Inflation. The Iran War. A Hawkish Fed. Soaring Bond Yields. And Concerns About Artificial Intelligence. The Stock Market Faces Many Hurdles, But Only 1 Metric Truly Matters Right Now

Key Points Knowing everything that has happened, if you had asked investors before the year started how the market would fare, many likely would have taken a bearish view. However, the market is having a solid year. There's one factor enabling the S&P 500 to keep plowing higher, and it's the same metric investors should watch to see whether the market can continue its run. 10 stocks we like better than S&P 500 Index › Many investors are surprised that the broader benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has been so resilient this year.