S&P 500 closes at record high for first time in two years
CNN
The S&P 500 index closed Friday at a record high, fueled by surging tech stocks and bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year.
The S&P 500 index closed Friday at a record high, fueled by surging tech stocks and bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year. The benchmark index closed at 4,839.81, besting its previous high of 4,796.56, reached on January 3, 2022. Earlier in the trading session, the S&P 500 reached an intraday high of 4,832.17, topping its previous intraday high of 4,818.62, reached more than two years ago, on January 4, 2022. After a rocky start to the year, the S&P 500 has found its footing and is up about 1.5% in 2024. The benchmark index jumped 24% in 2023, with stocks rallying powerfully at year end as optimism grew that the Fed could achieve a soft landing, or tamp down inflation without triggering an economic downturn. The Fed projected three rate cuts in 2024 at its last policy meeting of 2023, marking an unexpected turning point in its aggressive crusade against inflation. The central bank also kept rates on hold for the third straight time and signaled that it might be done raising rates.

A typical 401(k) plan only offers stock and bond funds that invest in publicly traded companies. But private companies — traditionally the domain of institutional and high-net-worth investors — have become a significant part of the overall investing market. Do they belong as an option in workplace retirement plans, given that they are often more expensive and less transparent than publicly traded securities?

President Donald Trump’s attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are so commonplace at this point that they barely register in financial markets these days. The rapidly intensifying multi-pronged efforts by Trump’s advisers to amplify and expand on Trump’s attacks are a good reason to rethink that indifference.