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Why it’s impossible to predict the stock market in 2023

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 02: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning tradingon December 02, 2022 in New York City. Stocks opened low this morning and are expected to rise after the release of the November jobs report that showed 263,000 jobs added in the month amid the surging rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.   Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Michael M. Santiago / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

It is simply impossible to forecast the path of the markets six months or a year ahead with accuracy and consistency, says the writer.

PHOTO: AFP

Jeff Sommer

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The Federal Reserve

raised interest rates again

after reports that the annual rate of inflation, though still painfully high, dropped a bit in November, to 7.1 per cent from 7.7 per cent in October.

If you want to know what these and other economic developments mean for the stock market in the year ahead, there are plenty of forecasts coming out of Wall Street. It is December, after all, when investment strategists gear up and produce earnest, specific forecasts for where the S&P 500 will be at the end of 2023.

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