With just one trading session left in the year, the U.S. market has rebounded impressively from its lackluster performance in 2022. The S&P 500 is poised to break out to a new high, boasting a gain of 24.6% for the year. Meanwhile, the S&P Equal Weight Index, which equally weights its constituents, has seen a more modest 12% advance, highlighting the influence of mega-caps in the market rally.
Top Winners:
Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA)
YTD Gain: +239%
AI-leveraged Nvidia takes the lead with a 239% gain. The company’s AI accelerator chipsets, powering large-language models, have positioned it at the forefront of the tech arena.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
YTD Gain: +198%
Meta benefited from a rebound in ad spending and efficiency measures, including significant job cuts. The success of its TikTok clone, Reels, contributed to its impressive performance.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)
YTD Gain: +163%
Cruise-line operators rebounded from COVID-19 disruptions, capitalizing on the resurgence in travel and leisure. Economic uncertainties have made people cautious, but the outlook may improve in the new year.
Builders FirstSource, Inc. (NYSE:BLDR)
YTD Gain: +160%
Despite a lackluster housing market recovery, this Dallas-based supplier of building materials secured the fourth spot among the S&P 500 gainers.
Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER)
YTD Gain: +155%
Uber’s gains were spread throughout the year, with a steeper ascent in the latter part, driven by news of its S&P 500 inclusion.
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)
YTD Gain: +112%
Palo Alto, a security software company, secured the ninth spot among the best-performing S&P 500 stocks, driven by strong fundamental performance.
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)
YTD Gain: +106%
Tesla’s performance was a tale of two halves. Despite concerns over aggressive price cuts impacting margins, the stock is set to end the year as the tenth best-performing S&P 500 stock.
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The “Magnificent Seven” is the moniker given to the biggest seven mega-cap tech names: Nvidia, Meta, Tesla, Amazon, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) (up 83% YTD), Alphabet, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (+59% YTD), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) (+58% YTD) and Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) (+50% YTD). The…
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