Piper Sandler's Johnson says the S&P will end the year at 6600

Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Sandler, says that for all of the tumult and headlines, he still believes the market shows signs that it will still reach 6600 on the Standard & Poor's 500, the level he was expecting at the start of the year. That's up by more than 15 percent from current levels. Johnson acknowledges that the voyage will remain more "noisy" than he expected, but he says conditions "are more normal than many people realize." As a result, he's almost fully invested, counting on making money by climbing the proverbial Wall of Worry. Danielle Poli, portfolio manager at Oaktree Capital Management, says the credit market is delivering returns that are close to the historic levels of equities, but says the current set-up is reminiscent of times in the early 2000s when credit "smoked" equities. With high-yield bonds earning around 8 percent and private credit showing significant demand, Poli says that while credit can be "a great place to hide out," investors can expect even more from it now. Poli says that credit can be more than just "a great place to hide out;" in talking with corporate executives, Poli says she now expects a slower economic environment, with the potential for higher inflation from tariffs, creating the kind of environment where "you're going to want to be in credit over equities." Plus Charles Rotblut, editor of AAII Journal, says the group's latest survey of investor sentiment is showing numbers "that you'd expect to see if there's a bad bull market," with uncertainty being priced into the market and into investor expectations. He also discusses an AAII Journal article highlighting the changing ways that investors are using cash in their portfolios.