Greg Boutle, U.S. head of equity and derivative strategy at BNP Paribas, said Tuesday he expects the S&P 500 to reach 5,100 by the end of 2022, up about 11% above its current level of 4,600, despite jitters around the omicron variant. The firm expects corporations to generate profit growth that exceeds current Wall Street consensus expectations. BNP also sees a lower likelihood of corporate tax increases next year. Big picture risks for 2022 such as supply disruptions, higher oil prices and interest rate hikes by the Fed are all “digestible” by the market. BNP chief global economist Luigi Speranza said his central bank policy outlook over the next twelve months differs considerably across potential scenarios for the impact of omicron, but “in the short term we think higher uncertainty favors a more cautious approach” by the Fed and others.
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