75.2% of Readers Remain Bullish Heading Into January Despite Market’s Rollercoaster Year

Wall Street’s optimism machine keeps humming, even as markets move through choppier waters. Our latest Bear and Bull survey shows 75.2% of investors remain bullish heading into the new year. While JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs continue to describe the equity outlook as “constructive” and “friendly,” others are warning about an unusual mix of rising business investment alongside a cooling labor market.

• The S&P 500 has risen in eight of the past 12 months, gaining 17% on the year but slipping 0.05% over the past month, while the Nasdaq has led with a 6.8% gain.
• An AI-driven capex boom created outsized winners, with MicronMU
  up 239%, PalantirPLTR
  up 135%, and AMDAMD
  up 77%.

Forward-looking: Market concentration remains a double-edged sword. The Mag 7, along with BroadcomAVGO

, now accounts for ~40% of the S&P 500’s market cap — more than double the share held by the index’s eight largest stocks a decade ago. Glenmede’s Jason Pride warns that investors are effectively crowding into the same trade, noting that if it fails to deliver, a large amount of capital could depreciate very quickly.