Helping to support the fervor has been strong profit reports from Entergy and other big U.S. businesses. Companies in the S&P 500 are on track to deliver nearly 17% growth in their earnings per share for the final three months of 2024, compared with a year earlier. That would be the best growth since 2021, according to FactSet.

Stocks are drifting lower although still near a record high as a holiday-shortened week gets off to a sluggish start. The S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower in Tuesday afternoon trading and is just below its all-time closing high set last month.