EDITOR'S NOTE

Stocks notched new milestones in their historic bull run Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted at easier monetary policy during his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee.  

The S&P 500 crossed the 3,000 mark for the first time, while the Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average also reached all-time highs. CNBC’s Yun Li looked at the names powering the rally over the five years since the S&P hit its last high-water mark of 2,000. So-called FANG names made the list, with Amazon and Netflix scoring 450% returns. Medical implant manufacturer Abiomed was the clear leader, though, with a whopping 909% surge. 

Traders are now betting the Fed will deliver an “insurance” rate cut at its July meeting to give some cushion to the longest economic expansion ever.

History shows that such a move can be great for the stock market and that’s why the S&P 500 is hitting a new high. The first rate cut by the Fed in an easing cycle leads to a stock market rally 100% of the time, according to data compiled by Fundstrat going back to 1971. But there’s a catch. For that to happen, the economy must not fall into a recession — which is hard to tell most of the time — including right now.

Join CNBC Events next Tuesday, July 16 in Chicago for the @Work Human Capital + Finance Summit. Steve Liesman will sit down with Chicago Fed Chair Charles Evans and leaders from IBM, Snap-On, Delta and Adobe will talk about what the future of work means for your bottom line. Visit cnbcevents.com/work-capital-finance for tickets.

TOP NEWS 

TOP VIDEO

SPECIAL REPORTS