After a rough 2022, stocks took a strong turn upward in 2023, sparked by the slowing pace of rate hikes, declining inflation and a resilient job market: a trio of good omens that could portend the elusive but highly desired "soft landing" for the U.S. economy.With that backdrop, and with the Federal Reserve now projecting as many as three interest rate cuts in 2024, stocks have been given the green light to run, and all three major U.S. stock market indexes are sitting on healthy gains as the last days...