Although President Trump's tariff and trade policy is headline news, another factor is of far greater importance to the stock market.

It's been quite a memorable year for Wall Street, with the broad-based S&P 500 ( ^GSPC -0.29% ) , growth stock-propelled Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC -0.40% ) , and ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI 0.08% ) navigating their way through historical bouts of volatility.

For example, during a one-week stretch in April, the S&P 500 endured its fifth-biggest two-day percentage decline in 75 years , as well as logged its largest single-day point gain since its inception. The benchmark index has also delivered one of its strongest three-month returns since 1950.

With the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rocketing to fresh all-time high

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