There are generally two distinct criteria used to gauge the onset of a new bull market: The market must increase by at least 20% from its cyclical low point, and it must set a new all-time high. The S 500 has already cleared the first hurdle, rising more than 28% from its low in early October. At this writing, it sits just 4% below its all-time high. Once it crosses that threshold, the new bull market will be official.

The market's recovery thus far has added some members to the exclusive group of U.S. companies with market caps of more than $1 trillion. Here are the members of this group as of the market close on Tuesday:

Two companies with strong ties to artificial intelligence (AI) are in contention to join that exclusive group: Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), with a market cap of roughly $835 billion, and (NASDAQ: TSLA) with a market cap of $759 billion. It's worth noting that both companies were formerly members, only to lose their qualification for the club during the economic downturn. Many investors believe it's merely a matter of time before they rejoin it.

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Source Fool.com