Stocks reached new highs last week. The S&P 500 Index completed a V-shaped recovery last week to register its first record high since September 20, 2018, to close at 2933.68 on April 23 [Figure 1]. Here we share our thoughts on what this record could mean for stocks going forward.

Where Might Stocks Go from Here?

Our initial reaction to the new high last week was to celebrate the crowning of this bull market as the longest ever. If the S&P 500 hadn’t made a new high before its next bear market decline (20% or more), this bull would have ended short of the 10-year mark. So let’s first celebra

We’ve finally closed the book on what was one of the most perplexing quarters of this expansion. In January and February 2019, economic data took an unexpected turn as trade and political headwinds weighed on global demand. Tensions then subsided in March, and signs of a rebound started to appear.

These past few months have been full of surprises, so it was only fitting that this chapter ended with a blowout gross domestic product (GDP) report. The April 26 report showed first quarter GDP increased 3.2%, the best first quarter gain since 2015 and above all Bloomberg forecasts for growth [Figure 1].

We wrote about the new record high for the S&P 500 Index Wednesday . This is such a big market event we wanted to share some additional thoughts—10 of them in fact—on this market milestone:

1. The new high secured March 9, 2019, as the 10th anniversary of the bull market. If the S&P 500 hadn’t made a new high before the next bear market, this bull would have ended short of the 10-year mark.
    
2. Don’t fear new highs. Historically, buying stocks at all-time highs has been productive over the long term, as shown in the LPL Chart of the Day. Going back to 1950, the average 12-month gain from a new hi
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U.S. stocks are sitting at the same levels they were seven months ago, but the path hasn’t been straight. Equity investors have been on a bumpy ride since September 2018, and investors’ resolve has been tested amid back-and-forth in trade negotiations, a historic government shutdown, Brexit, the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) U-turn in policy, and signs of a global slowdown.

Fortunately, the S&P 500 Index weathered a steep decline late last year and has found its way back around record highs. Stocks’ historically strong start to the year has been promising, but there are still signals that more weakness could