Inflation. The Iran War. A Hawkish Fed. Soaring Bond Yields. And Concerns About Artificial Intelligence. The Stock Market Faces Many Hurdles, But Only 1 Metric Truly Matters Right Now
The market has faced no shortage of obstacles this year.
Overview
Many investors are surprised that the broader benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has been so resilient this year.
After all, the market faces no shortage of concerns, whether it's the ongoing Iran war, which has led to high oil and gas prices, concerns about persistent inflation, a hawkish Federal Reserve, soaring bond yields, or broad concerns about artificial intelligence.
Details
Yet the S&P 500 is up nearly 12% this year (as of Sept. 19), and that's after two spectacular years in 2023 and 2024. While all the concerns mentioned above are valid and certainly influence markets, only one metric truly matters right now in determining whether the stock market will continue to move higher.
Source
Originally published at www.fool.com.