Factbox-From trend to mainstay: AI to cement its place at the core of 2026 investment strategies

Dec 16 (Reuters) – Artificial intelligence is expected to remain the centerpiece of investment strategies, global brokerages outlined in their outlook for 2026, ‍with the benchmark S&P 500 index on pace to post another year of gains.

“We think fears of a collapse in the AI narrative are overdone and expect economic expansion to continue for yet another year,” ‌Barclays strategists said.

Still, risks loom: inflation ‌surprises, lofty valuations and tariff tensions could spark corrections, even as analysts bet on AI and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary policy easing to keep the bull ​market alive.

Strategists predict global economic growth to be resilient. Global GDP is expected to grow ‍between 2.4% and 3.3%, as ​per estimates.

The benchmark index will climb ​nearly 12% to 7,490 by end-2026, marking a fourth ‍straight year of advances if 2025 closes higher, according to a Reuters poll.

Following are forecasts from some top brokerages on economic growth and the performance of U.S. stocks in 2026:

Forecasts for ‍stocks:

Brokerage 2026 S&P 500 index target

BofA Global Research 7,100

Societe Generale 7,300

Barclays 7,400

UBS Global Research 7,500

Jefferies 7,500

HSBC 7,500

J.P.Morgan 7,500

Canaccord Genuity 7,500

BNP Paribas 7,500

Citigroup 7,700

UBS Global Wealth Management 7,700

Evercore ISI 7,750

Morgan Stanley 7,800

Seaport Research Partners 7,800

Deutsche ‍Bank 8,000

Oppenheimer Asset ‍Management 8,100

Wells Fargo Investment Institute 7,400-7,600

Real GDP Growth:

Brokerage GLOBAL U.S. EURO ​AREA UK

Citigroup 2.6% 1.9% 0.8% 1.0%

Goldman Sachs 2.8% 2.3% 1.3% 1.1%

Morgan Stanley 3.2% 1.8% 1.1% 1.2%

TD Securities 2.8% 2.0% 0.8% 1.0%

Wells Fargo 2.8% 2.3% 1.2% 1.2%

UBS Global ​Wealth 3.1% 1.7% 1.1% 1.1%

Management

Deutsche ⁠Bank 3.1% 2.4% 1.1% 1.2%

HSBC 2.4% 1.7% 1.0% 1.2%

J.P.Morgan 2.5% 2.0% 1.3% 0.9%

BofA Global Research 3.3% 2.4% 1.0% 1.1%

UBS Global Research 3.1% 1.7% 1.1% 1.1%

* UBS ‌Global Research and UBS Global Wealth Management are distinct, independent divisions in UBS Group

* Wells Fargo Investment Institute is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank

(Compiled by the Broker Research team in Bengaluru; Editing by ⁠Sriraj Kalluvila)