S&P sets new record high, erases losses in pandemic

Quickest bear market on record ends, but risks remain

Wall Street clawed back the last of the historic losses unleashed by the new coronavirus, as the S&P 500 closed at an all-time high Tuesday.

The day’s move was a relatively mild one, nudging the index up 7.79 points, or 0.2%, to 3,389.78. That eclipses the S&P 500’s previous record closing high of 3,386.15 set Feb. 19, before the pandemic shut down businesses around the world and knocked economies into their worst recessions in decades.

The S&P 500’s milestone caps a furious, 51.5% rally that began in late March. The index, which is the benchmark for many stock funds at the heart of 401(k) plans, is up nearly 5% for the year.

The stock market’s sprint back to an all-time high also means the nearly 34% plunge for the S&P 500 from Feb. 19 through March 23 was the quickest bear market on record. It lasted barely more than a month. Compare that with the 19.6 months that it’s taken the average bear market to bottom out, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Tremendous amounts of aid from the Federal Reserve and Congress helped launch the rally, which built higher on signs of budding growth in the economy. More recently, corporate profit reports that weren’t as bad as expected have helped boost stock prices.

The market spent the past few days within striking distance of a new high, but falling short of the milestone, until the last minutes of trading Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 66.84 points, or 0.2%, to 27,778.07. It remains 6% below its record set in February.

The Nasdaq composite had already returned to a record, thanks to huge gains for the big tech stocks that dominate it. It hit a new one Tuesday, climbing 81.12 points, or 0.7%, to 11,210.84.

The lightning recovery is even more remarkable considering how much the economy is still struggling and how uncertain the path ahead remains. Millions of

Americans are continuing to get unemployment benefits and businesses across the country are still shutting their doors. COVID-19 continues to seep throughout the world, with more than 5.4 million known cases and 171,000 deaths in the United States alone, accoring to Johns Hopkins University data.

The stock market’s rally has morphed from relief that the worst-case scenario of a full-blown financial crisis is off the table to hopes that the economy is on the mend. As widespread lockdowns of businesses have eased since the spring, data from across the economy have shown improvements.

But many risks are still hanging over the market. Investors are still waiting to see if Congress and the White House can get past their partisan differences and agree on more aid for the economy. Without the stimulus, analysts say the economy won’t be able to make the recovery that investors have been assuming is on the way.

Rising tensions between the United States and China, meanwhile, threaten trade between the world’s largest economies.