’Twas a huge year for the stock market — from Fed rate cuts to the Trump bump

The final stretch… With just a handful of trading days left this year, the S&P 500 is on track to end 2024 up 27%. After a 24% gain in 2023, it would mark only the fourth time in the past century that the index has notched 20%+ returns for two years straight (the last time was in the ’90s). The year’s rally has been fueled by AI hype, Fed rate cuts, and a perception that POTUS-elect Trump’s policies will be favorable for markets. His victory has Wall Street anticipating corporate tax cuts, looser regulatory scrutiny, and a dealmaking boom, especially with the expected departures of FTC chair Lina Khan and SEC boss Gary Gensler.

The techy Nasdaq appears poised to outperform the S&P 500 with AI-flavored stocks leading the pack (Nvidia and Palantir have racked up triple-digit annual gains). Still, about a fifth of stocks in the S&P 500 are down for the year. Among the biggest losers: Walgreens, Boeing, Intel, and Moderna.