Citigroup lifts S&P 500 year-end target to 6,600
This marks Citigroup's second upward revision in just two months, and also follows similar upgrades from major brokerages including HSBC, Goldman Sachs and BofA Global Research.
The new target represents a 3.2 per cent upside to the index's last close at 6,389.45. Its previous target in June was 6,300.
The expected fundamental drag from US tariffs has been mostly modelled at this point, Citi analysts said in a note late on Friday, adding that tax benefits from the spending bill should improve forward earnings.
The bill, signed into law on July 4, 2025, delivers sweeping corporate tax relief and permanently expands employee benefit options.
Since bottoming on April 8 after Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs, the benchmark index has rebounded 32.2 per cent, reaching new highs in July as robust Big Tech earnings revived investor confidence in the AI-driven rally.
Citi said impressive earnings from the 'Magnificent Seven' tech companies have anchored the rise of the index. The rest of the index is starting to strengthen more broadly, it said.
In a bull case scenario, Citi expects the index to hit 7,200 points.
The Wall-Street brokerage also revised its 2025 and 2026 earnings per share forecast to US$272 and US$308 respectively for the index, up from prior forecast of US$261 and US$295. REUTERS
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Straits Times
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Business Times
a few seconds ago
- Business Times
Trump extends China truce for 90 days, averting tariff hike
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12 minutes ago
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Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox MEXICO CITY - Prime Minister Mark Carney is scrambling to save his country's relationship with Mexico after it disintegrated late last year when Canadian officials suggested they'd be better off negotiating a trade deal with the Trump administration alone. Carney attempted to break the ice in a phone call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in July by complimenting an indigenous-made soccer ball she had gifted him at their last meeting and saying he hoped to visit Mexico soon. The warm overture, relayed to Reuters by three people familiar with the call, highlights Canada's attempt to repair the damage after a string of public slights by Canadian officials, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who said in November that any comparison of Canada to Mexico was "the most insulting thing I've ever heard." Mexico and Canada are in many ways natural allies. 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Carney's invitation and Sheinbaum's attendance appeared to be a reset of sorts in the two countries' relationship, said Pedro Casas, CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico. It sent a 'clear message' that the two leaders are 'in this together,' he said. The Canadian prime minister extended his good-faith gestures to Sheinbaum during their follow-up phone call in July. He told her that the following day Canada would announce limits on imports of steel produced in other countries in an effort to help the country's domestic steel sector, which is reeling from Trump's 50% tariffs. But Carney assured Sheinbaum that the measure wouldn't affect imports from Mexico, according to two people with knowledge of their conversation. Whatever her reservations about Canada, Sheinbaum has made clear she is completely invested in saving the trilateral trade deal with it and the U.S. If the three countries fail to renew the pact next year, the treaty will automatically expire in 2036, creating a potentially disastrous economic blow to Mexico. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has privately raised the idea of ditching the agreement in favor of a bilateral trade deal with Mexico, according to the Mexican official – a scenario the person said Mexico is not keen to pursue. Secretary Lutnick did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. 'Mexico knows very well that if we try to go head-to-head, toe-to-toe with Washington the asymmetry in the negotiations is going to favor the U.S,' said former Mexican trade negotiator Juan Carlos Baker. 'It's always better to have a three-player game.' REUTERS
