CNBC Daily Open: Despite all the uncertainty, the S&P 500 is flirting with record highs — strange times

Have we gone backmost successful time? It surely seems connected the markets front. Just look astatine the S&P 500 and you volition deliberation that it's backmost successful February — earlier U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs, earlier the White House's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," and earlier the warfare betwixt Israel and Iran.  

On February 19, the broad-based scale closed astatine an all-time high of 6,144.15. Yesterday, it ended the trading session astatine 6,092.16. That's a quality of little than 1%. A airy breeze (or rogue societal media station from the sitting U.S. president) could propulsion the S&P 500 beyond that level.

In different motion investors seemed to beryllium backmost to the days earlier commercialized and geopolitical uncertainty, Nvidia's again successful the headlines aft it surged 4.3% to adjacent astatine a new high, a awesome of the optimism surrounding artificial quality that drove overmuch of 2024's marketplace gains.

What's unusual is that the marketplace appears to person shrugged disconnected dense loads that person been weighing it down since March.

Tariff worries inactive persist. Trump connected Wednesday threatened Spain that helium would "make them wage doubly arsenic much" successful a commercialized woody due to the fact that the European state is resisting an summation successful spending connected defense.

The warfare betwixt Israel and Iran, though presently paused acknowledgment to a ceasefire, is not conclusively over. And that truce appears fragile — it was almost broken conscionable hours aft it kicked in. Who knows however the planned U.S. talks with Iran adjacent week volition go. (Hopefully not arsenic severely arsenic the shouting lucifer successful the Oval Office erstwhile Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was there.)

Nostalgia is alluring. But that allure tin beryllium dangerous.

The S&P 500 is astatine the cusp of a caller high. The index, however, ended Wednesday small changed. Tech stocks rose, with many hitting intraday highs. The Stoxx Europe 600 scale fell 0.74%, contempt European defence stocks climbing connected quality of a NATO deal.

Trump threatened Spain with a pugnacious commercialized deal. The U.S. president made those comments astatine NATO's yearly acme aft the alliance's allies — barring Spain — agreed to conscionable a defense spending people of 5% of gross home merchandise by 2035.

Tesla income successful Europe plunged successful May. Elon Musk's electrical conveyance institution recorded a 27.9% year-on-year driblet successful sales wrong the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Association, arsenic consumers successful the portion switched to Chinese EVs.

Nvidia's the astir invaluable institution again. Shares jumped 4.3% connected Wednesday and closed astatine a record — the archetypal clip it's done truthful since January. The chipmaker's marketplace capitalization is present $3.77 trillion, inching up of Microsoft and Apple.

[PRO] Investors are holding their breath. The U.S. marketplace seems amazingly resilient to commercialized friction and geopolitical instability. In fact, the S&P 500 seems connected way to adjacent astatine a caller record. But risks that could sound it disconnected people remain.

What's adjacent arsenic the British lb hits its highest successful much than 3 years?

The British pound is hovering astatine its highest level successful much than 3 years — and analysts are divided connected the imaginable for further upside.

According to Janet Mui, caput of marketplace investigation astatine RBC Brewin Dolphin, overmuch of the pound's upward trajectory has much to bash with underlying dollar weakness than religion successful sterling itself.

Moreover, the outlook for the British lb is not overly compelling successful the coming months, Mui said, but noted that geopolitical developments could catalyze further upward movements successful the longer term.

— Chloe Taylor