Wall St analysts cut S&P 500 target - survey

Investing.com -- Wall Street analysts have markedly lowered their year-end forecasts for the S&P 500, reflecting growing unease over the economic fallout from rising tariffs.

According to a Bloomberg survey, the average projection for the benchmark index has fallen by 8% in April compared to the previous month.

The consensus now stands at 6,047, down from 6,539 in March. While that still implies a 15% gain from Wednesday’s close, it would mark just a 2.8% advance for the full year—on track to be the weakest annual performance since 2022.

Of the 21 strategists surveyed, 13 downgraded their outlooks. JPMorgan’s Dubravko Lakos-Bujas made the steepest revision, cutting his target by 20% to 5,200, now the most bearish forecast in the group.

Notable downward adjustments also came from Evercore ISI, Oppenheimer, Bank of America, and Ned Davis Research, each trimming their estimates by more than 15%.

U.S. stocks ended Thursday on a mixed note, supported by gains in Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), as investors balanced renewed optimism over trade talks with Japan against lingering concerns about the path of interest rates.

Sentiment improved after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke of “big progress” in negotiations with Japan, helping to steady markets following a sharp selloff the previous day.

Trump also said he expects to strike a trade agreement with China, though he offered no details on how discussions between the two countries might resume.

The S&P 500 trimmed earlier gains late in the session, while the Nasdaq slipped into the red, reflecting some investor caution ahead of the long holiday weekend. U.S. markets will be closed Friday for the Good Friday holiday.

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At the close, the S&P 500 edged up 0.13% to 5,282.70 and the Nasdaq slipped 0.13% to finish at 16,286.45.

The S&P 500 is down 10.2% year-to-date.

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