After a significant rise in the US stock market, is a pullback still the best opportunity to get in?

Yesterday, boosted by CPI data, U.S. stocks surged, reversing the recent sluggish trend. Over the past two years, U.S. stocks have been on a strong upward trajectory, continuously hitting new highs, causing many investors to miss out on good opportunities. However, in 2025, they may welcome a good chance to "get on board." Wall Street still believes that U.S. stocks will continue to rise, but the pace of increase will not be as rapid as in recent years, and investors may have numerous buying opportunities during this process. Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo, stated that he believes the market is heading towards an "opportunity zone" this year. The bank expects the S&P 500 index to be between 6,500 and 6,700 points by the end of this year, which means the index will rise 13% from its current level. In a report on Wednesday, Wren indicated that investors should be ready to take advantage of any market pullbacks. Wren said, "Therefore, we tend to use such pullbacks to gradually reallocate cash and short-term instruments into stock positions. In the coming weeks and months, there are likely to be more attractive entry points in both the equity and fixed income sectors. We want to be prepared." Due to concerns that some economic policies of U.S. President Donald Trump could trigger new inflationary pressures and keep interest rates elevated for a longer period, the U.S. stock market has seen declines in recent weeks. However, the new inflation data released on Wednesday relieved investors, showing that core inflation in December was slightly lower than expected. This data has bolstered investors' hopes for interest rate cuts, with the market still anticipating that the Federal Reserve will cut rates once or twice this year. Meanwhile, Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, believes that the U.S. stock market remains supported by strong fundamentals. Hackett stated that the U.S. economy is expected to avoid recession in 2025, and the strong rise in tech stocks will continue to support the overall market. Hackett commented on the sell-off following the S&P 500 hitting a historical high in December last year, saying, "Market adjustments are a normal part of the cycle, typically occurring about every 18 months, and we should also experience one. The average 8% pullback in S&P 500 constituents is not due to disorder or panic, but rather a natural adjustment after a strong year." He added, "This is a classic case of the market leading and self-correcting—healthy, expected, and ultimately beneficial for long-term market stability." Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, also stated that despite the recent "technical losses" in the S&P 500 index and the possibility of further declines, the stock market still shows positive momentum. Turnquist noted that strong expectations for corporate earnings growth and ongoing enthusiasm for artificial intelligence could help drive the market higher. He added that the market also anticipates that Trump will introduce policies to promote economic growth, although some of his agenda may push up inflation and increase the deficit. Turnquist stated, "Overall, technical analysis suggests that the recent pullback may not yet be over. However, the silver lining of a deeper pullback is that it may provide a potential buying opportunity to return to a bull market, and importantly, the S&P 500 index remains above its long-term upward trend, primarily led by cyclical stocks "Despite the S&P 500 Index rising over 20% for two consecutive years, Wall Street generally expects the stock market to continue rising in 2025. The average year-end target for this benchmark index is 6,539 points, which is 8% higher than the current level