Around the world, millions of people have lost their jobs or been paid by their governments to stay at home. Yet stock markets have bounced back from steep drops in March. The most striking gains have been made in the US, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq up a whopping 42% and the wider S&P 500 up 15% on the year. But the UK's FTSE 100, with its struggling oil companies, banks and airlines, all of which were whacked by the pandemic, has not had such an easy time. While it is still down 14% since the start of the year, it has seen a steady rise over the last few months and received a recent boost after a trade deal with the EU was reached and another vaccine was approved. In Japan, shares bounced back after a vaccine was found, with pharmaceutical stocks and gaming companies leading the way. Some of the growth is down to the way we measure the performance of stock markets, and some might be down to some overenthusiasm, according to investors. There is also the matter of the amount of money central banks are creating, they say. And finally, there are some small reasons for optimism. An important thing to consider is that stock market prices aren't just about the here and now, says Sue Noffke, head of UK equities at money manager Schroders. "Stock markets look forward so they are a bit like driving a car - you have your eyes on the horizon, rather than the pothole that's in front of you," she says. Investors are banking on the success of the various new vaccines that have been approved or are in development in getting growth and sales back to normal.