The S&P 500 will extend its stellar rally, hitting a new record high before 2023 is over, Carson Group's top strategist says

• The S&P 500 has climbed 15% in 2023, powered higher by Big Tech stocks.
• The index is likely to hit a new all-time high before the end of the year, Carson Group's top strategist said Thursday.

The S&P 500's brilliant start to 2023 is likely to carry on with the benchmark index potentially hitting a new all-time high before the year is over, according to Carson Group's chief market strategist.

The stock-market gauge is up 15% year-to-date, powered higher by triple-digit gains from Big Tech stocks including Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and Tesla – and investors shouldn't expect that rally to end anytime soon, Ryan Detrick said Thursday.

"We've been overweight equities at Carson Investment Research since late December," Detrick told CNBC's "Closing Bell". "People told us we were crazy when we said that – fortunately it's playing out."

"We still think there's a lot left in the tank here," he added.

Detrick believes that a combination of resilient spending levels, sliding inflation, and the Federal Reserve ending its tightening hiking cycle will help to propel the S&P 500.

US retail sales unexpectedly rose last month, according to data released Thursday – suggesting that consumer spending has remained high despite some economists fretting about a looming recession.

Meanwhile, inflation cooled to just 4% in May, according to Tuesday's Consumer Price Index report – and that encouraged the Fed to "skip" an interest-rate hike at its June meeting, with the central bank opting not to raise borrowing costs for the first time in 15 months.

A new record high for the index "before this year is quite possible with all this news we keep having – the consumer's strong, inflation, the Fed is likely done," Detrick told CNBC.

The S&P 500 hit its record high in January 2022, reaching just under 4,800 points.

That's 8% higher than the 4,426-point level the index traded at as of Thursday's closing bell.

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