July 3 (Reuters) - One of Wall Street's few bearish

strategists, Marko Kolanovic, is leaving JPMorgan Chase ( JPM )

after nearly three years as the investment bank's chief market

strategist and co-head of global research, according to internal

bank memos.

Kolanovic, who spent 19 years at JPMorgan ( JPM ), is leaving to

explore other opportunities, the memos said. A bank spokeswoman

declined to comment and Kolanovic did not respond to requests

for comment.

Kolanovic's departure was first reported by Bloomberg.

Hussein Malik will become the sole head of global research,

while Dubravko Lakos-Bujas will oversee the markets strategy

team, the memos said.

Kolanovic has been a bearish voice on Wall Street, retaining

a 2024 price target for the Standard & Poor's 500 index of

4,200. As of midday Wednesday, the S&P traded at about 5,532. A

Reuters poll released in May said that the median forecast of

strategists expected the Standard & Poor's 500 will end the year

at 5,302.

In recent reports to clients, Kolanovic attributed his

wariness about the market to stubbornly high interest rates,

lingering inflation, high and rising market valuations,

geopolitical uncertainty, high levels of bullishness among

investors and increased trading in risky options positions.

Kolanovic moved to Wall Street after receiving a PhD in

theoretical physics in 2003. He began his career at Merrill

Lynch as a derivatives strategist.