Hillary Clinton remains the front runner for the Democratic nomination, but she has yet to solidify her polling numbers. The GOP race remains almost impossible to predict.
Looking Ahead to 2016
Our 2016 predictions will be available in early January, but we can offer some broad themes about how the year might progress. We think global economic growth will slowly improve and expect inflation will start to move higher. Oil prices should stabilize, although will probably remain range-bound. The U.S. dollar should continue its advance, but at a more moderate pace. The key variable for equities will probably be the earnings backdrop. Corporate earnings have been under pressure throughout 2015, and we think improvements in revenues and profits are needed for equity prices to advance. This should be possible as long as economic growth holds up, although results are likely to be uneven. This means 2016 is likely another year in which investment selectivity is critical.
Robert C. Doll, CFA, is senior portfolio manager and chief equity strategist at Nuveen Asset Management.