Futures are up modestly, capping off a strong year for the S&P 500, up 23.9% through yesterday’s close (versus +24.2% in 2023.) But, it was a year of haves and have-nots. Companies like PLTR (+349.5%) and NVDA (+177.6%) soared, while stocks in real estate, energy and healthcare suffered through another depressing year.

All together, the Magnificent Seven (GOOGL, AMZN, AAPL, META, MSFT, NVDA and TSLA – which collectively account for one-third of the S&P 500’s capitalization) climbed 48%, while the rest of the S&P 500 lagged at only 15%. In other words, investors who practiced reasonable diversification were heavily penalized.

continued for members…

I’ll be taking the rest of the week off to work on the year-end recap and look ahead at 2025.

I wish all of you a safe and happy New Year!