Dow Jones: Year and Policy Uncertainty

dow jones: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, 0.19% meanwhile, has been not far behind; it's up 16.5% since the start of 2019, according to Market Watch. But with the S&500 already sitting comfortably above many strategists' year-end targets, some analysts and investors are approaching the rest of the year cautiously, as rising valuations, policy uncertainty and economic weakness abroad raise questions as to how long the stock market can keep up its torrid pace. The S&P 500's SPX, 0.74% nearly 21% advance year-to-date marks the best run for the index through July 26 since 1997, according to Dow Jones Market Data, and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, 1.11% as had an even better run, up 25.5% on the year. I thought 2,950 would be a ceiling for this year, and we are already higher than it, Bob Doll, chief equity strategist and senior portfolio manager at Nuveen, told Market Watch, predicting the market will go nowhere in the second half. While second-quarter GDP growth reflects a slowing but healthy U.S. economy, data abroad show a worsening slowdown, which will likely affect U.S. markets one way or another. Price-to-earnings ratios have gone from 13 to 17.4, and earnings estimates are still too high for next year, Doll said, adding that higher valuations and future reductions in earnings estimates will be headwinds for stocks in the second half, along with a Federal Reserve policy that he predicts will be more hawkish than the market expects, unless a more damaging economic downturn materializes. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.