Topline
The S&P 500 touched a new record price Tuesday, the first record in more than two months for the leading U.S. stock gauge as investor concerns about the health of the U.S. economy quieted.
The S&P 500 is up more than 10% from its early August nadir.
Key Facts
The S&P rose as much as 0.7% to its new intraday high of 5.670.81, topping the record of 5,669.67 set July 16.
Tuesday’s gains came as Wall Street eagerly awaits the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate cut in 4.5 years expected Wednesday.
The spike also followed the Commerce Department’s August retail sales report which topped expectations, the latest economic release to support the notion the U.S. is not on the brink of recession as fears of a downturn weighed down stocks for much of the summer.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average set a new intraday high of its own Tuesday, gaining as much as 0.5% to 41.835, besting a record set Monday, while the tech-concentrated Nasdaq’s 1% rally only brought it to within 5% of its all-time high set July 11.
Big Number
Almost 11%. That’s how much the S&P is up from its low on Aug. 5, when recession panic was arguably at its peak this economic cycle following a brutal July jobs report.
Crucial Quote
“There will be another recession eventually but it doesn’t look like it’s around the corner,” Comerica economist Bill Adams remarked in emailed comments following the retail sales report.
Key Background
The S&P is up about 19% this year and more than 20% when including reinvested dividends, far outpacing the historic annual average of about 12%, according to FactSet data. The stock market’s strong performance bucks the trend of paltry returns during times of high interest rates, with investor intrigue for technology stocks at the forefront of the artificial intelligence push, like Nvidia, accounting for much of the broader gains.
