NEW YORK: BTIG has become the latest to see a light at the end of the tunnel for US stock investors, joining Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Citadel Securities in their bullish calls.
“A low has been made and we should be playing offense more than defense,” said BTIG’s Jonathan Krinsky as the S&P 500 Index rebounded from the prior session’s lows.
The equity benchmark closed 0.8% higher on Wednesday to climb above 6,800. That puts the gauge above a technical level that suggests it may bounce back from any new dips, creating a “bear trap” for those who bet on declines, the chief market technician wrote in a note to clients.
A combination of better-than-expected labour-market data and an expansion in services activity helped the S&P 500 recover from Tuesday’s drop. The upbeat data helped offset worries around the continuing conflict between Iran and the United States in the Middle East.
Krinsky joins other bullish calls after the recent market upheaval. Earlier, Goldman Sachs strategists led by Peter Oppenheimer said investors should view any correction in equities as a buying opportunity rather than the beginning of a bear market.
Furthermore, Citadel Securities’ Scott Rubner said his fundamental analysis of the market signalled that now was the time to turn bullish on equities.
In Krinsky’s view, several sectors seemed to have found a floor as the S&P 500 reclaims a key support.
“We see bottoms in airlines, consumer, banks, crypto, software, and China, while energy and staples look like tactical tops,” Krinsky wrote.
Amid concerns over the conflict, energy stocks have managed to widen their 2026 rally to 25%, as the sector benefits from the rise in oil prices.
Meanwhile, industrial stocks – which includes airlines – have fallen as much as 2.5% across three sessions, hurt by the increase in oil prices.
While the S&P 500 climbed above 7,000 points for the first time in late January, it trimmed those gains by the close.
Citigroup Inc strategists led by Scott Chronert acknowledged shorter-term risk was likely, though they noted that the S&P 500 is essentially flat so far this year despite a “bevy of issues” weighing on the market, including concerns over disruption from artificial intelligence and the significant selloff in software stocks.
“Internal rotations hold the key to that but are at risk should a longer lived oil price spike influence the inflation, Federal Reserve and economic goldilocks backdrop,” Chronert wrote in a note to clients.
“Thus, the situation would need to play out longer in order to better assess eventual implications.” — Bloomberg
