The S&P 500 added to its record as U.S. stock indexes drifted through a quiet Wednesday on Wall Street. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% after setting an all-time high the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 71 points,

However, the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC -0.01%) is generally considered the best barometer for the overall U.S. stock market due to its scope and diversity. Read on to see the S&P 500's average return over the last decade, and to learn what Wall Street expects in the future.

Helping to support the fervor has been strong profit reports from Entergy and other big U.S. businesses. Companies in the S&P 500 are on track to deliver nearly 17% growth in their earnings per share for the final three months of 2024, compared with a year earlier. That would be the best growth since 2021, according to FactSet.