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Wall Street’s biggest forecasters are calling for another double-digit climb in 2026, with the latest CNBC Market Strategist Survey showing broad confidence that the bull run has more room.

On average, strategists think the S&P 500 can finish next year at 7,629, which works out to about 11.6% upside from where the index is trading now. The median target comes in slightly higher at 7,650, implying a roughly 13% move if momentum holds.

These expectations are noticeably stronger than what the street predicted at the start of this year, and 2025 has shattered nearly every projection anyway. The S&P 500 is closing in on a rare three-peat, after gaining 24% in 2023 and 23% in 2024.

As of Friday’s close, the index is up more than 15% for 2025 and has already pushed past 6,900 for the first time, brushing off tariff worries and nonstop talk about an AI bubble.

Fundstrat’s Tom Lee summed up the tone in a note earlier this month, saying the market’s still-thick “Wall of Worry” is acting as fuel rather than friction.

After three straight years of 20%-plus gains, he argued the bull market is still alive and feeding off the same mix of skepticism, positioning gaps, and tech-driven momentum that’s defined the last stretch of this cycle.

The S&P 500 opened the shortened holiday stretch on a stronger note Monday, rising 0.6% as tech names pulled the broader market higher.

The Dow added 228 points, about 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6%, keeping the spotlight firmly on the sector that’s been steering most of the year’s momentum.

AI-linked stocks did the heavy lifting. Nvidia gained more than 1% after Reuters reported the company plans to start shipping its H200 chips to China by mid-February, a timeline traders have been trying to nail down for weeks.

Micron rallied roughly 4%, and Oracle traded more than 3% higher as investors continued crowding into names tied directly to enterprise spending and model-training demand.

Monday’s bounce followed a mixed week for the major averages. A late surge in tech helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq log their third winning week in four, while the Dow, which has been outperforming through December, broke a three-week run.

The real question hanging over today’s move is whether AI stocks can keep their leadership into year-end.

Some investors are rotating into cheaper corners of the market as valuation worries heat up again, while others doubt whether a Santa Claus rally actually shows up this year with the S&P 500 struggling to hold a key technical level traders have been watching.

Asia-Pacific stocks moved broadly higher on Monday after China’s central bank left its key lending rates unchanged for a seventh straight meeting.

The People’s Bank of China kept the 1-year loan prime rate at 3% and the 5-year rate at 3.5%, matching expectations from a Reuters survey.

The one-year benchmark guides most business and consumer loans, while the five-year rate anchors mortgages, so investors read today’s hold as a sign that Beijing is sticking with its slow-and-steady easing stance.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.55%, while the mainland CSI 300 climbed 0.95% to finish at 4,611.62, catching a bit of relief after last week’s choppy sessions.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.91% higher at 8,699.90, helped by gains across miners and banks. Shanghai’s benchmark index edged up 0.69% to 3,917.364.

Japan saw one of the stronger moves in the region. The Nikkei 225 jumped 1.81% to 50,402.39, and the Topix added 0.64% to 3,405.17, with traders still processing the Bank of Japan’s decision last Friday to lift its policy rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%, the highest level Japan has seen in thirty years.

South Korea posted the day’s standout performance. The Kospi surged 2.12% to 4,105.93, and the Kosdaq pushed 1.52% higher to 929.14, extending the momentum that’s been building across the region as global investors rotate back into Asia ahead of year-end.