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Goldman Sachs<\/a> Group Inc. strategists have boosted their year-end target for the S&P 500 Index for a third time, reflecting Wall Street\u2019s optimistic outlook for earnings growth and the US economy.<\/p>\n The bank\u2019s equity strategists led by David Kostin now see the US stock benchmark index finishing the year at 5,600, up from a 5,200 level they predicted in February. The new target implies a roughly 3% advance in the gauge from its Friday close.\u00a0<\/p>\n Goldman\u2019s upgraded target ties with that from UBS Group<\/a> AG\u2019s Jonathan Golub and BMO Capital Markets\u2019 Brian Belski for the highest on Wall Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n The upgrade in the target is \u201cdriven by milder-than-average negative earnings revisions and a higher fair value P\/E multiple,\u201d Kostin, the firm\u2019s chief US equity strategist, wrote in a note to clients on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n The upgrade comes one month after Kostin reiterated the firm\u2019s 5,200 target, stating there was no further room for upside in the 500-member gauge through December. The firm\u2019s strategists first introduced their 2024 target in\u00a0November<\/a>, before\u00a0raising<\/a>\u00a0it in December and again in\u00a0February<\/a>. The S&P 500 closed at 5,431.60 on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the firm\u2019s strategists maintained their earnings-per-share forecast for 2024 and 2025, they noted that robust earnings growth by the top five megacap technology stocks have offset the \u201ctypical pattern of negative revisions to consensus EPS estimates.\u201d Kostin also raised the S&P 500\u2019s price-earnings multiple he deems fair to 20.4 from 19.5.<\/p>\n Kostin gamed out several other scenarios in which stocks can run even higher than his new baseline forecast. If gains broaden out and lift the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index, the main, cap-weighted benchmark could rise another 9% to 5,900 before 2024 closes out. In his most optimistic case, if mega-cap \u201cexceptionalism\u201d persists, the gauge could soar to 6,300 by the end of the year.<\/p>\n Conversely, if earnings estimates prove too optimistic or recession fears resurface among investors, the S&P 500 could see a correction of about 13% and fall to 4,700.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nSubscribe to the CFO Daily newsletter to keep up with the trends, issues, and executives shaping corporate finance. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n