US stocks should notch a fifth straight year of gains in 2007, helped by new optimism about the economy's strength and the prospect for corporate profits, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
The survey of 21 money managers and strategists gave a median end-2007 forecast of 1,590 points for the Standard & Poor's 500 index, which would mark a new record, and a gain of 6.2 percent from Monday's close of 1,497.74. On the year, that would add up to a hefty 12.1 percent rise, just behind the 13.6 percent gain in 2006.
The median forecast showed the Dow Jones industrial average at the next psychological hurdle of 14,000 by year-end, up 4.9 percent from Monday's close of 13,352.05, making a 12.3 percent rise on the year. That is much higher than the year-end forecast of 13,250 in the March poll.