Wall Street’s optimism factory is working overtime as investor confidence surges heading into the holiday season. According to our latest Bear and Bull survey, 66.4% of readers are feeling bullish about market prospects for November. Despite the government shutdown running into its 31st day, investors are riding the high of an impressive six-month winning streak for major indices.

• The S&P 500 notched 36 all-time highs this year, its longest monthly winning streak since Aug. 2021, while the Nasdaq logged seven straight months of gains — its best run since early 2018.
• Hopes for a US-China trade deal lifted sentiment, with President Trump signaling confidence in striking an agreement during his five-day Asia trip to ease global tensions.

Forward-looking: The Federal Reserve issued its second rate cut of the year in late October, though Chair Jerome Powell cautioned that another in December was “far from” certain. Meanwhile, tech giants are deepening their AI spending spree — with AlphabetGOOGL

, AmazonAMZN

, MetaMETA

, and MicrosoftMSFT

reporting a combined $112B in quarterly capital expenditures. Together with falling interest rates and easing trade tensions, this tech-driven momentum could carry markets through year-end, even as analysts warn that valuations are looking increasingly stretched.