The market keeps flirting with new highs

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Like Wilt Chamberlain, stocks are pulling off some all-time rebounding: The S&P 500 closed within a hair of a new record yesterday, marking an enormous comeback from the multitrillion-dollar mudslide that followed the April announcement of “Liberation Day” tariffs. Despite a persistent vibe of uncertainty related to US economic policy and geopolitics: The S&P 500 closed less than 0.1% away from a record high yesterday, which it notched in February before cratering nearly 20% in April. The index has regained ground in fits and starts since then and briefly surpassed its record in intraday trading yesterday. On Tuesday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 one-upped the broader market and logged its highest-ever close. It came after President Trump said Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, which eased investors’ concerns about a potential oil crisis. Between unresolved geopolitical conflicts and President Trump’s still-unfolding tariff policies, a portfolio manager with Capital Wealth Planning, Kevin Simpson, told CNBC that he was “surprised by the magnitude of the rebound.” How is this happening? Trump has walked back some of the harshest tariffs he threatened in April, and trade deals since then have been music to the market’s ears. Investors also seem “eager…to buy dips in a market dominated by megacap tech and AI enthusiasm,” Simpson said. Nvidia hit a record high this week, powered by above-expectation earnings that helped temper fears that China’s DeepSeek could prove more cost-effective than US startups. Palantir is the year-to-date gains leader on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100. The software company has increasingly gotten into high-paying government contracts and recently secured a $30 million deal to develop a “surveillance” platform for ICE, Wired reported. Looking ahead…two anticipated interest rate cuts, the Big Beautiful Bill’s corporate tax cuts, and deregulation are set to ultimately boost company earnings and send the markets even higher, a Wells Fargo strategist predicts. But more volatility is expected in the meantime.—ML