Happy birthday bull!

Who’s ready to party?

• Milestone Alert: The stock market's bull run officially hits the 2-year mark this Saturday! Since bottoming out on October 12, 2022, the S&P 500 has skyrocketed by an impressive 61%.

• What's Next? Historically, bull markets last about 46 months. If this one follows the typical trend, we could still have 22 months of gains ahead!

• A Bull Run to Remember: But this isn’t your average bull market! Over the past two years, the S&P 500 has not only bounced back from sharp dips but has also shattered numerous record highs. Could this upswing surpass expectations? It sure looks promising!

In fact, about one in five trading days in 2024 have brought a new all-time close.

Here are some key points to consider:

• Midway through the cycle: With the median bull market lasting 46 months, this one could still have about 22 months to go, if it follows the typical pattern, according to JPMorgan.

• Positive momentum: The S&P 500 has bounced back from pullbacks, hitting multiple record highs over the past two years.

• Potential risks: Hurricanes, geopolitical tensions, and the upcoming presidential election could pose threats to investors.

• Valuation concerns: The S&P 500’s forward price-to-earnings ratio has climbed from 15 in 2022 to 21.6, approaching levels seen during the Dot-Com Bubble.

• Healthier market: The market is becoming less concentrated, with 85% of S&P 500 companies in the green compared to a year ago, and the equal-weighted S&P 500 outperforming its cap-weighted counterpart.

Rapid-fire:

• Bank of America saw an outage late Wednesday with some customers reporting their account balances read $0 (USA Today)

• The dockworkers’ strike threatens to push banana prices to the moon (Sherwood Media)

• Nike stock dropped more than 6% Wednesday with the company withdrawing its guidance for the year (Yahoo Finance)

• ChatGPT-creator OpenAI has nearly doubled its valuation to $157 billion in its latest funding round (WSJ)

• Costco will now sell platinum bars on its website for $1,089.99, an addition to its lineup of gold bars and silver coins (CNBC)

• Football legend Tom Brady is auctioning off game-worn items, luxury watches, and personal treasures (Barron’s)

Last thing: