In spite of global woes, why is Wall Street still booming?

It was a dark Friday for Wall Street on 27 March. Oil prices were climbing and the war with Iran raged on.

- By Lauren Aratani and Andrew Witherspoon

Markets responded accordingly, with the Dow and Nasdaq entering correction territory, falling more than 10% below their peak, after a month of selloffs.

Fast forward seven weeks later to 13 May, and the situation in Iran only looked marginally better. Oil prices were high, and the strait of Hormuz was still closed. Peace talks with Iran seemed tenuous, even with the pressures of high fuel prices. Donald Trump said that day he was “not even a little bit” motivated by Americans’ financial situation to end the war. And yet, stock markets have not only recovered from their losses - they are thriving.

Yes, Wall Street still has its down days. But the tech-heavy Nasdaq index has continued to surge amid continued investment in AI. The index has gone up 11% since the start of the year. The Dow and S&P 500 continue to bump close to record highs. Each time investors shake off the latest shock and reach new highs, questions arise: what is driving this phenomenon, and how long can this bull market last?