Fathom Chart of the Day 19.08.2020: S&P 500 up by 50% since March

The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high yesterday, completing a not-quite-symmetrical V-shaped recovery. The rally has come against the backdrop of a global pandemic as well as record declines in GDP and through time has been met by market observers with the various stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. As some have quipped, nothing changes sentiment like price. On that front, there is some justification for the gains over the past few months: equities are forward-looking; interest rates are likely to be even lower for even longer; record fiscal and monetary stimulus; the impact of large technology companies; and much-compressed vaccine timelines among other factors. These arguments collectively add up, but like many things this year, the S&P 500’s incredible rebound still feels weird.

Refresh this chart in your browser | Edit the chart in Datastream

__________________________________________________________________________________