US stocks dipped in the final trading session of 2024, but weakness in the waning days of the year did little to dent the market’s massive annual gain.
Investors in 2024 enjoyed a second consecutive year of gains over 20% for the benchmark S&P 500 amid soaring excitement for artificial intelligence, interest rate cuts, and Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The benchmark index is up more than 23% for the year, just a 29% gain over the Nasdaq Composite. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose just about 13%.
The AI frenzy continued to praise chipmakers and software companies with ties to space, inflating the market cap of the Magnificent Seven. That year, Nvidia surpassed a $3 trillion market cap to overtake Apple as the world’s most valuable company.
Though the tech rally deepened fears of an over-concentrated market, the bull run broadened out in 2024. Utilities, which power AI, have benefited heavily.
In the second half of 2024, progress in inflation and unexpected strength in the hard-work market have given the Federal Reserve room to begin easing policy, thereby amplifying appetite for threats. Recession fears, which persisted through 2023, have dissipated.
Stocks went on to rally steeply ahead of November, as Trump’s election fueled excitement for deregulation and tax cuts.
But the recovery was not limited to stock markets.
2024 is a landmark year for Bitcoin as the token surpassed the six-figure mark for the first time. Commodities from gold to cocoa have hit records of their own.
After achieving such gains, even a single correction in the last two years, investors now face a wall of uncertainty.
Indexes wavered in the final sessions of 2024, as traders questioned the outlook for interest rates and grew skittish about the sustainability of the red-hot rally.
While no major analyst expects the bull run to end, some say investors should brace for corrections and weaker growth.
Stock and bond markets will be closed on Wednesday for New Year’s Day.
For economic data this week, investors will be watching for the initial jobless claims on Thursday, followed by ISM manufacturing data on Friday.
Here’s where the US indices are at the 4:00 p. m. close. from Tuesday:
This is what happened:
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
Bitcoin fell 0. 8% to $93,416.