Wall Street Expects Stock Market Rally to Continue in Second Half of 2026

Wall Street strategists expect the US stock market to continue advancing in the second half of 2026 after a strong performance during the previous quarter, Ines Ferré reported for Yahoo Finance.

Wall Street analysts expect the US stock market to extend its gains through the second half of 2026.

"I think there's just more to be excited about than there is to be nervous about," Ross Mayfield told Yahoo Finance.

Mayfield cited lower oil and gasoline prices following the suspension of hostilities between the United States and Iran, along with the resilience of the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500, as reasons for optimism.

The S&P 500 recently recorded its strongest quarterly performance in six years, while semiconductor stocks and many mid- and small-cap companies also outperformed.

"There's a lot working," Mayfield said. "It's a bull market driven by earnings and liquidity, and those are the kind of things that can keep this going into the second half of the year and probably, in my opinion, into 2027 as well."

Technology stocks remain a favored sector on Wall Street. According to FactSet, analysts expect the S&P 500 to gain about 21 percent over the next 12 months.

"You have to see, as we go into earnings season in July, the validation and monetization of AI," Dan Ives told Yahoo Finance.