US Markets

Stocks still have further to drop but S&P will rally to 2,850 by year-end: Piper Jaffray

Key Points
  • The S&P 500 should end the year about 200 points higher from its current level, but not without first falling further, says Craig Johnson of Piper Jaffray.
  • Right now, Johnson says he's standing by waiting until the shakeout in the market is done.
  • He expects a pullback of another 300 points before the S&P turns around to rally back to 2,850.
Piper Jaffray calls for 2,850 on the S&P 500 by year-end
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Piper Jaffray calls for 2,850 on the S&P 500 by year-end

The S&P 500 should end the year about 200 points higher from its current level, but not without first falling further, said Craig Johnson, senior technical research analyst at Piper Jaffray.

"This kind of hop, drop and pop we've been looking for all year – the drop phase still needs to play out," he said Wednesday on CNBC's "Closing Bell."

The Dow Jones industrial average closed higher for the first time in six sessions Wednesday, recovering from sharp losses seen earlier in the day.

The also erased earlier declines, closing up 0.2 percent at 2,639.40.

Bukharova | Getty Images

Right now, Johnson said he's standing by waiting until the shakeout in the market is done.

"The market seems a little heavy, a little tired. I think you're going to get a pullback toward about 2,325, 2,350" on the S&P, he said.

That will then be the better entry point into the market, Johnson said.

He is predicting the S&P will then rally to 2,850 by year-end.

Jim Lacamp, senior portfolio manager at UBS, also thinks the market may see another sell-off.

"That would be healthy. It would shake out some of the weaker players," he said on "Closing Bell."

And he's not overly concerned about rising Treasury yields, which initially caused a sharp fall in stocks earlier Wednesday.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield traded at 3.03 percent on Wednesday after breaking above 3 percent for the first time since 2014 on Tuesday. Investors are worried rising borrowing costs may slow the economy and hurt companies' ability to buy back their own stock.

Lacamp said that while people are worried about a 3 percent yield, it is still attractive compared with other yields around the world.

Even if the Federal Reserve keeps raising rates, which could result the 10-year hitting 4.25 percent, it doesn't mean investors should run from stocks, he said.

"One of the reasons the Fed is able to do this is the global economic recovery. We have no recessions anywhere in developed markets around the world," Lacamp said.

— CNBC's Fred Imbert contributed to this report.

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