RBC's Dickey: Future Looks More Promising Than Year We Just Had

In a new note, RBC Wealth Management's Bob Dickey discussed the technical outlook of the S&P 500 INDEX

and what other analysts are saying. "It is interesting to note that for most market predictors, a near-zero forecast is about as low as they will go," Dickey wrote, "unless there is an obvious recession or bear market already in progress, which there isn't." Before the start of 2015, average predictions called for a 10 to 15 percent gain, he added. "We have often seen how the consensus opinion can be wrong, as the forecast is being made within the current news backdrop, which really offers little clue as to what the news will be a year from now," Dickey argued, adding that it's much better to look at a longer-term picture of the market. That implies the S&P -- and the rest of the U.S. equity market -- could be in for a better 2016 than some expect. " It is still a bull market that started in 2009, and we do not care how "old" it is, but are satisfied that the long-term bullish trend is intact....the sentiment of investors and consumers has also improved, and still has a long way to go before we reach any kind of level that would signal any kind of euphoria or irrational exuberance." RBC plans to release a full market forecast next Monday.