According to an editorial piece published by the Associated Press (AP) on the S&P 500 index, the US benchmark has gained 10.8% so far this year, with the key reasons cited below.
Key quotes
“The rally is driven by huge gains for technology giants like Apple.
Low-interest rates and massive amounts of bond purchases by the Federal Reserve have helped prop up the economy, and they are a central reason the S&P 500 has been able to recover from its nearly 34 percent plunge earlier this year.
Wall Street’s push higher has been powered by gains in technology stocks that investors expect will remain safe bets throughout the pandemic and beyond.
Improving data on business reopenings, recent company earnings reports that have been less bad than feared and encouraging signs as drugmakers race to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus by the end of the year.”