The S&P 500 hasn’t hit an all-time high in six months.
But J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s Stephen Parker believes that could be about to change.
“I do think we break out to new records,” the bank’s head of thematic equity solutions said Wednesday on CNBC’s “Trading Nation.” “To us, it’s all about earnings.”
Parker acknowledges rising interest rates and the trade war are downside risks, but he contends they haven’t significantly materialized in the latest round of earnings outlooks.
“When you look broadly around the trade issue, companies haven’t really talked about it being a major headwind to their fundamental outlook. Clearly, the rise in uncertainty is not a great thing,” he said. “But companies are still guiding towards continued strength, continued growth.”
Parker sees the trend sparking a new wave of optimism on Wall Street. He believes investors are shifting from focusing on bearish “political noise” to strong corporate stories again.
According to Parker, that’s the main catalyst to push the S&P 500 back into record territory and to the firm’s official year-end price target of 2,900.
“We can hit that very soon,” he said. “If this reporting season continues the way it started, I think we continue to see some near-term upside.”
As of Wednesday’s close, the S&P 500 is less than 1 percent away from hitting a fresh intraday all-time high.
