JPMorgan is the most excited about these 3 areas of the stock market heading into 2026

• JPMorgan has a few ideas on where investors should look for opportunities heading into 2026.

• Strategists said they favor a barbell portfolio split between key sectors of the US market.

• The bank also sees opportunities in international stocks, particularly in banking, healthcare, and mining.

The stock market has been volatile in the fourth quarter, but strategists at JPMorgan said they believe it’s time for investors to strategically load up on stocks.

The bank is feeling optimistic on the outlook for equities through the end of the year, following a weak November for the broader market as investors wrestled with concerns about the AI trade and questioned the path of Fed rate cuts.

But the market has a handful of key catalysts that should carry stock prices higher into early next year, according to Andrew Tyler and Federico Manicardi, two leading strategists on JPMorgan’s market intelligence desk.

Here’s what’s driving the market:

• Strong US outlook. Despite signs of weakness in the job market, the US economy looks to be on strong footing overall. Consumers, which account for two-thirds of GDP, look to be in a “healthy position” from a debt perspective, Tyler said. Meanwhile, there are no signs that a weaker labor market is a “significant risk” to the broader economy in the near-term, he added. The economy is expected to have grown by 3.9% year-over-year in the third quarter, according to the latest estimate from the Atlanta Fed GDPNow tool.

• Corporate earnings. Companies have posted consistently strong financial results. Of the S&P 500 firms that have reported earnings for the third quarter, 83% have beaten analysts’ estimates. The index is also on track to report its highest revenue growth in three years, according to the latest update from FactSet.

• Ebbing tariff concerns. The tariffs that President Donald Trump announced in April are shaping up to be better than markets originally feared. The US’s average effective tariff rate has declined steadily throughout the year, a trend that’s expected to continue into 2026, Tyler said.

• Strong international outlook. The outlook for international stocks also looks promising next year, Manicardi said. China’s economy, for instance, looks like it’s in an “early stage of recovery” from its recent downturn. Economic activity is also revving up across Europe.

“We are tactically bullish, and we look for markets to rally into early 2026,” Tyler said.

The team said it favored a barbell portfolio, a strategy where investors largely split their portfolio between high- and low-risk assets. That can allow investors to chase some high-yielding investments, while having downside protection should markets swing in the other direction.