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Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on April 16, 2026. <\/p>\n
NYSE<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
U.S. stocks climbed to record highs<\/a> on Wednesday against a backdrop of war, an oil supply shock<\/a> and economic forecasts warning<\/a> of stunted growth amid a protracted conflict. <\/p>\n Many investors may be thinking: Why? <\/p>\n Largely, it’s because the stock market is a barometer of what investors think will happen in the future, rather than an assessment of the present day, according to economists and market analysts. <\/p>\n Investors are essentially shrugging off the Middle East conflict as a blip that will be resolved relatively quickly, they said. <\/p>\n “The stock market isn’t trying to price what’s happening today,” said Joe Seydl, a senior markets economist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. “The stock market is always trying to price what the world is going to look like six to 12 months from now.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The S&P 500<\/a>Why stocks have been ‘resilient’<\/h2>\n