The S&P 500 hit another historic high on 9 February, closing above 5,000 for the first time. This milestone comes as no surprise for those investors paying close attention to the index.

The S&P 500 has been on a general uptick since last October, rising 21% since the of that month. And the reason for this new record? Strong earnings from its main constituents including Meta Platforms (META:NASDAQ), which not only reported impressive fourth quarter earnings but issued its maiden dividend – year-to-date the shares are up 32.2%.

Then there is microchip technology firm Nvidia (NVDA:NASDAQ) whose shares are up 45.7% year-to-date. Nivida is due to report fourth-quarter earnings on 21 February with analysts expecting revenue of more than $20.2 billion, a more than three-fold increase on last year due to surging demand for AI (artificial intelligence).

Other companies which have buoyed the US index include global streaming giant Netflix (NFLX:NASDAQ) and software and services firm Microsoft (MSFT:NASDAQ).

These mega caps were also the drivers of most of the index’s 24% gain in 2023.

However, it isn’t just technology stocks which have lifted the index recent US economic data such as job numbers and consumer spending point to a surprisingly resilient economy in the face of record interest rate hikes.

In the healthcare sector, shares in Eli Lilly (LLY:NYSE) have scaled fresh heights this year after the diabetes and weight-loss drug maker reported fourth-quarter sales and earnings above analysts’ estimates.

Over the last five years, Eli Lilly shares have gained 489% taking the company’s market value to $669 billion, overtaking EV (electric vehicle) maker and former market darling Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ) on the way and making it the 10th largest S&P 500 constituent.

Elsewhere, hotly-anticipated new listing ARM (ARM:NASDAQ) has not disappointed, posting better-than-expected results and a strong outlook, sending its shares up nearly 50% in a single trading session and 98% over five trading days to take its market cap to more than $150 billion.

The Cambridge-headquartered chip design firm reported a better-than-forecast 14% revenue increase in its December quarter revenue and now projects sales will rise as much as 20% for the financial year to March 2024. There is considerable excitement about its growth in the AI sphere.

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