Dow Edges Higher, S&P 500, Nasdaq Gain; U.S.-China Trade Talks; Tesla, Apple, Robinhood, Applovin and More Movers

It may feel like ages since the S&P was cruising to record highs, but its latest milestone was only 76 trading days ago. In that span, the index has made whiplash-inducing moves, falling as much as 18.9% from that high to its close on April 8, only to rally back furiously.

The fastest the S&P 500 has ever recovered from a decline of 15% or more to a fresh record was the 90 trading days that ended on Nov. 23, 1998, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Back then, the S&P had fallen 19.3% from its July 17, 1998 high to its trough on Aug. 31, 1998 when Federal Reserve intervention helped stabilize the market. This time around, the Fed isn’t expected to cut interest rates until September, when traders see a 62.3% of at least one quarter-point cut. Instead, the turnaround has been led by traders who bet that President Trump will normalize tariffs after his steep threats on April 2 were walked back on April 9.

“During the market swoon from the mid-February highs through the ‘Liberation Day’ lows, the S&P 500 never quite made it into bear market territory. But from the April 8th low through last Friday, the index rallied just over 20%, marking one of the strongest rallies off a 50-day low on record,” writes Bespoke Investment Group co-founder Paul Hickey.

Hickey points out that the S&P 500 has only rallied 20% or more in two months or less 11 times since 1945.

“While returns over the following week and month were mixed to negative, over the next three, six, and twelve months, returns were consistently positive, and a year later, the S&P 500 was higher every time for a median gain of more than 20%,” Hickey writes.