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Deutsche Bank analysts expect buyback volume to rise next year on the back of strong earnings and healthy balance sheets. Profit margins are in good shape and expected to remain so for the large US companies. The tax on buybacks may happen next year but a 1% tax rate is not expected to put a dent on the scale of buybacks. 

Top Wall Street strategists share their S&P 500 target for December 2022. The consensus is mixed but overall strategists expect the S&P 500 to end the year modestly higher at 4,725. Some sees a stronger tightening by the Fed which would like call for lower stock multiples, while some see continued strong earnings growth but a Fed that would not be pressured to raise rates too quickly as inflation pressures come down. The sentiment is that more inflation could hurt stocks. For this reason, some strategists are more constructive for the second part of next year as inflation could start coming down meaningfully then. In this year' forecasts strategists were overall too conservative a year ago as the S&P 500 advanced more than expected. 

Investor sentiment improved significantly according to CNN Money's Fear & Greed index. However, it remains slightly in fear territory overall, despite the S&P 500 closing at a new all time high. A few mega-cap stocks continue to lead major market indices higher. US markets are closed today. 

Stocks were volatile last week but it was not enough to deter investors according to Bank of America. It reported clients heavily bought equities last week, across their different client segments. Volumes are expected to be low today as we enter a quiet period of the years. Investors will be watching key US data: Core durable goods order, inflation data, and jobs data. The markets remains sensitive to a change in inflation & jobs data, which could in turn influence the Fed's policies.    

Risky assets have continued to rebound amid easing Omicron fears. News flow is encouraging. South Africans contracting the omicron variant in the current wave are 80% less likely to be hospitalized compared with other strains, according to a new study. United States regulators authorising Pfizer’s antiviral COVID-19 pill, Paxlovid, for high-risk people is also brightening the outlook. Number of daily cases continued to ramp up globally, but declining in South Africa.