Wall Street is celebrating the two-year anniversary of this bull market, with the S&P 500 index rebounding more than 60% from the bear market low.
According to the Smart Finance APP, Wall Street is celebrating the two-year anniversary of this bull market, with the S&P 500 index rebounding more than 60% from the bear market low. Despite the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the beginning of 2022 on the global economy, leading to soaring inflation, since the S&P index touched a bottom of 3577.03 on October 12, 2022, the index has risen by 62.6% to close at a historical high of 5815.03. The main drivers of this bull market include the significant increase in artificial intelligence (AI) trading, strong performance of large technology stocks, and market optimism about the Fed's potential realization of an economicBut after the bursting of the internet bubble and the Fed's rate cut in 2001, the ROI dropped by more than 10%.optimistic expectations.
JPMorgan recently stated that we have just passed the halfway mark of a 46-month midterm bull market, and if this trend continues, investors can expect about 22 more months of growth. Over the past two years, despite significant market corrections, benchmark indices have recovered and set dozens of new highs, with almost one day out of every five trading days in 2024 establishing a new record.
Bespoke Investment Trust pointed out on social media that the S&P 500 index has seen a 60% change over the past two years, ranking 95th historically.
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One of the current issues is: How long can this bull market last? Signs indicate that the market still seems to have enough support, especially after the first rate cut by the Federal Reserve in four years and the upward revision of the US economic growth expectations.
Data from Dow Jones shows that unless there is a 40% plunge before January, the S&P 500 index will achieve at least a 20% growth for the second consecutive year, a first since 1998. Despite the money market fund assets breaking the $6.5 trillion mark in October, the stock market continues to rise. Veteran strategist Ed Yardeni suggests that if the Federal Reserve continues to lower interest rates, stock prices may further soar.
However, hurricanes in Florida, escalating conflicts in the Middle East, and the upcoming presidential election pose risks to investors. In addition, the expected price-to-earnings ratio of the S&P 500 index has approached the 'overvalued' range, jumping from 15 in October 2022 to 21.6, close to 25.5 in 1999.
Nevertheless, the stock market valuation no longer seems excessively high. Wall Street believes a broader market is a healthier market. In the third quarter, the equal-weighted S&P 500 index outperformed the market-cap-weighted index, indicating a weakening impact of the 'Big Seven' on the index. Compared to a year ago, 85% of companies in the S&P 500 index are now profitable.
Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist at Carson Group, states that although it is impossible to predict exactly how long this bull market will last, there is no reason to expect a recession or the end of the bull market in the next 6 to 9 months at least. He adds that despite the unexpected 62.6% surge over the past two years, bull markets typically last over five years, suggesting that the current bull market may still have more room for growth.
Apart from Tesla, the 'Big Seven' technology giants have played a key role in this bull market, with their stock prices generally rising by about 60% since October 12, 2022.
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