S&P 500 to reach “new high by year end”

Markets were mostly lower on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent and the STOXX Europe 600 fell 1.1 percent. However, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.9 percent.

Inflation concerns were renewed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report showed that businesses are experiencing rising inflation even as growth moderated.

“Equities are likely to have a pullback at some point, likely driven by another reset in real yields higher, but other tailwinds should drive the S&P 500 to a new high by year end,” UBS told clients on Wednesday.

Indeed, Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, wrote in a CNN article that while the Delta variant of COVID-19 “weighs on the economic recovery, odds remain good that it won't short-circuit it”.