Tesla, IBM and Meta Platforms helped lead most U.S. stocks higher on Thursday following a rush of profit reports from some of the country’s most influential companies. The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, as four out of every five stocks in the index climbed.

Warren Buffett's historic $127 billion warning to Wall Street happens to align with another stock market alarm. Specifically, the S&P 500 currently trades at a historically expensive valuation. The index achieved a cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio (CAPE) of 37.9 in December 2024, which is a substantial premium to 20-year average of 27.

U.S. stocks slipped after the Federal Reserve held its main interest rate steady and broke a run of cuts that began in September