Economic growth, while still robust, is slowing. At the same time, inflation continues to outpace the Federal Reserve‘s 2% target, hurting consumer sentiment in the process. The unemployment rate continues to hover around half-century lows, though the persistently tight labor market further fueling inflation means that these job vacancies aren’t exactly something to brag about. But the most unambiguously strong feature of the economy is the stock market, and it is booming.
The biggest market headline of the year is the ascension of Nvidia, which became the third company in history to reach a $3 trillion valuation, surpassing Apple to become the second-biggest company behind Microsoft. Fueled by the West’s preference for “friendshoring” chip manufacturing away from Chinese influence, as well as the artificial intelligence boom, Nvidia’s stock is up 217% in the past year, a clear success story for an otherwise lackluster economy.
