Stock market hits highs not seen since 1997

The stock market is off to its best start to a year since 1997.

S&P 500 is up 20.8% in the first 9 months of 2024, the best start to a year since 1997 and the best start to a presidential election year in history. $SPXhttps://t.co/rQuXrxVpWs pic.twitter.com/3og2cQHPic

— Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) October 1, 2024

The S&P 500 has reached 43 record highs so far this year, with the benchmark index up 20.8% on the year. This remarkable performance has been driven by optimism surrounding the US economy and enthusiasm over potential Federal Reserve rate cuts.

The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high today for the 43rd time this year. $SPXhttps://t.co/rQuXrxVpWs pic.twitter.com/9uHxfGkZJ9

— Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) October 1, 2024

“The very impressive market performance has been driven by continued resilience in the US economy,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco. Despite ongoing concerns about consumer spending amid high costs of living and borrowing, consumer spending has proven resilient. As consumer spending is the biggest driver of the US economy, its robustness is key to the current market performance.

“.. More than 60% of S&P 500 components have outperformed the index so far this quarter, compared to around 25% in the first half of the year.”@reuters $SPX 🇺🇸 https://t.co/BAMbUpXwWZ pic.twitter.com/98QlUnqppc

— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) September 30, 2024

The Federal Reserve has made clear its commitment to protecting the job market, a sentiment supported by recent rate cut decisions to prevent rising unemployment. This stance has contributed to the market’s optimistic outlook despite periodic setbacks.

Best start since 1997

Tech stocks like Nvidia saw notable volatility as investors reacted to various geopolitical concerns. Nonetheless, the overall mood on Wall Street has improved significantly from just two months ago. In early August, a bad jobs report sparked recession fears, causing markets to plunge. https://twitter.com/ETNOWlive/status/1840939577692864737 However, markets rapidly recovered from that growth scare, quickly making new highs. The Fear & Greed Index, which measures the sentiments driving markets, edged into “extreme greed” territory on Monday, a major improvement from “extreme fear” in August. According to Michael Block, a significant driver is the fear of missing out (FOMO) on the rally. “There is this fear of missing a rally. And that is driving a lot of activity,” he said. In summary, despite facing various challenges, including geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties, the US stock market has shown remarkable resilience and growth, leading to its best start since 1997.