Several prominent Wall Street figures publicly warned about US economic and market risks in comments made around bank earnings releases and an Anthropic investor meeting. Baird technology strategist Ted Mortonson said investors were beginning to tire of the chipmaker-linked trade. Our own measurement showed the S&P 500 at 7,659.44 points at the close of 16 October 2026, down 1.09 percent from the previous close.
Yardeni Research cut its year-end index forecast from 8,400 points to 7,900 points. The firm also lowered its price-to-earnings assumption from 19.8 to 16.6, while keeping its 2027 earnings forecast for S&P 500 companies at 425 dollars per share. Ed Yardeni said his concern was stock valuations rather than corporate earnings. Yardeni Research said risk aversion arising in mid-September would likely persist, and it does not expect a recession before 2029.
Deficits, inflation and rates
JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon said the US economy continued to be driven by strong business investment and consumer spending. Underneath, he pointed to large government budget deficits, persistent inflation, inflated asset prices, rising interest rates and geopolitical tensions. He described the situation as manageable, but said the bank remained prepared for a wide range of scenarios.
BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink said data-centre demand and government deficits were competing for capital, raising borrowing costs. He argued that a moratorium on data centres would push the country into recession, adding that the facilities were not a problem and created more jobs than ever.
Oil and the Iran conflict
Investor Paul Tudor Jones said oil could rise by another 20 or 25 dollars amid the US-Iran conflict. He said he was long oil.
Related: Wall Street's VIX jumps 34.8% as tech shares tumble · Wall Street slips as big banks post mixed third-quarter results
Source: Yardeni Research | Data: S&P Dow Jones Indices
