Comic: Stocks Surge Towards Record Highs As Markets Look Past Civil Unrest

By Jesse Cohen

Investing.com - U.S. stock markets have been on a tear this week, with the Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average all close to overtaking their all-time highs reached in February.

Markets have climbed a virtual wall of worry to head higher over the past several sessions, shrugging off sometimes violent mass protests across the United States over police brutality and racial inequality.

At current levels, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is less than 2% away from its record high. The index has rallied more than 46% from an intraday low set on March 23, when coronavirus-related lockdowns shocked the stock market.

Meanwhile, the S&P (NYSE:SPY) 500 is 8% below its all-time peak, while the Dow is about 11% away from notching another record high.

Both indexes are up more than 40% above their March 23 lows as signs of recovery from a coronavirus-forced recession, optimism over a COVID-19 vaccine and a barrage of stimulus from the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government boosted risk appetite.

However, stocks’ recent strength still leaves the Dow down roughly 8% in 2020. The S&P 500 is off around 3% for the year, while the Nasdaq is up almost 8%.

To see more of Investing.com’s weekly comics, visit: http://www.investing.com/analysis/comics

-- Reuters contributed to this report

Related Articles

Britain checks whether financial firms are near collapse in pandemic

Saudi banks face tough few quarters but are well capitalised, say CEOs

ECB gives ailing euro zone economy another shot of stimulus