The US inflation data for the month of March demonstrated the slowdown in the economy for which the US Federal Reserve is fighting. The CPI contracted to 5% last month, falling a full point from 6% in February. This figure is supporting a buying optimism in the market that already sees the end of the rate hikes by the Fed getting closer.
Thus, the main index of the North American parquet, the S&P 500 rose 1.33% in the day, its best day in April, and once once more tested its highs for the year, located at the beginning of February at 4,179 points, of which already found less than 1.5% away. The Nasdaq 100 follows the same roadmap which, following the bankruptcy of SVB and the drop in expectations of rate increases, began an upward streak that led it to reach 13,181 points on the last day of March, the current ceiling of 2023. From that peak, with the gains this Thursday, of 2%, it is 1% away from reaching new highs.
“Everything points to the fact that sooner or later it is likely that we will reach the targets that I managed at the highs of last August, such as 4,320/4,400 on the S&P 500 and 13,720/14,000 on the Nasdaq 100,” says the adviser and Ecotrader strategist Joan Cabrero. Of these objectives, the S&P 500, with the 4,123 points it touched yesterday at the close of the European session is 4.8% behind and the technology index is 5.1%
Despite all this, Cabrero points out that “this bullish hypothesis would only be jeopardized if an eventual cut would lead the Nasdaq 100 to lose the critical support of 11,700 points and in the case of the S&P 500 the key support is at 3,800 points. “. “As long as these supports do not fall, I believe that exposure to the US stock market should not be reduced and we must continue thinking more regarding buying than selling,” adds the expert.
All in all, the consensus of analysts collected by Bloomberg still augurs double-digit potential for both selectives in the coming months. For the S&P 500, the market sets a 4,163-point price target, which gives the index a 12% move. If these are reached, the price of the S&P would manage to return to heights not visited since January last year. For its part, the market estimates that the price of the Nasdaq 100 might reach 14,473 points, which gives the technology selective an upward journey of 11%, with which it would be able to reach levels of exactly one year ago.
Thanks to the gains of the last few weeks, the Nasdaq 100 managed to exit the bear market, rebounding more than 20% from the December lows.
