Tech stocks pushed the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 to new highs this week, even as investors continue to grapple with a murky backdrop in the Middle East. The charge was led by Micron Technology, whose shares have tripled this year as investors find their way into memory stocks as a way to play the AI sector. Markets were also buoyed by seemingly positive news on the war front, though has so often been the case, little in the way of concrete developments had emerged by mid-week.

Meanwhile, the ECB on Wednesday said investors are underestimating the extent of the risk they face as a result of the Middle East war and the increase in government debt. “Despite initial declines, financial-asset prices still look stretched by historical standards, all the more so when current geoeconomic stress and uncertainty are taken into account,” said Luis de Guindos, the ECB’s vice president, in the central bank’s twice-a-year Financial Stability Review. “This leaves markets vulnerable to sharp repricing.”

John Vibert, head of credit at PGIM, recently spoke at the Milken Institute Global Conference, discussing market volatility and access, and public-private credit solutions, among other topics.