S&P 500 Hits a Fresh All-Time High

Wall Street's 2026 rollercoaster just hit a peak: The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% on Wednesday to a fresh record, eclipsing the previous high of 7,002.28 that it hit on Jan. 28. It's at 7,006 as of this writing. After falling 9.8% below that record in late March, the index has since regained its lost ground—its fastest 10-session rally since the early pandemic rebound, per Deutsche Bank. The AP reports the gains have been driven by rising hopes that mediators will resume negotiations before the ceasefire agreement expires next week.

The turnaround comes despite economists' warnings that expensive energy will drag on global growth. The IMF this week trimmed its 2026 growth outlook and lifted its inflation forecast. But "as far as the stock market is concerned, the war is over until further notice," Yardeni Research president Ed Yardeni tells NBC News. President Trump on Wednesday suggested that end could be nigh, telling Fox Business that "I think [the Iran war is] close to over, I view it as very close to over," and when it ends, the "stock market is going to boom, it's already booming."

NBC reports much of the S&P 500's rally can be tied to the "Magnificent Seven" tech giants—Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla; a fund that tracks them is up 14.8% since the March 30 low, versus 8.1% for the rest of the S&P 500.