S&P 500 hits all-time high, maybe time for high quality stocks

Markets were mostly up on Thursday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to an all-time high, the STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.2 percent and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.5 percent.

While talk of lower taxes and other changes to tax policy proposed by the Trump administration helped prop up stocks, IG Market Analyst Joshua Mahoney said that “there is a great deal of skepticism over the timing and ability to deliver such reforms”.

In the meantime, some investors are becoming concerned about the endurance of the stock market rally and shifting into high quality stocks.

“In an environment where everything is expensive, we recommend client portfolios designed to participate on the upside, but really focus on the downside,” said Wells Fargo's Head of Equity Strategy Chris Harvey. “We believe the best risk-reward is in higher quality stocks.”