60% of S&P 500 Stocks Carry Buy Ratings as US, Iran Halt Strikes

Nearly 60% of S&P 500 stocks now carry a Buy rating from Wall Street analysts, the highest level on record, after the United States and Iran agreed to halt strikes and ease geopolitical tensions.

The mix of record analyst optimism and cooling Middle East risk has reinforced bullish sentiment across US equities and other risk assets, including crypto.

Nearly 60% of S&P 500 stocks carry a Buy rating, the highest on record, strategist Charlie Bilello says. FactSet data put Buy ratings at 59.4% of analyst calls in June.

Hold ratings have slipped to 35.7%, and Sell calls sit at 4.9%, below their five-year average. Such Sell calls are structurally rare, since Wall Street analysts lean toward Buy and Hold.

Bilello, chief market strategist at Creative Planning, framed the optimism as a caution rather than a green light.

"When everyone is expecting good news, there's less room for positive surprises," He shared the view in late June.

Analyst optimism firmed as the US and Iran agreed to stop all "kinetic activity," according to Axios. They will meet Tuesday in Doha.

According to the report, U.S. officials said both sides will suspend hostilities for now, allowing commercial vessels to

Fuente original: Yahoo Finance (https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/60-p-500-stocks-carry-215900774.html)