THE S&P 500 index rose more than 11 per cent year-to-date in 2021 (as at May 26, 2021), continuing the great rally in 2020 after the rebound off the lows due to the Covid-19 pandemic. US stock markets saw a bull run which saw the indexes breaking all the highs multiple times in the recent months.

Even though the pandemic situation is far from over, vaccination progress in US as well as strong economic data and earning reports from companies fuelled the rally of the US stock markets.

US President Joe Biden has also toned down some of his policy goals mentioned during the presidential campaign, such as tax policy changes. With many countries and cities starting to reopen their economy and borders, the stock market performance has reflected the sense of optimism in the fight against the pandemic supported by the economic data.