Ignore the noise of war! "Wall Street Number Crunchers" are calling for technology stocks to dominate. The clarion call for a new bull market has sounded.

Tom Lee, a veteran stock market strategist and co-founder of Fundstrat who is known as the "Wall Street Whiz Kid," believes that the current position of the US stock market and even the global stock market is stronger than when it reached its previous all-time high earlier this year. He firmly predicts that the S&P 500 index, one of the benchmarks of the US stock market, can rise strongly to 7,300 points in the short term before experiencing any significant downward correction. As of the close of the US stock market on Wednesday, the S&P 500 index closed at 7022.95 points, setting a new all-time high. The Nasdaq Composite Index, which covers the broadest range of technology stocks, surged 1.6% on Wednesday, also closing at a new high, and the index's recent eleven consecutive gains marks the longest winning streak since December 2019. In addition, an important trend for retail investors to note is that after experiencing initial turmoil and selling pressure, Wall Street institutional investors seem to be shielding themselves from the war-related noise. Wall Street no longer views geopolitical wars as the "core variable determining market direction" as it did in early March, but is largely starting to "ignore the noise of war." The current narrative of the new bull market is supported by three main factors: the resilience of corporate earnings demonstrated in the latest financial report season, the resurgence of risk appetite dominated by technology stocks/AI computing power themes, and the market's judgment that the Middle East conflict will not evolve into a long-term inflation scenario similar to 2022. As long as these three logical pillars remain intact, Wall Street will continue to treat war-related headlines as trading noise. Tom Lee is one of the few bullish strategists on Wall Street in recent years who has accurately predicted the trend of the S&P 500 index bull market multiple times, especially predicting in the gloomy mood enveloping Wall Street at the end of 2022 that the US stock market would experience a bull market in 2023-2024. He has been dubbed the "Wall Street Whiz Kid" by investors. For the next stage of the bull market, Tom Lee firmly believes that technology stocks will continue to be the strongest driving force behind the next super bull market. The current position of the stock market is stronger than earlier this year The chief market strategist and chief investment officer shared his optimistic outlook in a media interview, pointing out several factors that strengthened his confidence in the stock market. Lee listed three main reasons for his bullish view on the US market: the incredibly strong resilience of the US market shown amid the surge in oil prices, continued upward revisions of profit expectations for global technology companies, and a weakening of inflation threats. Lee said in the latest interview, "We feel confident now that this geopolitical war is actually stimulating the economy." He also added that Fundstrat's historical analysis report on the impact of WTI and Brent crude oil price surges on the core inflation index, excluding energy and food, suggests that the impact might not be as severe as previously expected. The seasoned strategist described the US market as "the best house in a more uncertain neighborhood today," pointing out that large manufacturing plants in the US are still operating continuously while traditional factories in other Western countries are facing shutdowns. Lee emphasized multiple times in the interview that the current position of the US stock market and even the global stock market is stronger than when it reached its previous all-time high earlier this year. Since 2020, investors have faced a seventh so-called "black swan" event, but even with restricted trade routes and limited oil supply, the US economy has proven that it "can entirely withstand the geopolitical catastrophe of a Middle East eruption." In terms of Middle East geopolitical dynamics, the news tends to be positive. On April 15, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that discussions between Iran and the US are continuing through Pakistan as an intermediary. The White House press secretary confirmed that both sides are in continued contact and are making progress in the negotiations; the US sees the negotiations as "constructive" and is optimistic about reaching an agreement. Wall Street begins to shield itself from the noise of war! Growing bullish sentiment towards technology stocks Despite acknowledging the existence of tail-end risks in the market, Lee emphasized that the actual size of the tail-end has significantly diminished. Lee's view is in line with the mainstream opinion of current Wall Street strategists, which is that Wall Street is beginning to shield itself from the noise of war and that there is a growing bullish sentiment towards technology stocks related to AI computing power infrastructure. The current investment narrative on Wall Street has shifted from "will Middle East geopolitical conflict crush risk assets" to a more optimistic narrative of "strong financial report season driving technology stocks to lead the rally." Those stocks directly related to AI computing power infrastructure with the label "performance certainty + high beta attribute" such as Nvidia, TSMC, AMD, and the "AI computing super team" led by Broadcom are often the most sensitive, first to move, and with the largest gains in the rebound logic of the overall stock market or technology sector. The core logic behind is extremely "hardcore": this layer is directly tied to the record-breaking AI capital expenditure of tech giants, not just storytelling. AI hyperscalers (such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon) continue their capital expenditure arms race, and as long as they "are more willing to borrow and cut jobs, and reluctant to retreat in the AI capex race" (the so-called "AI computing power arms race"), the leaders of the AI computing power industry still have value in allocation. Steve Sosnick, the chief strategist of Interactive Brokers, wrote in a research report on Wednesday, "The market is essentially expressing a bullish view with a trend price, indicating that the Persian Gulf war seems to have ended." The top traders on Wall Street are currently unfazed by the negative situation in the Middle East and continue to allocate to stocks; institutional investors are the core drivers behind the recovery of the stock market in this round. These institutional investors seem to believe that the impact of the Middle East conflict is more like a manageable disturbance in oil prices, rather than evolving into a systemic supply crisis. They believe that as long as the war does not damage the resilience of US earnings, push oil prices permanently into an out-of-control range, or force the Federal Reserve to fully turn hawkish, its impact on the stock market is temporary. "It appears that the market is not that concerned that in essence the Strait of Hormuz remains closed," said Doug Peta, chief investment strategist in the US at BCA Research. To Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, those institutional investors on Wall Street are the driving force behind the current recovery of the stock market. After experiencing aggressive sell-offs, market attention has returned to the fundamental performance of companies in the earnings season, which he believes is very supportive. Tom Lee pointed out that there are credible concerns about supply shocks in commodities, including interruptions in helium supply, but he said that if a lasting ceasefire could be achieved, it could bring very positive growth and recovery sentiment, thereby minimizing any economic damage to the US. Lee agrees with a typical judgment from Wall Street behemoth J.P. Morgan that the technology sector centered around AI computing power infrastructure must lead the next phase of the stock market's super bull market rally. He predicted, "Five years from now, people will be surprised at how cheaply they were able to buy these fundamentally strong technology stocks." Since the outbreak of the Iran war, the best-performing assets have been Ethereum and Bitcoin, known as the "barometer of risk assets" they are also highly correlated with the technology sector. This is followed by energy stocks, Nvidia, Google, and other seven tech giants, as well as software companies that experienced record-breaking declines in February, which have benefited from the geopolitical conflict. Lee explained, "When people are concerned about growth prospects, often technology is the only DRIVE for growth." He added that the technology sector has been the most underweighted sector after investors have been selling off their positions. In terms of valuation, Lee believes that the significant decline in stock prices in the first quarter has made technology stocks increasingly attractive relative to their strong potential for profit growth. Lee noted that these fundamentally strong technology companies the leaders of the AI computing power industry have a "real moat" and their profit growth trajectory consistently outperforms the profit growth trend of the S&P 500 index, making them likely to be the primary beneficiaries of the upcoming super wave of AI adoption. He emphasized, "Five years from now, people will be surprised at how cheaply they were able to buy these fundamentally strong technology stocks."