There’s a war in Ukraine. Donald Trump is declaring a trade war on his partners, whose economies are so weak they need interest rate cuts, and rates here still haven’t been cut. Despite all this, our stock market hit a record high yesterday.

So, what gives?

News.com.au pointed to the mega merger of Chemist Warehouse with Sigma Healthcare that saw its share price spike 5.43%, which is a big one day rise, to finish at $2.91.

This is a $32 billion super company, which sees Chemist Warehouse shareholders hold 85.75% of the ASX-listed merged entity, while Sigma shareholders hold 14.25%.

This is a story of entrepreneurial triumph for Jack and Sam Gance, founders and leaders of Chemist Warehouse along with Mario Verrocchi. This is an enduring business and will be a star on the local stock market for years to come but the surge of stocks to record highs wasn’t just apothecary magic from Chemist Warehouse.

To understand what a big deal this new listed company is, Sigma powered by Chemist Warehouse is about a quarter of the market value of, wait for it, BHP and 10% of the CBA!

Company reporting has been promising, and it’s profit that underpins share prices. That’s why furniture and homewares group Temple and Webster saw its share price surge 13.03% to $16.14, after its earnings went up a big 118% to $9 million.

It was also good to see BHP rise 2.12% to $40.99, which could be a sign that the market will need to go higher.

The banks have been a big part of this rising stock market story. However, if rates are cut next week, we could see investors take profit by selling the banks and chasing those companies that have suffered lower profits because of 13 rate rises.

If bank share prices fall, we need the likes of BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue to trend higher because they’re a big chunk of the local stock market indexes — the S&P/ASX 200 and the All Ords.

Markets can keep going to record highs after record highs, but a pullback is likely some time this year, and Trump tariffs could be the cause.

If that happens, I’ll see this as a buying opportunity and will be buying quality companies set to do well in a falling interest rate environment.

A bloke saw me in the city this week and asked me for a market tip. So, I replied with this: become a subscriber to the Switzer Report and you’ll find out what I think about investing in stocks three times a week and you’ll get insights from some of the smartest market players I know, and that includes me!