A Market That Gets No Respect: Stocks Near All-Time Highs Despite Hand-Wringing

A Market That Gets No Respect: Stocks Near All-Time Highs Despite Hand-Wringing

Getty Images



Getty Images

Key Takeaways:



Busy week ahead as Fed prepares to meet and retail sales loom tomorrow

Nike



NKE

and FedEx



FDX

lead the list of key companies set to report this week

Volatility retreats, nearing lower end of recent range



We begin the week near record highs, and major indices climbed the proverbial “wall of worries” to get here. From most of the things being reported, you'd think the market was getting absolutely annihilated, but the more people worry, the better it gets.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) managed a record high close Friday after posting an intraday record high of 3960 on Thursday. That peak represented a 6% gain from earlier this month when inflation worries helped drag things down.



Those concerns haven't gone away, obviously, and pre-market trading turned from positive to mixed as the open approached. But a “buy the dip” mentality and passage of fiscal stimulus appeared to bring things back last week.



It's also positive that the 10-year Treasury