Valuation Opportunities Unlocking, Fed Transitions Can Be Tough For Stocks

The big things you need to know:

• First, valuation opportunity is opening up in the US equity market from a variety of perspectives.
• Second, in the aftermath of Wednesday’s Fed meeting, we highlight how the stock market tends to experience choppy performance in the first few months under a new Fed Chair.
• Third, other things that jump out in our updates this week include the return of high EPS quality outperformance as a factor in both the S&P 500 and Russell 2000, the modest uptick in stock market optimism in the Conference Board consumer survey that was out this week, and what we’re watching on the midterms (which we continue to see as a risk factor in the months ahead).
• Fourth, we’ve gone through our monthly refresh of the models that feed into our 12-month S&P 500 price target and are sticking with our 8,150 forecast, though we continue to believe that the path for stocks will not be a linear one.