Josh Brown thinks the only way the S & P 500 could climb to 7,000 by year end is through artificial intelligence. “If we’re going to get to 7,000, it’s going to be because of the AI build out,” Brown told CNBC’s ” Halftime Report ” on Tuesday. “That is the only pillar holding up the US economic growth story right now.” The Ritholtz Wealth Management CEO made his comments in response to HSBC hiking its S & P 500 year-end target to 6,400 because of AI. The bank added that the broad market index can end the year at 7,000 in its bull case scenario, and fall to 5,700 in its bear case scenario. Indeed, AI stocks continue to power the market higher in spite of growing concerns the U.S. is headed for a recession, potentially even a stagflation scenario in which consumers experience higher inflation at the same time as they do lower economic growth. Those fears weighed on the major averages Tuesday, with all three indexes in negative territory after the the latest ISM data suggested there was weakness last month in the services sector. The soft figures comes on the heels of Friday’s dismal jobs report that showed significant revisions to prior months. And yet, AI-related names such as Palantir was a bright spot in the market. The stock jumped more than 6% in midday trading. “The companies that comprise all of the market cap in the S & P 100 and certainly the Nasdaq, that’s where the earnings growth is happening,” Brown said, adding, “Everything that has to do with cloud computing and data center, it’s on fire.” DISCLOSURES: None. All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. INVESTING INVOLVES RISK. EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC. ASSUMPTIONS MADE WITHIN THE ANALYSIS ARE NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC” TO THE END OF OR OUR DISCLOSURE. Click here for the full disclaimer.
The only path to 7,000 for the S&P 500 is through AI, Josh Brown says
