The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed above 5,800 for the first time—and that's not all.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also notched a record high last week—and all three major U.S. stock indices ended the first full week of October with gains of more than one percent.

There was good economic news, too.

• Inflation continued to slow in September. The Consumer Price Index showed headline inflation was 2.4 percent annualized—the smallest annual increase since February 2021. 
• Consumers are feeling better than they did a year ago. "[Consumer sentiment] is currently 8 [percent] stronger than a year ago and almost 40 [percent] above the trough reached in June 2022," reported University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu.
• The economy continues to grow. After inflation, the U.S. economy grew by 3 percent in the second quarter of 2024. Forecasts project that economic growth in the third quarter will be 3.2 percent.
• Wages have grown faster than inflation. In September 2024, average hourly earnings were up 4 percent. After inflation, they were up 1.5 percent. Of course, that's a broad reading for the entire country and may not reflect individual experience.

"By just about every measure, the U.S. economy is in good shape. Growth is strong. Unemployment is low. Inflation is back down. More important, many Americans are getting sizable pay raises, and middle-class wealth has surged to record levels. We are living through one of the best economic years of many people's lifetimes…The United States has nearly 7 million more jobs than it did before the pandemic, and the largest share of 25- to 54-year-olds working since 2001," reported Heather Long of The Washington Post.

It's remarkable that many Americans still don't recognize the strength of the economy. Last week, a Harvard Caps/Harris Poll found that, "63 [percent] of voters believe the U.S. economy is on the wrong track and 62 [percent] characterize it as weak, consistent with perceptions over the past year."