NEW YORK (Reuters) — With a miserable first half for the stock market now in the history books, investors are assessing whether the U.S. economy can avoid a significant downturn as the Federal Reserve raises rates to fight the worst inflation in decades.
The answer to that question stands to have a direct impact on markets. Strategists say an economic slump coupled with weak corporate earnings could push the S&P 500 lower by at least another 10%, compounding losses that have already pushed the benchmark index down 18% year-to-date.
Conversely, in a scenario that includes solid profit increases and moderating inflation, stocks could bounce to around where they started the year, according to some analysts’ price targets.
For now, “investors are anticipating that we are seeing a slowdown,” said Lindsey…
