The consensus on Wall Street is that the U.S. stock market will continue to be "bullish" next year, with a Bloomberg analysis survey showing no one is bearish, and an average expected increase of 9%

As 2026 approaches, Wall Street analysts generally hold an optimistic view of the U.S. stock market, with most predicting that U.S. stocks will achieve a rare fourth consecutive year of gains in 2026. According to a Bloomberg survey, none of the 21 Wall Street strategists predict a decline in U.S. stocks in 2026, with an average expectation that the S&P 500 index will rise by about 9% by the end of 2026. This rare consensus reflects that, despite multiple concerns such as the potential bursting of the artificial intelligence (AI) bubble, economic uncertainty, and policy risks from the Trump administration, analysts remain bullish on U.S. stocks. Ed Yardeni expects the index to reach 7,700 points by year-end Veteran market strategist Ed Yardeni predicts that the index will reach 7,700 points by the end of 2026, an 11% increase from current levels. However, he also noted that this highly consistent optimism makes him somewhat uneasy: "It triggers my contrarian instinct—things have been developing in the direction I expected for too long, and now almost everyone has become optimistic, which is indeed a bit concerning." Christopher Harvey of CIBC Capital Markets is one of the few strategists who maintained a positive outlook and made accurate predictions during the volatile market conditions of 2025. He expects the index to climb to 7,450 points by the end of 2026 but warns that "many are overlooking macro risks," including the possibility that the Federal Reserve may keep interest rates unchanged for longer than expected and that the Trump administration may impose higher tariffs on Canada or Mexico. JPMorgan, which held the most pessimistic stance at the beginning of 2025, has now "turned the tide" and expects the index to reach 7,500 points by the end of 2026. Mislav Matejka, the bank's global and European equity strategy head, stated that factors supporting the optimistic outlook include resilient growth, cooling inflation, and the belief that the surge in AI stocks reflects economic transformation rather than a bubble. Savita Subramanian of Bank of America takes a relatively cautious stance, predicting that the index will reach 7,100 points by the end of 2026. She believes that high valuations may limit upside potential and warns that a recession could lead to a 20% market crash, while significantly higher-than-expected earnings could drive the market up by 25%. Dan Ives recommends AI stocks, including Microsoft and Apple Additionally, Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, recently released a list of recommended AI stocks for 2026, including Microsoft, Apple, Tesla, Palantir, and CrowdStrike. He pointed out that the potential of Microsoft's Azure cloud computing business is underestimated, and its partnership with OpenAI will further enhance its AI advantages; meanwhile, Apple's commercialization of AI in the coming years is expected to add up to $100 per share in value for the company; and Tesla's autonomous driving and humanoid robot plans could push its market value to $3 trillion by the end of 2026 Ives is optimistic about Palantir's AI system, believing that the company is expected to reach a trillion-dollar market value; cybersecurity company CrowdStrike continues to benefit from the AI boom, with an optimistic scenario suggesting its stock price could reach $700. Although NVIDIA is not on his core list, Ives still stated that the chip giant is one of the preferred tech stocks for next year. Related articles: Hong Kong stocks are expected to rise nearly 30% by 2025, outperforming U.S. stocks. Huang Guoying recommended HSBC last year for significant profits and plans to seek treasure in two major themes next year