Stocks Still Primed for 'Higher Highs': Analyst

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The second quarter is officially off to a slow start, but the S&P 500's chart is still pretty solid, according to Mark Arbeter, chief technical strategist at S&P Capital IQ.

"It is possible that we are finally seeing a pullback larger than a couple percent, but we think that once this drawdown is complete, higher highs will be seen by the major indices," he wrote in commentary released Thursday afternoon.

With the major U.S. equity indices running up more than 25% from the early October lows though, there's is some nervousness building that they'll be at least a few days of trading screens being drenched in red before those "higher highs" arrive.

For example, this week's sentiment survey from American Association of Individual Investors found the bull camp dipped below 40% for the first time since week ended Dec. 22. Additionally, retail investors pulled another $3.53 billion out of long-term mutual funds investing in domestic equities last week, according to the Investment Company Institute.

J.P. Morgan weighed in on Thursday, saying the "setup" for stocks to move higher in the second quarter is less favorable than it was in first quarter with macro challenges in play for China and Europe and gasoline prices elevated. Overall, however, the firm still sees more positives than negatives, such as improvement in the employment picture, signs of the beginning of a recovery in housing, and strengthened bank capital positions.

"Bulls and bears can cite a litany of arguments for their view," J.P. Morgan wrote. "But in our recent meetings, it seems most investors generally view this as a cyclical bull market, primarily fueled by easy monetary policy. And that 'relative' value is primarily viewed through the lens that bonds are 'overpriced' but stocks are not necessarily cheap."

S&P Capital IQ's Arbeter has argued for the past few weeks that stocks did endure a kind of stealth pullback in the past two months, and that's a contributing factor to his optimism now.