BNP Paribas strategists expect the S&P 500 will end next year at 7,500, with the index supported by a solid U.S. economy that will fuel corporate profit growth and keep the labour market from weakening significantly.
A 7,500 finish in the benchmark U.S. index next year would mean about a 10-per-cent increase from the S&P 500’s current level of 6,829.
They also wrote in their 2026 global outlook note this week that their end-2026 forecast for the pan-European STOXX 600 index is 650, and the strategists see European stocks outperforming U.S. equities in 2026, thanks to accommodative European Central Bank monetary policy and increased fiscal spending.
The forecast is about 13 per cent higher than the STOXX 600’s close Tuesday of 575.65.