctly predicted the S&P 500 would rise to 7,100 points by the end of 2025, has set a record high for Wall Street's target level for the main U.S. stock index next year.

The S&P 500 should rise to 8,100 points in 2026 amid strong economic growth in the U.S. and further easing of monetary policy, Stoltzfus wrote to clients, Bloomberg quoted the analyst as saying. His full-year forecast for the U.S. equity index was the most optimistic on Wall Street for the third straight year. "The Oppenheimer analyst's bullish forecast for 2025 turned out to be one of the most accurate - the S&P 500 is now just 3% away from its 7,100-point target set exactly one year ago.

The outlook for the S&P 500's 2026 target level is based on the expected effect of synchronized action by the U.S. government and the Fed to support economic growth, as well as strong corporate earnings, Stoltzfus explained. "We maintain a positive view on equities and consider them our favorite asset class," Bloomberg quoted him as saying. The Oppenheimer analyst expects the Fed to cut the interest rate on Dec. 10, with one or two more cuts next year.

Stoltzfus assigned an Outperform rating (Outperform, a buy recommendation) to Information Technology (IT), Consumer Discretionary (Consumer Discretionary) and Industrials (Industrials). Analyst Oppenheimer gave "Underperform" rating (Underperform, is a recommendation to sell) to shares in the sectors of Healthcare (Healthcare), Energy (Energy) and Real Estate (Real Estate), reports MarketWatch.

Stoltzfus is not alone in his optimism for next year: teams of analysts at Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and RBC Capital Markets also predict a rally in the U.S. stock market of more than 10%, Bloomberg notes. The most optimistic after Oppenheimer is Deutsche Bank - its target for the S&P 500 is 8,000 points with a median forecast of 7,500 points, MarketWatch reports. Morgan Stanley and RBC have target prices of 7,800 points and 7,750 points, respectively. The most cautious forecast for 2026 still belongs to Bank of America - its target of 7100 points is only 4% higher than the current values.

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