SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 17, 2026--
As 2026 moves into its second half, markets are sending mixed signals — rewarding confidence one moment and punishing it the next. Volatility, shifting economic signals, and geopolitical uncertainty have fueled a steady drumbeat of attention‑grabbing headlines, often tempting investors to react before stepping back and assessing the risk of mistimed portfolio moves.
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Wells Fargo Investment Institute (WFII) today released its “ 2026 Midyear Outlook Report: Keeping Discipline in Noisy Markets,” offering economic and market expectations, market guidance, and actionable portfolio ideas for the second half of the year. WFII’s message: Uncertainty isn’t going away, but investors don’t need certainty to stay disciplined.
“Periods like this can make it feel as though the ground is always moving,” said Darrell Cronk, chief investment officer for Wealth & Investment Management at Wells Fargo. “That push and pull has been clear this year from early AI-driven tech selloffs and pressure in private credit to a rebound in technology leadership, while shifting signals around the Iran conflict drove sharp swings in commodities and broader markets. Reacting to every headline can undermine long-term outcomes, which is why discipline grounded in fundamentals matters most when uncertainty is this loud.”
Beneath the volatility, WFII sees more durable themes gaining traction, particularly the global race for AI leadership and the growing demand for natural resources that power it. The Midyear Outlook highlights potential opportunities where market prices have diverged from fundamentals and where revenues and earnings may prove more resilient, even as input costs remain elevated.
The report offers five investment ideas for the remainder of 2026:
Highlights of WFII’s forecast:
Join the WFII 2026 Midyear Outlook call today, June 17, at 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time. Dial-in: 888-625-1625; Passcode: 97-304-70.
A summary of the WFII 2026 Midyear Outlook is available (PDF).
Please see the full report for detailed information.
Risk Disclosure
Consumer Price Index (CPI) produces monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services.
S&P 500 Index is a market-capitalization-weighted index composed of 500 widely held common stocks that is generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market. Returns assume reinvestment of dividends and capital-gain distributions.
All targets for 2026 and 2027 are based on forecasts by Wells Fargo Investment Institute as of June 16, 2026, and provide a forecast direction over a tactical horizon through 2027.
Forecasts, targets, and estimates are based on certain assumptions and on our current views of market and economic conditions, which are subject to change. An index is unmanaged and not available for direct investment. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
All investing involves risks, including the possible loss of principal. There can be no assurance that any investment strategy will be successful and meet its investment objectives. Investments fluctuate with changes in market and economic conditions and in different environments due to numerous factors, some of which may be unpredictable. Asset allocation and diversification do not guarantee investment returns or eliminate risk of loss.
Stock markets, especially foreign markets, are volatile. A stock’s value may fluctuate in response to general economic and market conditions, the prospects of individual companies, and industry sectors. International investing has additional risks including those associated with currency fluctuation, political and economic instability, and different accounting standards. This may result in greater share price volatility. These risks are heightened in emerging and frontier markets. Investments in fixed-income securities are subject to market, interest rate, credit, liquidity, inflation, prepayment, extension, and other risks. Bond prices fluctuate inversely to changes in interest rates. Therefore, a general rise in interest rates can result in a decline in the bond’s price.
The information contained herein constitutes general information and is not directed to, designed for, or individually tailored to, any particular investor or potential investor. This report is not intended to be a client-specific suitability analysis or recommendation, an offer to participate in any investment, or a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell securities. Do not use this report as the primary basis for investment decisions. Consider all relevant information, including your existing portfolio, investment objectives, risk tolerance, liquidity needs, and investment time horizon.
About Wells Fargo Investment Institute
Wells Fargo Investment Institute, Inc., is a registered investment adviser and wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., a bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a leading financial services company that has approximately $2.2 trillion in assets. We provide a diversified set of banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through our four reportable operating segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth & Investment Management. Wells Fargo ranked No. 33 on Fortune’s 2025 rankings of America’s largest corporations. News, insights, and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.
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News Release Category: WF-ERS
Wells Fargo Investment Institute: Keeping Discipline in Noisy Markets
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) — Leaders at the Group of Seven summit on Wednesday threw their support behind U.S. President Donald Trump's tentative agreement with Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and further extend a shaky ceasefire — even though he's offered scant specificity about how that would be implemented.
In a declaration issued overnight, the leaders called the deal a “historic opportunity to prevent Iran from acquiring any nuclear weapon and tackling the threats related to its regional and ballistic activities.” The leaders said that they were “ready to contribute to its implementation,” although neither the White House nor Iran has released the text of the agreement.
According to leaked copies of an interim agreement, Iran will immediately take steps to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once the deal is signed and will be allowed to sell its oil without restrictions. Officials say the leaked text broadly matches the document.
The accord, due to be formally signed in a ceremony in Switzerland on Friday, lays out that the U.S. would work to end all American and United Nations sanctions imposed on Tehran if a final agreement addressing Iran’s nuclear program is reached.
Trump, however, said the deal is still under wraps. He was speaking at a one-to-one meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
“Nobody knows what it is but it’s very strong,” he told reporters. He added: “It’s a memorandum of understanding and if I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs.”
The final day of summit talks started late with Trump, the last to arrive, saying “I’m the boss” as he entered the room and sat next to host French President Emmanuel Macron. The assembled leaders laughed, and Trump grinned.
The G7 leaders were closing the formal talks of the leading industrial democracies at a lakeside resort in the French Alps on Wednesday with sessions on the future of artificial intelligence and fostering economic growth.
They discussed concerns that China is flooding export markets with subsidized products, unfairly out-competing their own industries and destroying jobs. Leaders of India, South Korea, Kenya and Brazil also joined the meeting.
The U.S. leader later plans to make a stop for a glitzy dinner at the Palace of Versailles outside of Paris before he jets back to Washington.
While G7 leaders gave it their backing, Trump still has to sell the deal to some members of his own party who doubt it will defang Iran’s nuclear program. At the same time, he faces an anxious international community looking for him to follow through on his promise that the deal will reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil tanker traffic, and keep it open.
The leaders said that an international maritime mission led by France and the U.K. “can play an important role to facilitate the resumption of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz by protecting merchant vessels, reassuring commercial shipping operators, and supporting verification that all mines are removed.”
Before the Iran war, a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime chokepoint that Iran has effectively shuttered since the first days of the conflict that began on Feb. 28.
The deal also calls for an immediate end to all fighting in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah. That is one of the most delicate parts of the agreement because Israel has maintained it will continue to defend itself and to occupy vast swaths of Lebanon. Iran has said Israel must withdraw under the deal, although the leaked versions make no mention of withdrawal.
In their declaration, G7 leaders said they supported “through an immediate robust ceasefire” Lebanese efforts to disarm Hezbollah, and protect Lebanon’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed nearly 4,000 people, including hundreds of civilians, and displaced more than 1 million since fighting there began on March 2. “Israel’s fighting Hezbollah too long, and too many people are being killed,” Trump said.
In a flurry of declarations issued in the early hours of Wednesday, the G7 leaders stressed their support for Ukraine as it battles Russia's invasion and agreed to increase deliveries of air defense systems. They also said they would bolster sanctions on Moscow, including on Russia's oil and gas industries.
Leaders also pledged to step up the fight against the multibillion dollar international drug trade. The statement comes as Trump has been waging his own battle against drug traffickers.
United States military strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats transiting in Latin America have killed more than 200 people since September, when the Trump administration began an operation it has justified as necessary to stem the flow of drugs.
Critics have questioned the legality of the strikes.
In a separate declaration, the G7 leaders reaffirmed their efforts to halt migrant smuggling and human trafficking, which they said “constitute serious transnational crimes that erode the sovereign right of States to control their borders and expose smuggled and trafficked persons to life-threatening risks.”
Superville reported from Geneva. AP writers John Leicester in Evian-les-Bains, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, and Collin Binkley in Washington contributed reporting.
President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with France's President Emmanuel Macron as they attend a working session at the G7 summit, in Evian-les-Bains, France, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)
A man looks through a slightly open door prior to a working session at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
From right, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, French President Emmanuel Macron, U.S. President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a working session at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a working session at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
From left, U.S. President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a working session at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron during a working session at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a working session at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
From left, European Council President Antonio Costa, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el Sissi, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, U.S. President Donald Trump, Kenya's President William Ruto, French President Emmanuel Macron Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, India's Prime Minister Narenda Modi, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pose during a group photo of G7 leaders and invited nations during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Dominique Jacovides, Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to attend a musical interlude before a gala dinner as part of the G7 summit, in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday June 16, 2026. (Ludovic MARIN/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. President Donald Trump walks after posing for a family photo photograph during a gala dinner as part of the G7 summit, in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday June 16, 2026. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders pose during a group photo of leaders at the G7 summit, Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Evian-les-Bains, France. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
