Stocks climbed last week, with the S&P 500 gaining 1.8% to close at 4,783.83. The index is now up 0.3% year to date, up 33.7% from its October 12, 2022 closing low of 3,577.03 and down 0.3% from its January 3, 2022 record closing high of 4,796.56.
Often times, those discussing what’s driving the stock market will appear in conflict with those discussing what’s driving the economy. And sometimes, those discussing what’s driving the economy will appear in conflict with each other.
These diverging views will happen even though everyone is in total agreement about the validity of the measurable data they’re citing.
How is this possible?
I think we can begin to disentangle what’s going on by thinking of people as