(Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has effectively bowed to pressure from the continuing rally in U.S. stocks and abandoned its call for another steep sell-off.Strategists led by David Kostin have rolled back their prediction that the S&P 500 would slump to the 2,400 level — over 20% below Friday’s 3,044 close — and now see downside risks capped at 2,750. The U.S. equity benchmark could even rally further to 3,200, they wrote in a May 29 note.“The powerful rebound means our previous three-month target of 2,400 is unlikely to be realized,” the strategists wrote. “Monetary and fiscal policy support limit likely downside to roughly 10%. Investor positioning has oscillated between neutral and low and is a possible 5% upside catalyst.”The shift came just after JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s strategists shifted in the other direction — reining in their bullish outlook. JPMorgan’s Marko Kolanovic warned about rising U.S.-China tensions in a note May 28.JPMorgan’s Kolanovic Dials Back Bullish Stance on EquitiesGoldman’s strategists maintained their year-end target of 3,000 for the benchmark U.S. stock gauge.Goldman continues to argue that short-term returns are skewed to the downside — “or neutral at best” — thanks to the risk of an economic, earnings, trade or political “hiccup” to the normalization trend. A broader participation in the rally would be needed for the S&P 500 to move meaningfully higher.The S&P 500 has climbed 36% from its March 23 low, helped by massive fiscal and monetary support, mega-cap outperformance and optimism about the economy restarting, according to Goldman. Last month it argued fear of missing out was a key driver of the rebound in stocks.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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Hong Kong’s stock market surged more than 3% and other global markets also gained Monday after President Donald Trump avoided reigniting a trade war with China amid tension over Hong Kong and the coronavirus pandemic. Global markets sank Friday as investors waited for Trump’s response to Beijing’s security law on Hong Kong.

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Nordstrom (JWN) reported its quarterly earnings on Friday, and the results were grim. Net sales dropped 40%, worse than the 33% decline expected by analysts.The company recorded an operating loss of $521 million for the quarter for a loss per share of $2.23. This represented a decrease from net earnings of $37 million during the same period in fiscal 2019, and fell starkly short of Street expectations of a $0.95 loss per share for the quarter. Its shares closed on Friday at $16.13, down more than 12% for the day.Nordstrom shuttered all of its stores on March 17. Some reopened in early May, while those in its key markets—California, New York and Washington—remain closed. Disappointingly, Nordstrom reported online-sales growth of only 5% in the quarter. As a result, Nordstrom reported that its SG&A expenses ballooned to 55% of net sales, compared with 34% of net sales for the same period in fiscal 2019.The family-run retailer started the year well, experiencing sales growth in the fourth quarter after four consecutive quarters of negative year-over-year sales growth. It seemed that investments in e-commerce and a cautious approach to physical stores had helped Nordstrom stay ahead of the department store pack.Nordstrom Rack — Nordstrom's off-price unit — posted particularly weak numbers, partly because it initially was not able to to fulfill online sales through its stores. That capability was enabled by mid-April. Nordstrom's reported that at the Nordstrom Rack locations that have reopened, sales have exceeded expectations thus far.Even prior to Friday, it had been a brutal year for Nordstrom stock, having already dropped 56% year to date through Thursday. Analysts have a Moderate Sell consensus on Nordstrom and an average price target of $21 a share, although the poor results Nordstrom exhibited in the last quarter has pulled down the most recent price targets.On Friday Jay Sole of UBS pulled down his price target to just $12. Nevertheless, the current price target of $21 represents 30% upside potential over the next 12 months. (See Nordstrom stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Papa John’s U.S. Pizza Sales Jump 33.5%; Shares Pop 7% In Pre-Market Boeing Gets No Orders in April, Customers Cancel 737 MAX Jets Alibaba Scores Earnings Beat With Revenue Surging 22% Y/Y More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Google Delays Rollout Of Android Beta Version Amid U.S. Protests * Facebook Holds ‘Productive’ Call With Trump, As Social Media War Rages On * Chevron to Make Sweeping Job Cuts as Oil Demand Plummets * Google Mulling Purchase of Stake in Indian Vodafone Idea

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