Morgan Stanley’s chief U.S. equity strategist Michael Wilson told clients the S&P 500 could reach 7,200 by mid-2026, lifting the bank’s medium-term outlook for U.S. equities. The projection implies a substantial advance from current levels and would mark a fresh record for the benchmark index. Wilson said a “rolling recovery” in corporate earnings, underpinned by solid earnings-per-share growth, should drive the move. He also pointed to supportive macro forces including wider adoption of artificial intelligence, a weaker U.S. dollar and the prospect of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts. Within this framework, Wilson highlighted industrial names such as Rockwell Automation, Eaton, Trane Technologies and Johnson Controls as likely winners from the expected upturn in capital spending and productivity.