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The Nasdaq ended nearly 1% lower on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 fell 0.4%. The Dow Jones closed just below the flat line. All seven big tech names ended lower on Tuesday.
With a 53% return across the last two years, the S&P 500 posted its best two-year stretch since the dotcom boom era of 1997 – 1998, during which it had gained 66%. For 2024, the index gained 23.3%.
The Dow Jones ended 13% higher for the year, while some late profit booking trimmed the Nasdaq’s gains from 30%-plus down to 28%. The 30-stock Dow fell 5% in December, while the Nasdaq managed a 0.5% advance.
AI chip darling Nvidia and iPhone giant Apple — members of the so-called Magnificent 7 — rose 171% and 30%, respectively, and notched new highs of their own in 2024.
Bank stocks in particular were one group that surged after the election, with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs closing up about 41% and 48%, respectively, year to date. Shares of Tesla, whose CEO Elon Musk is a close ally of Trump, finished the year up more than 62%.
Meanwhile, bitcoin has performed even better than the stock market, up 119% for the year, having crossed the $1,00,000 mark as well in 2024.
All 19 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect the S&P 500 to deliver another year of positive returns in 2025 as well, with price targets ranging from 6,500 to as high as 7,000.
Among individual commodities, gold had its best year since 2010. Oil rose in thin holiday trading to close out a flat performance in 2024 as the market braces for a global surplus next year. Cocoa’s 178% annual gain was driven by market volatility and concerns about supply.
European natural gas prices rose to the highest level since last November in anticipation of a halt in Russian flows via Ukraine on New Year’s Day.
US markets will remain shut on Wednesday on account of the new year holiday.
