S&P 500 hits new all-time high as investors shrug off Iran war oil price spike

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/sp-500-hits-new-high-iran-war-rcna331900

The S&P 500 hit a new all-time high Wednesday, a remarkable turnaround for the broad-based stock index while the war with Iran continues and rising energy costs threaten global growth prospects.

The S&P 500 closed higher by 0.8% pushing the benchmark past its previous record high of 7,002.28, which it had notched Jan. 28. The index closed at 7,022.95.

U.S. equity markets have been on a roller coaster since the start of the year. After its January high, the S&P 500 plunged 9.8% to a low of 6,316.91 on March 30, driven by the U.S.-Israel war on Iran and the soaring price of oil.

But in the two weeks since, markets appear to have adjusted to the constant uncertainty of the war.

“As far as the stock market is concerned, the war is over until further notice,” Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, said.

“It has also been another momentum-led rebound, similar to last year’s explosive rally that started on April 9, when President Donald Trump postponed his Liberation Day tariffs,” Yardeni said.

The momentum Yardeni pointed to is a sharp rise in the shares of the biggest tech companies. Since the S&P's low on March 30, a fund that measures only the “Magnificent 7” mega-cap tech stocks is up nearly 18%. A fund measuring the S&P 500 absent those seven companies is up about 8%.

The “Magnificent 7” companies are Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta and Tesla.

The Nasdaq Composite, which contains many of the largest tech firms, also rose to a new record high Wednesday, surpassing the last all-time high it set on Oct. 29.