Raymond James’ Jeffrey Saut isn’t in the business of giving year-end price targets.
But he’s so confident stocks will stage a record breaking rally, he’s putting a number behind his latest S&P 500 forecast.
“You can carry this market up over 3,000 by the end of the year. That’s how bullish I am,” the firm’s chief investment strategist said Monday on CNBC’s “Trading Nation.”
If Saut’s forecast materializes, it would be a 12 percent-plus jump from current levels over the next five weeks. And, that rally may be taking shape.
The S&P 500 rose 1.55 percent to close at 2,673.45 on Monday. The index is out of correction territory, although it’s still off more than 9 percent from its all-time high.
“If this thing starts up, I think the pros are going to have to chase it because their performance has been abysmal this year,” said Saut, a secular bull who believes strong corporate earnings and economic growth will dominate the landscape for at least the next several years.
He doesn’t see much that could derail his bullish forecast: not the ongoing U.S.-China trade war or the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.
“These baby steps of a quarter of a percent, … it’s really nothing,” he said of the Fed’s moves. “I’m one of the guys that paid 15 and a quarter percent for a 30-year mortgage. So where rates are now, I don’t think it’s a big headwind.”
Saut lists an unexpected geopolitical flare-up as his only worry, but it’s not a focal point.
“We think the bottom is in and stocks will trade higher into year-end,” Saut said.