https://seekingalpha.com/article/4747696-sp500-2025-outlook-prepare-for-largest-correction-in-2-years Jan. 05, 2025 4:00 PM ET. Andrew McElroy SummarySentiment has shifted bullish, with analysts predicting higher S&P500 targets. Extreme long positions and buyer exhaustion signals suggest caution.Economic growth is modest at 2.1%, with earnings growth driven by lower taxes and margins, but high valuations limit upside potential.Technical analysis indicates a likely correction with a target of 5100 in H1 2025.Overall, 2025 may see the largest decline since 2022, with potential for a significant downturn if bearish trends develop further. This article looks at 3 key areas driving prices in the S&P500 (SPY) in 2025 and uses the evidence to formulate an outlook for the first half of the year.Sentiment and PositioningThe SPY closed 2024 at 5,881 with a 23.3% gain, higher than most expected. At the beginning of the year, many analysts forecasted a decline for the S&P500, and none expected 6000 to be exceeded. Here are a few highlights of Wall Street EOY targets for 2024:JPMorgan (JPM) 4,200Morgan Stanley (MS) 4,500Wells Fargo (WFC) 4,625Citi (C), Goldman Sachs (GS) 5,100Yardeni 5,400Capital Economics 5,500Sentiment has clearly changed this year and the predictions are more bullish. The average of 23 analyst estimates is 6,539, while 4 analysts expect 7,000 or more. Only 1 firm expects the S&P500 to close lower.I find the changes in JPM and WFC interesting. JPM predicted 4,200 last year and are now expecting 6,500, a change of 55%. While this doesn't have any predictive value in itself, previous bears turning bullish does ring alarm bells. And it's not just the calls that are bullish - markets are positioning for these anticipated gains. Households' (retail) stock allocation as a percentage of financial assets is also at a record high. Investors are pretty much all-in in stocks. This is supported by the higher-timeframe exhaustion I pointed out a few weeks back. These signals are due to come into effect in Q1 and highlight buyer exhaustion. As Tom Demark stated in his studies on trend exhaustion, "Markets top not because of smart sellers, but because the last buyer has bought." This is one reason why markets often top on or after good news.The Economy and EarningsDonald Trump’s proposed America First policies are expected to boost US growth. However, that does not necessarily mean there will be strong growth. The Fed revised its economic projections higher in December, but only by 0.1% to 2.1% in 2025. One of the issues for stocks is that the Fed have signaled they will keep rates steady to keep a lid on growth. There is therefore little scope for upside surprises in the economy.With 2.1% GDP growth as a backdrop, S&P500 earnings are estimated to rise 16.6% to $270 by YE '25 in the S&P's forecast. Much of this growth is expected to come from lower corporate tax rates and higher margins due to less regulation. Even if this growth were to be achieved, stock valuations in a high-rate environment would be way above normal. Multiples are not likely to expand further so the projected 16% earnings growth will either lower some of the stretched valuation metrics if the S&P500 stays steady or allow it to grow 16% and keep the same high multiples. After observing many macro and fundamental analysts get recession calls wrong every year for the last 3 years, it seems they have herded together with bullish calls on the economy. It would be very risky for them to go against consensus and be wrong again.Thankfully, I don't need to make a forecast and can react to incoming data. Simply watching the unemployment rate (needs to stay below 4.5%) and unemployment claims (no sustained readings above 250k) is enough of a signal to know the economy is in no imminent danger. However, I do see the potential for this to change and find it interesting that the indicator with a 100% record of calling recessions is now triggering just when the majority are looking the other way. Remember the signal comes from the un-inversion of the 10Y-3M, not the initial inversion. TechnicalsThere are two general areas of technical analysis: predictive and reactive. A forward-looking 2025 outlook relies on predictive technical analysis and can be achieved through various signals, seasonality, fractals, and Elliott Wave. In terms of signals, I only really use Demark exhaustion signals as outlined earlier. In terms of seasonality, it is worth noting where we stand in the 4-year election cycle. Weakness is likely in the first half of the year, and the second half of the year is likely to be strong (er). Elliott Wave supports this view. The trend starting at the August low is likely complete as the channel has broken, as have the 20sma and 50sma. The "top" of 6100 came just 18 points shy of my long-standing target of 6118 which is where the 2022-2024 rally would have been equal in size to the 2020-2022 rally. There is also a good chance the trend starting at the 2022 low is complete as shown by the weekly chart. If this larger trend is indeed finished, it implies a large correction should unfold. This should be larger than the corrections within the trend (i.e. July '23 and August '24) and target at least the 23% Fibonacci retrace at 5484. That is around 10% from the 6100 high and would be very near the average annual decline of 14%. 5484 is the minimum expectation, but the 38% Fib retrace at 5103, near the lows of August, looks like a much better spot to buy and is my call for an H1 low. Whether this move will mark the low of the year for further highs or is part of a larger correction depends on the trend from the 2009 low and even as far back as the 1932 low. The chart below suggests the century-long super-cycle beginning after the 1929 crash is nearing an end. This would project a return to the GFC range in a wave 4 correction that could last decades. The implications are scary. Will the debt bubble finally implode?Perhaps, but there are valid alternatives and I'm not yet convinced the trend is over. If the count is wrong in this timescale, you risk spending the next 10 years, or more, on the wrong side of the market for the sake of one small wave on a chart.My longer-term holdings were bought in 2022 (and a handful from 2020) and I plan on closing them gradually because the trend starting at the 2022 low looks like it is completing. Whether I buy them back in 2025 will depend on how the market corrects, where it corrects, and other evidence.This is where reactive TA comes in. My regular weekend articles look at how the market moves and acts to make probabilistic calls for the next week or month. How each bar forms in different timeframes is a factor. Additionally, Elliott Wave looks at the structure of moves and allows us to act as they unfold. Whether the moves are in 5-leg trend sequences or 3-leg correctional sequences has predictive value for the next move. Therefore, if the S&P500 makes a 5-leg trend lower below 5500 in Q1, I will look for a bounce but only to a lower high to set up another proportional leg lower. If the move is a clear 3-leg correctional move, I may buy for new highs.In essence, then, this 2025 outlook only looks ahead to the first part of the year. For now, my call is for 5100 to be tested in the first half of the year where I will re-assess based on the same factors outlined above; sentiment/positioning, economy/earnings, and technicals.ConclusionsAnalyst 2025 outlooks look overly optimistic, and previous bears have turned bullish just when the 10Y-3M yield spread is un-inverting and the unemployment rate is rising. Furthermore, long positions are reaching extreme levels and triggering buyer exhaustion signals. From a cyclical perspective, the S&P 500's recovery since the 2022 low appears to be nearing its peak, and this could also signal the end of longer-term trends.Considering all these factors, 2025 is likely to experience the largest decline since 2022, potentially evolving into something much more significant if trend starts forming lower and there is further bearish evidence.