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The S&P 500 has hit a new all-time high, beating the previous one set back in July. Mostly because of good news in the US-China department.
People who are invested in the stock market are currently counting interesting gains as there has been commendable growth in the major stock market indices. On Monday, the S&P 500 increased by 0.7% and successfully set a new record at 3,039.42, beating out the previous record of 3,027.98 which was set a few months ago on July 26.
This increase was also seen elsewhere, as the Nasdaq Composite rose by 1% to hit 8,325.99, about 0.5% less than its own record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was also not left out as it increased by 132.66 points to hit 27,090.72, representing a 0.5% rise.
The new record is said to have been achieved because, at the moment, there is palpable enthusiasm as well as general optimism, that there might be some progress in the journey to some resolution of the ongoing trade problems between the US and China. Also, market and financial experts have suggested that there’s a good enough chance that the Federal Reserve will cut rates again.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Managing Director, Andrew Slimmon, has suggested that the recent jumps could mean that fears of recession might not be reasonable as the price increases do not characterize an impending downtime. He said:
“The market is sending you a very strong message: The cyclical stocks are recovering and they are outperforming. If the economy was going to hit a really bad patch, these stocks wouldn’t be recovering. The market is finally breaking out of this trading range and it is headed higher. The economic data has been better than expected. Earnings have come in better than expected.”
More than a few stocks including Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft, also set new all-time highs for intraday trading on Monday. Microsoft shares jumped by 2.5% for example, when it was revealed that the Defense Department had awarded the company a cloud contract worth $10 billion. Alphabet initially rose by 2% even though it dropped again after its earnings report revealed that 2019’s third-quarter earning per share was at $10.12, lower than the projected $12.42. Apple also jumped 1% to hit a $249.25 high.
For AT&T, stock rose by 4% when the company announced that it will begin a journey for the next three years which will bring in two members to join its board, as well as sell about $10 billion worth of non-core arms of its entire business, by next year.
Based on history, there is still just a little fear that the market might not completely uphold this new found jump it’s currently experiencing. Back on July 26 when the S&P 500 hit the previous record high, suspicions of a looming economic recession caused market activity that triggered sells, which eventually caused a 1.5% loss in August. Even though it’s now over 6% higher than its August levels, September wasn’t such a great month. Only time will tell if the recent spike is enough to keep the market trading at highs for a considerably long time.