Margin debt climbed to a record high in February, a fresh sign of bullishness for flummoxed investors trying to navigate the political and economic crosscurrents driving markets.

The amount investors borrowed against their brokerage accounts climbed to $528.2 billion in February, according to the most recent data available from the New York Stock Exchange, released Wednesday. That is up 2.9% from $513.3 billion in January, which had been the first margin debt record in nearly two years.

Before January, the previous record high for margin debt was $505 billion in the spring of 2015. Margin debt then started falling, months ahead of a summer swoon that sent major indexes down more than 10%.

Analysts Say Don't Worry

MarketWatch reports Record Margin Debt May Be a Red Flag, but Analysts Say Don't Worry.

The latest warning sign — following underperformance by small-cap stocks, record inflows into exchange-traded funds and high levels of political uncertainty — is margin debt, which is seen as a measure of speculation and just broke a record that has stood for nearly two years.

Don't worry.