Stock market is basically going nowhere for the rest of the year

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Investors have seen the best the stock market has to offer in 2023, according to Goldman Sachs.

While the Fed is widely expected to pause its rate increases this year, the timing is wildly uncertain. That leaves investors staring down the barrel of potentially multiple more rate increases that could have the effect of slowing the economy and compressing stock valuation multiples.

Meanwhile, Corporate America is slogging through a disappointing earnings season that arguably doesn't justify the market's 2023 advance.

Big household name companies such as Apple (AAPL), Meta (META), and Starbucks (SBUX) have not only whiffed on fourth quarter earnings estimates but also offered cautious forward-looking commentary.

A soft landing — and in fact above-trend growth — is already priced in U.S. equities. Valuations are elevated vs. history and will be constrained by an eventual rise in interest rates. Even avoiding recession, earnings are unlikely to grow substantially in 2023," Goldman Sachs chief U.S. equity strategist David Kostin wrote in a new note on Monday.

Kostin lifted his year end S&P 500 price target to 4,000 from 3,600, but he added the debt-ceiling debate is likely to be a key risk. The S&P 500 currently resides at 4,111 after a solid 7% year-to-date rally.