Surveillance: Can Stocks Keep Rallying During a 'Growth Recession?’

As the second half gets underway, can equities keep climbing when growth is below potential?

Pimco’s Tony Crescenzi says the US is in a “growth recession.” What will that mean for the stock market as the second half begins?

Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

Here we are, the second half of 2023. After the S&P 500 surged 16% in the first six months of the year, and the all-powerful Nasdaq 100 roared ahead by over twice that percentage, the question of course is: Where do we go from here?

Will all the traders who were a little too fearful decide it's now or never and pile into stocks, pushing the equity rally pedal down still harder, and perhaps more broadly, beyond the tech-fueled gains?