NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Goldman Sachs strategist Abby Joseph Cohen said Thursday that concerns about the weakening euro and soaring energy prices -- which sent U.S. stocks tumbling this month -- are "overdone."
In a note to clients, the influential analyst said the U.S. economy remains in good shape. She dismissed some of the fears that have helped push all the major stock indexes lower for the year.
"We believe these worries will be short-lived," Cohen wrote in a note published Thursday. "The intermediate and long-term view remains bright."
In point-by-point fashion, Cohen addressed a series of hurdles from oil prices to the euro that have plagued Wall Street.
Oil prices have surged to their highest levels in ten years, raising costs for business and consumers. But Cohen forecasts the high prices will fade in the months ahead.
At the same time, the euro has lost more than 20 percent of its value, crimping profits of American companies with European operations. Here, too, Cohen said the worst could be over for the euro, which "is likely to regain some of its lost value in the months ahead."
Goldman's comments, often market moving, may have had some market effect early Thursday, as the Dow Jones industrial average edged higher.
For most of the year, Cohen has been forecasting gains for U.S. stocks much smaller than those of years past. On Thursday, she kept her year-end targets for the S&P 500 at 1,575, the same level as she projected when the year began. That would be up 8.5 percent from Wednesday's close.
Cohen also made no changes to the firm's model investment portfolio of 65 percent stocks, 27 percent bonds, 3 percent commodities and 5 percent cash.
The Goldman strategist also made a nod to market history, noting that stocks typically fall in September -- only to rise by year-end.
"The so-called January rally has been a Thanksgiving event in the United States for the past decade," Cohen said.
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