How Can Wall Street Be Healthy When Main Street Isn’t?

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is flying, with the S&P 500 having eclipsed its pre-pandemic record, while Main Street is teetering.

Stocks have soared even as the economy has struggled in large part because investors are looking ahead to a brighter future.

Huge efforts by the Federal Reserve and Congress to prop up the economy have helped put a floor under markets.

Profits have also remained incredibly resilient for the stock market’s most influential companies.

Rising hopes for a potential COVID-19 vaccine are also encouraging investors to focus on an expected rebound in corporate profits as life returns to normal.