Detached from reality? Why U.S. stocks just hit a new high

Has Wall Street missed the news that we are in a pandemic?

The U.S. economy remains battered by the coronavirus outbreak and Congress is deadlocked on another stimulus bill - yet the U.S. stock market just hit a new record intraday high.

While it may seem like investors have failed to factor in any of the bad news weighing on most U.S. households, there are several key reasons why the stock market has recovered and could continue to rally higher.

“Main Street lives for today, whereas Wall Street focuses on tomorrow,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. “There’s been a massive amount of monetary and fiscal stimulus ... and there’s a rising confidence that pharmaceutical firms are getting closer to a vaccine.”