The Standard & Poor’s 500 index soared 2.3% last week and is on track to close the first quarter of 2024 with a gain of more than 10% — more than four times the average annual gain since 1926. 

The S&P 500 has been rising sharply since mid-January and last week’s 2.3% gain followed the conclusion of a meeting of members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).