One look at this chart and Jeffrey Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James, is feeling decidedly bullish about what’s to come for the stock market as we head into the back half of the year.
According to the chart, which Saut described as “worth a thousand words,” recent strength has helped the S&P 500 SPX, -0.44% break out of a multimonth base and has triggered a technical green light.
“That upside consolidation phase tells me that we’re going to be above 3,000 probably by Thanksgiving and probably 3,100 to 3,200 by the end of the year,” he told CNBC in a recent interview
Saut says he doesn’t typically issue price targets, but he’s making an exception this time because he’s so confident more gains are to come.
“My father was a portfolio manager, and he told me if you get it directionally correct, you’re ahead of the crowd. So, don’t give people targets,” Saut said. “But earnings continue to come in better than expected. Valuations are not that high.”
Watch the interview:
No such move higher on Thursday for the broader market. The S&P retreated slightly from record highs to close at 2,901, while both the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.26% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.53% gave up earlier gains to finish in the red.
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