Wharton School professor Jeremy Siegel predicted that new stock market highs is “a real possibility” sometime this year.

“In fact, given no serious second wave, which could mean just effective therapeutics without even a universal vaccine, my feeling is it’s even a likelihood that we will reach” fresh record highs, Siegel said on CNBC.

“One of the unfortunate things about the lockdown is we’ve actually improved the prospects of the very companies in the stock market,” Siegel added.

The S&P 500 entered Tuesday’s session more than 34% from its coronavirus-driven bottom on March 23. Siegel has said that is “definitely going to be the low” during the crisis.

“I think there’s going to be a recovery all the way around and we’re going to all be thankful for the recovery that we’ve had,” he said.

“One of the unfortunate things about the lockdown is we’ve actually improved the prospects of the very companies in the stock market,” he said. “We’ve widened the gap between large and small, and between those people feeling the pain and those people that have their portfolios.”

Meanwhile, U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday on optimism about the development of coronavirus vaccines and a revival of business activity, but the S&P 500 failed to hold above the key psychological level of 3,000 points.

The benchmark S&P 500 had crossed 3,000 for the first time since March 5 before dropping back late in the session, Reuters reported.

The S&P 500 has risen as much as 37.9% from its March 23 low due to central bank and government stimulus at a time when the U.S. economy is seeing its biggest job losses since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It closed 11.7% below its Feb. 19 record high.

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