The stock market is aiming for an all-time high to finish off a rather eventful week.
The S&P 500 is up 0.1% and even with this modicum of a gain, it is on pace to surpass its closing high of 6118.71.
Much of the credit goes to the index’s performance on Thursday, when it gained 1%, traveling most of the distance to this new record level. The market jumped after it was announced President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff plans would not kick in immediately. His advisors are going to study the tariffs on a country-by-country basis and nothing would be enacted at least until April 1.
The market’s momentum has continued even in the face of a surprisingly light retail sales report for January released today. Sales declined 0.9% when the expectation was for a 0.1% fall.
Lower rates could be offsetting the some of the bad news there. Yields on the 10-year Treasury have fallen below 4.5%—lower yields make returns on stocks more attractive.
“The market seems happier about falling rates than concerns over consumer spending,” according to market commentary from Louis Navellier.