July 3 (Reuters) - One of Wall Street's few bearish strategists, Marko Kolanovic, is leaving JPMorgan Chase 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, 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.

(Reporting by Suzanne McGee; editing by Megan Davies and Rod Nickel)