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The S&P 500 (SP500) on Friday advanced +14.48% for the first half of 2024 and +4.14% in Q2, while its accompanying SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) moved +4.22% in the quarter and +14.5% for H1.
The benchmark index has been recently driven largely by a rally in a handful of technology stocks, thanks to the rage around artificial intelligence (AI). On a macro level, the S&P 500 has been buoyed in part by progress towards a scenario where the Federal Reserve can finally begin to unwind the monetary policy tightening campaign unleashed to combat the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
All 11 sectors within the index notched gains except Real Estate. Here are the top gainers this quarter:
- Nvidia (NVDA) +36.7%
- First Solar (FSLR) +33.6%
- Teradyne (TER) +31.4%
- GE Vernova (GEV) +25.4%
- Vistra (VST) +23.4%
- Apple (AAPL) +22.8%
- Netapp (NTAP) +22.7%
- Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) +21.3%
- Broadcom (AVGO) +21.1%
- Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) +20.5%
Around 60% of S&P 500 (SP500) constituents were also in red in the recent quarter, with some of the biggest losers including the following:
- Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) -44.2%
- Builders Firstsource (BLDR) -33.6%
- EPAM Systems (EPAM) -31.9%
- Estee Lauder Cos (EL) -30.9%
- Intel (INTC) -29.9%
- Globe Life (GL) -29.3%
- Paycom Software (PAYC) -28.1%
- Albemarle (ALB) -27.5%
- American Airlines (AAL) -26.1%
- CVS Health (CVS) -25.9%
Over the next six months, the S&P 500 (SP500) will likely sway to the Presidential election and interest rate decisions of the Federal Reserve. Multiple analysts see a correction up ahead, citing an overvalued market that has largely moved on the buzz around AI and a few tech megacap names.
