Wall Street has raised its target for US stocks: the AI boom remains unchanged, and the bull market will continue

Wall Street analysts are scrambling to upgrade their forecasts for the S & P 500 as strong corporate earnings and renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence drive US stocks to record highs. Binky Chadha, strategist at Deutsche Bank, raised his year-end target for the US benchmark to 7,000, implying more than 7 per cent of upside from current levels. Analysts at Barclays also raised their forecasts, while Wells Fargo's securities team expects the S & P 500 to rise another 11 per cent by the end of next year. "The market does have some bubbles, but the bull market should continue as long as artificial intelligence capex remains unchanged," said Ohsung Kwon at Wells Fargo. They slashed their forecasts in April after Mr. Trump announced big global tariffs, before reverting to bulls as Mr. Trump toned down his trade rhetoric. Mr. Chadha, who raised his target by nearly 7 per cent, said half of the direct impact of tariffs on inflation was expected to be reflected in the data. He also argued that investor positioning, better-than-expected economic growth and a weaker dollar would support equities.