TINA trading helps boost U.S. stocks to new highs again, geopolitical concerns still lingering.

The ceasefire agreement reached earlier this month between the United States and Iran has helped fuel a revival in TINA (There Is No Alternative to equities) trading. Investors are anticipating stronger profit growth and a more resilient economy in the United States, prompting them to return to the U.S. stock market. Since U.S. President Trump announced the ceasefire on April 7, the U.S. stock market has repeatedly hit new highs. According to data from LSEG/Lipper, global investors have net purchased $28 billion worth of U.S. stocks since then, with nearly $23 billion coming from domestic U.S. investors. Prior to the ceasefire, investors had withdrawn a net $56 billion from the U.S. stock market this year. This reversal reflects market confidence: as a net energy exporter, the United States is better positioned than Europe and some Asian economies to withstand the impact of high energy prices. Michael Browne of Franklin Templeton stated that investors are flowing back into markets that have shown the strongest long-term performance and recent results. Recent profit expectations have also supported this shift in funds. Profit growth for companies in the S&P 500 Index for the first quarter is expected to be close to 14%, compared to around 4.2% for European companies, with European profit growth largely reliant on the oil and gas sector. Some fund managers have started to reduce their investment positions in Europe and increase their investments in the U.S. market; fund flow data also shows that there has been an outflow of funds from South Korean and European stock funds recently. Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank, stated that the S&P 500 has risen over 10% in just 11 trading days, making it one of the fastest rebounds since the turn of the century. After the stock market's V-shaped reversal driven by easing geopolitical risks, Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, made the assessment: "Investors are no longer focused on war, but on fundamentals." However, the situation in the Middle East remains highly tense. According to several Iranian media reports on the 19th, Iran is prepared for the resumption of hostilities and has refused to participate in a second round of negotiations with the United States. On the same day, the U.S. military intercepted and detained an Iranian cargo ship in the waters of the Gulf of Oman, with the Iranian military accusing the U.S. of blatantly violating the ceasefire agreement and vowing to respond to this act of piracy soon. On Monday, international oil prices rose, with WTI crude futures surging over 7% and Brent crude futures prices up 6%. Spot silver fell 2.3% and spot gold fell 1.87%. As of the time of writing, futures for the three major U.S. stock indices had dropped by nearly 1%.