It's America First for Stock Valuations

Wall Street has seized on a new reason for continued optimism in the correction-defying stock rally: coordinated global growth.

The recovery of the world economy has benefited stocks all year. But ever since the International Monetary Fund upgraded its growth estimates for nearly every developed economy except the U.S. earlier this month, Wall Street has settled on the the idea that the world's economies will create a powerful engine to turbocharge the bull market moving in the same direction. Last week, prominent strategist Tom Lee of Fundstrat Global Advisors, one of the most bearish on Wall Street, finally raised his target for the S&P 500 Index. The reason for the optimism? Tightening bond spreads, and, yes, stronger-than-expected global growth.