JPMorgan urges investors to keep buying dips even as stocks hit highs
The S&P 500 closed above 5,900 for the first time in mid-April 2026, extending a year-to-date gain of roughly 10%, and JPMorgan Chase’s top equity strategist says the playbook is simple: keep buying every pullback.
Mislav Matejka, the bank’s head of global equity strategy, laid out the case in a mid-April strategy note distributed to institutional clients. “Pullbacks have been consistently shallow, and the earnings backdrop does not justify a defensive shift,” Matejka wrote, according to wire-service summaries of the note. His argument rests on a pattern that has repeated all year: headline-driven selloffs have lasted days rather than weeks, and buyers have stepped in before losses could compound. With first-quarter earnings broadly intact and consumer spending still running, Matejka sees no reason to fight the trend.
He is not alone. On April 13, BlackRock upgraded U.S. equities, pointing to resilient corporate profits and contained fallout from Middle East tensions. When the two largest asset managers on the planet read from the same script, the signal is hard to ignore.
Record closes keep stacking up
The index pushed to fresh all-time highs through mid- and late April, logging more than a dozen record closes in 2026, according to Associated Press market data. Each wobble tied to geopolitical flare-ups or mixed economic readings attracted enough buying to reverse the damage within a few sessions.
First-quarter earnings season added fuel. JPMorgan’s own results showed consumer-banking revenue holding steady and net charge-offs within the range management had guided for. Across the broader market, S&P 500 companies that had reported by late April posted aggregate earnings growth near 6% year over year, according to early tallies, giving equity bulls tangible numbers to cite.
The tension inside JPMorgan itself
What makes Matejka’s call especially interesting is how sharply it contrasts with the tone coming from JPMorgan’s corner office. CEO Jamie Dimon, in remarks tied to the bank’s Q1 earnings release, painted what the Associated Press described as an increasingly complex backdrop: volatile energy costs, persistent global conflicts, and policy uncertainty that could shift quickly. “The economy is being shaped by conditions we have not seen before,” Dimon said, according to the AP’s account of his shareholder letter.
Dimon stopped short of predicting a downturn, but his language carried a caution that Matejka’s note did not. The split is not unusual on Wall Street. Strategy desks position for the most probable outcome; chief executives stress-test the worst case. Still, the gap between the two messages is wide enough to notice. Matejka is effectively betting that the risks Dimon flagged will not derail earnings growth. If oil prices spike further or geopolitical friction escalates beyond what markets have already priced in, that bet gets tested fast.
What the thesis leaves open
JPMorgan has not released the full note publicly, so several important details remain unclear. Wire-service summaries reference large-cap technology valuations as part of Matejka’s framework, but the specific earnings-growth assumptions, sector tilts, and scenario triggers behind the buy-the-dip call are not available for outside review. Investors trying to act on the headline do not know, for instance, whether Matejka favors broad index exposure on pullbacks or is steering clients toward particular sectors like tech or financials.
The Federal Reserve’s rate path is another variable the public version of the thesis does not address head-on. The Fed held the fed funds rate at 5% to 5.25% at its March 2026 meeting and signaled patience before any cuts, leaving borrowing costs as a headwind for rate-sensitive corners of the market. A buy-the-dip framework that does not spell out its interest-rate assumptions leaves a significant gap in the logic chain.
How to weigh the call against the risks heading into May
For long-term investors, the weight of evidence tilts toward staying in the market. An index trading above 5,900 on the back of earnings that have not cracked is not one that typically rewards retreating to cash. The fact that JPMorgan and BlackRock are publicly endorsing the same posture adds institutional conviction to the case.
For shorter-horizon traders, the lack of transparency around JPMorgan’s underlying assumptions argues for discipline: tighter stops, smaller position sizes, and a clear plan for what to do if a dip does not bounce on schedule. Record highs can mask fragility. If a meaningful share of the rally reflects systematic flows and options-related positioning rather than fundamental demand, the same mechanics that cushion small dips could amplify a sharper reversal.
Both sides of the JPMorgan house are probably right about different things. Matejka is right that earnings resilience has been the dominant market story of 2026 so far. Dimon is right that the list of threats is long and interconnected. Buying dips has worked all year. The only question that matters now is whether the next dip will behave like the ones before it, or whether it will be the one that does not snap back.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
