Goldman Sachs revamps S&P 500 target for 2026
Rate cuts are coming, and that's good news for the S&P 500 . The question is: How big, and how good? The latest jobs data is bad enough to force the Fed off its seat and reduce interest rates for the first time since late 2024, when it cut its Fed Funds Rate by one percentage point. The labor market's weaknesses are widespread, reflecting increased unemployment , layoffs , and less hiring. The U.S. unemployment rate has climbed to 4.3% from 3.4% in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics . Layoffs in 2025 through August total 892,362 , up 66% year over year, according to Challenger, Gray, & Christmas. There were 7.2 million open, unfilled jobs available nationwide in July, down from above 12 million in 2022. Since encouraging low unemployment is one of the Federal Reserve 's mandates, most Wall Street analysts are convinced that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell ...