Wall Street pros were bullish for 2021, just not bullish enough

Strategists have underestimated S&P 500 rally, see tepid 2022

It was another tough week in a brutal year for bears. Despite being right about many aspects of inflation, monetary policy and the persistence of the coronavirus, equity bears who were expecting anything to put a meaningful brake on the stock market were again denied. 

Investors limped into the week amid incontrovertible evidence price pressures are building in the economy amid a market rally that has sent the S&P 500 up 25% in 2021. Then retail sales jumped the most in seven months, Home Depot Inc. posted stellar results and regional manufacturing measures soared past forecasts. Barely a week after the