The last time the S&P 500 rose this rapidly — outside of recession periods — was before the 1987 crash

The speed of the market's run-up in the last two months is worrying investors it could overheat soon. The S & P 500 was up more than 16% over April and May, a magnitude that's only happened in four other instances since World War II, Deutsche Bank Research found. Three of those cases were a massive recovery following a major shock, the Wall Street firm noted. There was the comeback in April-May 2020, directly after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic; March-April 2009, which followed the Great Financial Crisis; and January-February 1975, following the first oil shock. The speed of those gains could be justified as the clearing of an economic shock causes a rush to buy. However, the last time the S & P 500 rose like it is now outside of a recession period was the few months before the 1987 crash. "The speed of the rally is now bucking all recent precedents for an economy that isn't emerging from recession," Henry Allen, macro strategist at Deutsche Bank Research, wrote on Monday. The striking historical precedent does not sit well will some for the current market — especially considering the lingering risks. Much of the current rally has to do with excitement around artificial intelligence, after the latest earnings season proved to many investors that tech stocks, in particular, have further to go even after their massive run-up. Large-cap technology companies are quickly surpassing a bevy of milestones. …