Markets finished the 4th quarter with more upside and the S&P 500 gained 25% on the year. Along the way, there were 57 record closes as inflation continued its descent, the Fed started lowering rates, and AI lifted the big tech stocks to lofty levels. These are the best performing back-to-back years for the stock market since 1998.
The Dow (DJIA) returned 16% and the Nasdaq increased by 25%. Although the major indices performed quite well, the returns were extremely concentrated. The Magnificent Seven (large technology stocks) accounted for more than 53% of the S&P 500’s total return and Nvidia alone made up 21% of the return. Click 2025 Outlook to read more of our Newsletter.