S&P 500 is moving toward record territory. Here’s what stock-market investors need to know.

It’s been a strange, if not historically long, trip for stock-market bulls, but after nearly two years, the S&P 500 is just a few points away from record territory.

The S&P 500 SPX, the U.S. large-cap benchmark, rose 20.12 points, or 0.4%, to close Tuesday at 4,774.75. That leaves the index less than 0.5% away from its record close at 4,796.56, set on Jan. 3, 2022.

Through…