The stock market's steady rally is forcing even bullish market forecasters to play catch-up and raise their targets. Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research late Wednesday hiked his year-end target for the S & P 500 to 5,800 from 5,400. This week's report repeated Yardeni's forecast that the S & P 500 can reach 8,000 by the end of the decade. According to the CNBC Market Strategist Survey , the average year-end target from major banks is 5,464, with a median forecast of 5,600. The S & P 500 is higher by 18% year to date, and nearly 28% over the past 12 months.

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Persons: Ed Yardeni, We've, Yardeni, CJ Lawrence, EF Hutton Organizations: Yardeni Research, CNBC Market, Survey, yearend, Nvidia, Prudential Equity Group, Deutsche Bank's, Prudential, Bache Securities, EF