Economists at the US banking giant Wells Fargo are suddenly hiking their year-end S&P 500 target.

Wells Fargo is now forecasting the S&P 500 will close out the year at 7,950, up from its previous prediction of 7,300, a nearly 9% increase, reports Reuters.

The bank’s economists site three main factors for the index hike forecast: stronger corporate earnings, the U.S.-Iran interim deal easing macroeconomic risks and a recent market pullback.

Wells Fargo says the recent sell-off in the market has cooled investor sentiment, setting the stage for further upside.

“Sentiment has reset, providing room for upside in the AI trade. Hyperscalers’ race to raise capital is also a big tailwind for semis and infra.”

In a note to investors, the brokerage increased this year’s prediction for the S&P 500 earnings per share (eps) to $340 from $315, a nearly 8% increase. Wells Fargo also raised its eps in 2027 to $390 from $365.

The economists say the significant risk in the market outlook is the general increase in the prices of goods and services.

Says Wells Fargo,

“We continue to see inflation as the biggest risk to stocks, but only if the Fed were to react. A potential ‘run it hot, inflate out’ policy is bullish, and we expect stocks will be the best inflation hedge in that backdrop.”

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Wells Fargo’s brokerage, investing and financial advisory arm is issuing a warning on the artificial intelligence (AI) and information technology (IT) sector following a significant rally over the past couple of weeks.

In a new investment strategy note, Wells Fargo Advisors says that while the prospects of the AI and IT sector remain “favorable”, the sector has gone up by around 37% since May 29th relative to 17% for the S&P 500 index, making it relatively unattractive for investors. According to Wells Fargo Advisors, there are other sectors that offer better opportunities.

“We suggest the consideration of rebalancing into ancillary sectors with more attractive valuations, such as Financials, Industrials, and Utilities.”

Wells Fargo Advisors says that one of the reasons why the AI and IT sector is currently relatively unattractive includes the massive initial public offerings (IPOs) slated for this year.

“History indicates that large IPO issuance occurs during periods of strong equity market sentiment, but the added equity supply can cause some indigestion. Household equity exposure already sits close to an all-time high, which suggests they may sell existing holdings to fund these new positions. Combined with the ongoing geopolitical tensions and the upcoming midterm elections, it could be one more reason for markets to display greater choppiness in the second half.”

According to Wells Fargo Advisors, the upcoming large IPOs, including SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic’s, might impact the rest of the stock market negatively.

“Mega-cap IPOs may force index providers to adjust methodologies, requiring index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to add new constituents. This can trigger buying pressure and temporarily drive up IPO valuations. It could also drain liquidity from other areas of the market, and increase concentration within major indexes.”

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The brokerage, investing and financial advisory arm of Wells Fargo is highlighting one market sector that could benefit immensely from growing investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers.

Wells Fargo Advisors says that the current stock market performance is being driven by investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers. According to Wells Fargo Advisors, utilities are one of the key beneficiaries of this burgeoning investment.

“As a key supplier in the data center landscape, the Utilities sector is riding this demand wave and has produced strong returns, a trend we expect to continue.”

Wells Fargo Advisors says that electric utilities are “likely to see the greatest data center benefit” relative to other subsectors.

“As owners of power generation and distribution assets, utilities — electric utilities in particular — stand to benefit from this long-term infrastructure buildout. In fact, many have already raised long-term annual earnings growth outlooks into the high-single- to low-double-digit range. When paired with 2% to 3% dividend yields, this supports attractive total return prospects, in our view.”

Besides electric utilities, Wells Fargo Advisors says other utility subsectors are also going to benefit, but on a reduced scale.

“Electric utilities, however, do not have a monopoly on data center power demand. Natural gas distributors (also utilities), producers (energy companies), and pipeline operators are also benefiting by supplying fuel or building on-site power generation at data center campuses.”

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