• Investors are still divided on the trajectory of the stock market in 2022.
• While some believe the market will continue to recover, others say a pullback is inevitable.
• Insider rounded up the 2022 forecast from strategists at Wall Street’s top companies.

After two historically volatile years, the S&P 500 should be commended for making one of the biggest returns in stock market history.

Last March, as fears materialized around a new strain of coronavirus, the S&P 500 plunged below 2,500. But since then it has seen a tear to the upside, with the index gaining nearly 27% since the start of the year and breaking many records along the way.

Yet the year was not without its share of tensions. Dizzying inflation, global supply chain bottlenecks, emerging variants of COVID-19, and fears of a stock market crash have all been factors that overwhelmed investors in 2021 and will likely continue to weigh in. on shares in the near future.

Despite these overwhelming hurdles, investors are still divided on the trajectory of the stock market heading into next year. Many are optimistic, believing that continued consumer demand, strong household savings and “a positive economic environment” will further increase equity gains. Others are more bearish, signaling fears of “dangerously overvalued” stock prices and predicting that the Fed’s tapering will inevitably lead to a market reversal.

Below is a summary of the S&P 500 forecast for the end of 2022 for the 10 biggest companies on Wall Street. These forecasts are ranked from most bullish to most bearish, and include comments from each bank, as well as investment recommendations.

Of the ten investment banks, eight predicted market gains: Bank of Montreal, Wells Fargo, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Royal Bank of Canada, Jefferies and UBS. Meanwhile, only two losses predict: Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. The S&P 500’s forecast for the end of the year 2022 ranged from 4,400 (a loss of 5% from Tuesday’s close of 4,649) to 5,300 (a gain of 14%).