• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation

3

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation

3

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
FinanceFinance

What’s Powering the Stock Market’s Record Highs? Strong Earnings—and FOMO

By
Mary Romano
Mary Romano
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Mary Romano
Mary Romano
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 24, 2019, 12:04 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The stock market is on a roll.

The S&P 500 reached a record high at the close on Tuesday for the first time since September, while the Nasdaq Composite also notched a closing high for the first time since August.

The rally is being powered by a better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter. The solid results have been across the board in U.S. companies including Caterpillar Inc., Coca-Cola Co., United Technologies Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp., Twitter Inc. and Snap Inc.

“There are more positive than negative surprises and that has given investors a little more confidence,” Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at Nuveen, said in an interview. Investors feel there’s much to feel confident about. Recession fears are fading, inflation is subdued, the Federal Reserve is pausing on raising interest rates and the economy is showing resilience. China-U.S. trade talks are progressing and Brexit has been kicked down the road.

“A lot of the risks on everybody’s mind going into the year have gone away or subsided,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank. The Fed’s signal on rates is a big help. “The Fed is not going to get in the way of businesses by increasing rates,” he said. “The Fed on the sidelines is great for companies.”

Investors feared the bull market was on its death bed in December, when the prospect of slower growth and weaker company fundamentals led to a market meltdown. “In some ways there was an overreaction to the fourth quarter, and now it might be a slight overreaction to the lack of significant bad news in the first quarter,” said Margaret Chen, head of CA Capital Management, Cambridge Associates’ outsourced investment office business, which has $32.4 billion in assets.

Nevertheless, “investors are learning to manage market anxiety much better,” she said. “They are getting conditioned to go to the brink of uncertainty but not go over the cliff.”

Indeed, companies may be benefitting from lowering their earnings estimates early. From there “it was easier for companies to beat those lower expectations,” TIAA Bank’s Gaffney said. According to FactSet data, 78% of the S&P 500 companies have reported above analyst estimates in the first quarter. But going forward? Companies “are not going gangbusters on the forward guidance,”’ Gaffney points out.

Money that has been on the sidelines is moving back into the market especially in index funds. Money-fund assets stood at $3.04 trillion as of April 17, up from $2.88 trillion at the end of September, according to the Investment Company Institute. “There’s the fear of missing out, so they are buying,” Nuveen’s Doll said.

There’s also reason to be a bit cautious even if the rally proves to have legs. In addition to slightly lower corporate profit expectations going forward, there’s some softness in global economic data. While the market rally is in “a new phase,” TIAA’s Gaffney said, “We’ll bounce around but it won’t be a dramatic push higher. It’s more of a drift higher.” That was true in early trading Wednesday as the U.S. market fluctuated.

Nuveen’s Doll said he’s “boringly neutral at the moment” and he doesn’t see anything that can move the markets “significantly higher from here.”

So investors should enjoy the view from the top – for now.

About the Author
By Mary Romano
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Finance

After SpaceX’s $2 trillion debut, investors are eyeing Anthropic and OpenAI. Market experts share how to play the next trillion-dollar IPO
MagazineIPOs
After SpaceX’s $2 trillion debut, investors are eyeing Anthropic and OpenAI. Market experts share how to play the next trillion-dollar IPO
By Amanda GerutJuly 22, 2026
2 hours ago
t
AIMarkets
Billionaire Mike Bloomberg warns Trump’s AI ownership plan would make ‘George Orwell blush’
By Eva RoytburgJuly 21, 2026
11 hours ago
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sits and speaks at a Senate Committee Hearing
PoliticsDonald Trump
‘Without these funds, we face critical shortfalls’: Hegseth on additional defense spending following $37.5B Iran War price tag
By The Associated Press and Lisa MascaroJuly 21, 2026
11 hours ago
A ski worker in winter skiing gear strikes a pose in front of a ski slope in Lesotho.
Travel & LeisureDonald Trump
In Lesotho, the country’s only fully operational ski resort offers snowy slopes for Africa’s ski enthusiasts
By The Associated Press and Mogomotsi MagomeJuly 21, 2026
11 hours ago
Moldova’s parliament elects 44-year-old businessman investor Vasile Tofan as prime minister
PoliticsEuropean Union
Moldova’s parliament elects 44-year-old businessman investor Vasile Tofan as prime minister
By The Associated PressJuly 21, 2026
12 hours ago
UN’s worst-case scenario: Energy and fertilizer shock from Iran war could push nearly 19 million more into chronic hunger by 2030
EconomyUnited Nations
UN’s worst-case scenario: Energy and fertilizer shock from Iran war could push nearly 19 million more into chronic hunger by 2030
By Mia OsmonbekovJuly 21, 2026
12 hours ago

Most Popular

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
2 days ago
OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
Cybersecurity
OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
By Jeremy Kahn and Emily ForliniJuly 21, 2026
13 hours ago
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
Success
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
By Sydney LakeJuly 20, 2026
2 days ago
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
AI
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
By Eva RoytburgJuly 21, 2026
16 hours ago
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
Success
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
By Emma BurleighJuly 21, 2026
18 hours ago
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
AI
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
By Jason MaJuly 18, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.