Wall Street Posted a Strong Year of Growth Driven by Tech and AI
Stock prices of companies like Palantir Technologies (the top performer of the year in the S&P 500) and Nvidia saw impressive increases.
Despite moderate declines, Wall Street closed the final trading day of an exceptional year. The performance of the three major indices stood out, along with various trends that have strengthened and continue to generate expectations for the upcoming year.
The Dow Jones, consisting of 30 large-cap stocks, finished the year at 42,544.22 points, with a yearly gain of 12.88%. Meanwhile, the SPX 500 increased by 23.31% to 5,881.63, and the Nasdaq Composite rose by 28.64%, closing at 19,310.79 points.
Despite the moderate declines in the indices on the final trading day of 2024 (down 0.07%, 0.43%, and 0.9%, respectively), market expectations remain positive, with trends gaining strength, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Top Market Performers of 2024
Among AI stocks, the best performer among the major companies in the S&P 500 was Palantir Technologies, which achieved an impressive 330% annual gain for its investors. The company, specializing in processing large data volumes, has lucrative contracts with the U.S. government, allowing it to outperform even market giants and AI leaders like Nvidia (+170%).
The AI trend has fueled growth in these companies, as well as chip manufacturers like Broadcom (+109%) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (+90%). The growing demand for chips has powered these gains.
Stock valuations have surged with the increase in share prices, but we believe the growth of AI will continue and transition from hardware to software on a massive scale. Other notable trends include Bitcoin, which continued to boost stocks like Coinbase (+33.24%) thanks to the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, and weight loss treatments like Eli Lilly’s famous Tirzepatide (+33.78%).
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