S&P 500 hits 7,000 for the first time, led by a surprising group of stocks

The S&P 500 index reached 7,000 for the first time in history, marking a significant milestone in the stock market. This achievement comes after a rally that has seen large-cap stocks rise significantly. The index's rapid ascent to this level reflects a major rotation in market leadership, with traditionally non-leading sectors like energy and materials driving the gains. Despite this, experts suggest that tech companies need to lead for a more explosive rally. Other major indexes also approached record levels, indicating a broader market strength.

By Isabel Wang The index blows past another psychological barrier The S&P 500 on Wednesday blew past another psychological barrier, hitting 7,000 for the first time in history. Wall Street has a new number to brag about. The S&P 500 SPX on Wednesday reached 7,000 for the first time in history, extending a rally that has pushed U.S. large-cap stocks into a territory few investors imagined decades ago. The S&P 500 was rising 0.3% to trade at 7,002 as of early Wednesday, hitting its new intraday record and on pace to finish above the 7,000 threshold for the first time in record. Wednesday marked 302 trading days - or about 14 months - since the S&P 500's last 1,000-point milestone, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The large-cap benchmark index finished above 6,000 for the first time on Nov. 11, 2024. This is the second-fastest move from one 1,000-point milestone to the next on record, representing a gain of 16.7%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The 1,000-point milestones have been arriving more frequently lately. The index took just 190 days to get from 5,000 to 6,000, and 719 days to go from 4,000 to 5,000. By comparison, it took 4,168 trading days for the index to go from 1,000 to 2,000 (see table below). SOURCE: DOW JONES MARKET DATA "It's a chaotic start to the year, but what we've seen is a major rotation underway. We're seeing stocks that don't tend to lead during the heart of bull markets - meaning energy XX:SP500.10, materials XX:SP500.15 and consumer staples XX:SP500.30 stocks - leading the rally," said Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. Yet "that's the wrong leadership," Woods said, adding that the stock market still needs the so-called Magnificent Seven group of tech companies to drive an "explosive rally" - a dynamic that has played out so far this week as the S&P 500 pushes toward 7,000 ahead of megacap tech earnings later on Wednesday. See: The market has cooled on tech. These are the trades to make now, says this strategist. The S&P 500 kicked off the new year hovering just below the 7,000 level, but the final push to its next big round-number milestone got bumpy after President Donald Trump blasted into 2026 with dramatic moves in foreign policy, including a military operation in Venezuela that captured the country's then leader, Nicholás Maduro, and commandeered some of its oil revenue. Last week Trump also briefly renewed tariff threats against European allies, stemming from their opposition to his talk of acquiring Greenland. That temporarily sparked wild swings in the stock market, which quickly recovered. The S&P 500 wasn't alone on Wednesday: Other major stock indexes were also trading near record territory, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA at 49,026 and the Nasdaq composite COMP at 23,932, leaving it just shy of 0.1% from its record level. Gold (GC00), silver (SI00) and copper (HG00) also have been surging. Related: Gold and the S&P 500 are hitting highs in rare lockstep, reflecting a shifting view of 'haven' assets More notably, the small-cap Russell 2000 index RUT has led the way in 2026, rising 8% so far this month, while the large-cap S&P 500 has gained just 2.2% in the same period, according to FactSet data. The outperformance of small caps reflects hopes for an accelerating U.S. economy, as smaller, domestically focused companies tend to benefit from rising investor appetite for higher growth and riskier stocks when the economy is on firm ground. -Isabel Wang This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 01-28-26 1007ET