China Remains a Risk But U.S. Consumer Will Still Lead Stocks Higher

The market will likely finish higher for the year led by technology and healthcare shares. Nevertheless, stocks could continue to see near term pressure until oil prices and China stabilize, said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Investments. 'We believe the economy is in sound shape here,' said Gayle. 'We think the consumer is stronger in 2016 not weaker, and so ultimately the underlying fundamentals for the economy remain good. We think profits are going to gain traction and that will lead to higher stock prices.' Gayle said absolute equity valuations remain reasonable and are attractive relative to bonds. He added that macro momentum has slowed in recent months and investor confidence has waned as Wall Street struggles to compute the impact of falling oil prices. Oil appears to have become a proxy for global economic strength and is often the culprit for market weakness, according to Gayle. Low oil prices are positive for the U.S. consumer, of course, and Gayle said he remains positive on the consumer who continues to recover from the setbacks of the financial crisis.