Summary List PlacementThe stock market today looks far different than it did during the depths of March 2020, when investors were coming to terms with the economic wreckage the pandemic would cause, and dramatic market plunges triggered so-called circuit breakers for the first time in years. This week, the S&P 500 surged to an all-time high, up 46% from a year ago. Executives are growing more optimistic about the US economy's direction as vaccines roll out.