Investors are heading into 2025 in an optimistic mood, believing that with the economy on a firm footing and the White House in their corner, the stock market will continue to climb.
That wasn’t the case at the start of the year, when even the most bullish analysts underestimated the strength of the market. Even after slipping for the final four trading days of the year, down 0.4 percent on Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 23.3 percent this year, roughly matching its gain in 2023. It’s the first time the benchmark index has risen more than 20 percent in consecutive years since 1998.
Can the rally continue? Wall Street thinks so.
pay by mobile slotsOn average, analysts are forecasting that the S&P 500 will rise around 10 percent in 2025. That includes analysts at Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, who until recently were bracing for a downturn. John Stoltzfus, chief investment strategist at the brokerage firm Oppenheimer, heads into the new year as the most bullish on Wall Street, anticipating a 2025 gain of roughly 20 percent.
After a spike in inflation prompted the Federal Reserve to rapidly raise interest rates in 2022, stocks tumbled as many on Wall Street anticipated a recession. But the downturn never materialized: Inflation gradually cooled, and the Fed began cutting rates this year, further supporting the economy. While the lingering impact of higher prices continues to strain consumer budgets, it has yet to drag down the economy — or the markets.
“This time last year there was so much trepidation and concern over the economy, but in fact it has been incredibly resilient,” said Alan McKnight, chief investment officer at Regions Bank.
Disciplinary proceedings against Dr. Wax tested the tenure protections of professors and whether such protections allow them to voice opinions that many might find inappropriate or downright insulting. Many students said that they could not trust Dr. Wax to grade students without bias. But many professors — even those who found her comments profoundly racist — objected to disciplining her on the grounds of academic freedom.
The accountability office said many of those systems “have critical operational impacts” on air traffic safety and efficiency. Many of them are also facing “challenges that are historically problematic for aging systems,” according to the report.
In 2024, roughly $500 billion flowed into funds that buy U.S. stocks. More than half of that came in the fourth quarter, after the Fed had begun to cut interest rates, with the two biggest weeks coming after Election Day in November and the most recent Fed rate cut in December.
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