Strategist Favors Tech, Financials, Industrials with 15%-18% Upside as S&P 500 Wavers

As the S&P 500 consolidates in a tight range, its recent three-day losing streak is not a warning sign. Carson Group recently raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 to a 15%-18% gain. Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick says investors must buy technology, financial, and industrial sectors to profit from unstoppable economic growth.

Tech's Trillion-Dollar Tailwind

Among his top three sector picks, technology remains Detrick's primary overweight position, driven by an expected $1 trillion in capital expenditures from major hyperscale cloud companies by 2027.

On the 100th episode of the Full Signal podcast, co-hosted with Phil Rosen, Detrick said investors who diversified their tech holdings—such as buying semiconductor ETFs like the VanEck Semiconductor ETF—reaped substantial returns even during temporary stalls in the "Magnificent Seven."

Detrick highlighted the massive circular spending ecosystem driving the sector. He noted that tech giants like Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. are generating huge profits from investments in private firms such as Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and Anthropic, even as peers like Meta Platforms Inc. face rising Wall Street expectations.

"If the market purely loses tech leadership, it's hard to be bullish," he warned, emphasizing that tech remains an essential pillar of portfolios.

Financials and Industrials Break Out

To capture broader economic upside in the second half of the year, Detrick strongly recommends buying cyclical sectors—specifically financials and industrials.

Bank stocks have surged, with the State Street SPDR S&P Bank ETF, tracking the S&P Bank Index, breaking above levels not seen since 2007. From community and regional banks to global majors, Detrick called this 19-year breakout a massive confirmation that the bull market is "alive and well."

Meanwhile, industrials have the highest correlation with the broader stock market. Given the sector's highly diversified roster of companies from 3M Co. to Uber Technologies Inc., Detrick called it "a decent pseudo way to get exposure to an economy" that could continue to outperform expectations.

Back to a "Normal Bull Market"

Despite summer volatility and a sharp rotation out of momentum stocks, Detrick remains firmly bullish on equities. He explained that after a 16% rally in April and May, the S&P 500 is merely "correcting through time" rather than undergoing a steep price decline.

"We're back to a normal bull market," Detrick said, defending Carson Group's bullish stance on its $8 billion in assets under management. He expects the Federal Reserve to "go full throttle," avoiding rate hikes this year while letting the strong economy continue to advance.

How Is the Market Performing in 2026?

The S&P 500 index is up 12.15% year-to-date. Similarly, the Nasdaq Composite is up 17.00%, and the Dow Jones is up 10.25% year-to-date.

On Tuesday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF, tracking the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, closed lower. SPY fell 0.68% to $767.45, and QQQ fell 1.69% to $717.51. Meanwhile, the State Street SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust closed down 0.24% to $532.91 on Tuesday.

In Wednesday pre-market trading, SPY was up 0.023%, QQQ was down 0.20%, and DIA was up 0.083%.