One of our favorite forecasters speaks up again <G>... ______________________________________________ Goldman's Cohen Sees S&P 500 on the Rise
Friday October 5, 9:36 am Eastern Time
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS - news) chief strategist Abby Joseph Cohen on Friday said she sees the Standard & Poor's 500 index (.SPX) rising as much as 33 percent by the end of next year.
Cohen, the closely watched strategist who is often identified with the late-1990s bull market, told clients in a research note she sees the index closing the 2002 year between 1,300 and 1,425. The index opened down 1.34 at 1,068.29 on Friday.
``This 15-month time horizon is longer than our usual 12-month period for rolling price targets,'' Cohen said. ''However, many clients have asked for this longer view, given the uncertainty now present in fundamental data and forecasts.''
Cohen's previously published forecast for September 2002 is 1,250 to 1,400 for the index.
The 15-month target reflects Cohen's view that a recovery in corporate profits will be evident by the middle of next year, and that investors will be less averse to risk.
Cohen recommended that investors hold 75 percent of their portfolio in stocks and 22 percent in bonds, with a 3 percent allocation to commodities. |