JPMorgan Asset Management Sees Stocks Powering On In Second Half

A historically strong start to the year for the US stock market should continue into the second half of 2024, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s asset management division.

While the move may look more like a grind than a rocket ride after the S&P 500 Index’s double-digit return since January, solid earnings, the end of the Federal Reserve’s monetary-tightening campaign and economic strength will continue to lift US equities in the coming months, strategists at the firm led by David Kelly wrote in their mid-year outlook report.

“Return expectations should be more modest, but healthy earnings growth and wide valuation dispersion suggest the environment remains positive for equity performance with opportunities for alpha generation,” Kelly, JPMorgan Asset Management’s chief global strategist, and his team wrote. They recommend buying large-cap shares and a mix of value and growth stocks.

The S&P 500 swung between small gains and losses on Thursday after Fed officials laid out projections for just one interest-rate cut in 2024, fewer than traders were hoping for this year. Still, the US equities benchmark remains near a record high, propelled by optimism that the central bank’s next move will be a cut, as well as the ongoing enthusiasm for artificial intelligence technology that’s fueled outsized gains in Big Tech behemoths like Nvidia Corp. and Microsoft Inc.