Markets across the world have had plenty to worry about in the past decade. A global pandemic, a major war between Ukraine and Russia in Europe, steady inflation across major economies, including the U.S., rising tensions between China and the U.S., and, most recently, a conflict in the Middle East.
And yet the S&P 500 is up nearly 80% over the past five years, the Nasdaq up more than 86%. Even with the global oil supply shock in over the past three-plus months, Wall Street has remained bullish—thanks, in large part, to the promise of artificial intelligence.
If investors are surprised by seeing their portfolios continue to tick up in the face of such headwinds, so is JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
The Wall Street veteran admitted he’s a little taken aback by the market’s apparent complacency at present. Speaking in a discussion held by the Council on Foreign Relations, Dimon said: “I am surprised because I think that you have Ukraine, Iran, oil, Russia, and our relationship with China. That stuff is really important for the free world, but it’s not necessarily the economy today.”
While consumers and analysts may be focused on the short term, Dimon said he was concerned about the shifting “tectonic plates” shaping the economy’s trajectory over the much longer term.
