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新浪财经年终大盘点:美股2024年度十大新闻

Sina Finance Year-End Review: Top Ten News in the U.S. Stock Market for 2024.

Global market report. ·  Dec 31, 2024 07:21

This year, the US stock market performed strongly, with the S&P 500 increasing over 20% for two consecutive years, and Technology stocks continued to lead, with AI stocks like NVIDIA performing exceptionally well. The Federal Reserve has initiated a rate-cutting cycle, injecting optimism into the market, but factors such as high valuations and geopolitical risks have also increased market uncertainty. Sina Finance organizes the major events of the US stock market for the year and selects the top ten news stories for 2024.

The Federal Reserve restarts the interest rate cut cycle: a cumulative cut of 100 basis points within the year, and US stocks reach new historical highs.

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In 2024, the Federal Reserve's monetary policy undergoes a major shift. After four years, the Federal Reserve's first rate cut begins a new cycle. In December, the Fed announced a 25 basis point cut, lowering the federal funds rate target range from 4.5%-4.75% to 4.25%-4.5%, in line with market expectations; Powell stated at the post-meeting press conference that the Fed is at or near a point of slowing down rate cuts and will make decisions based on data next year.

The Federal Reserve's attitude towards further rate cuts has become more cautious. In this monetary policy meeting, it was rare for members of the Federal Open Market Committee to voice opposition to rate cuts, with voting member Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester preferring to keep rates unchanged. After the meeting, Fed Chair Powell acknowledged that this rate cut was a 'risky decision,' stating that 'from now on, this is a new phase, and we will be cautious about further rate cuts.'

The majority of members of the Federal Open Market Committee believe that by the end of 2025, the target range for the federal funds rate will drop to between 3.75% and 4%, indicating that next year may see only two rate cuts, a significant slowdown from the four cuts previously expected in September.

Market observers believe that while the Federal Reserve's latest forecast suggests two rate cuts next year, there is a possibility that monetary policy may be further disrupted by uncertainties from the new US government, increasing the challenges of implementing rate cuts.

In 2024, the US stock market performed strongly, repeatedly reaching new highs despite experiencing several fluctuations. As of December 30, the S&P 500 Index rose 23.84% for the year, the Nasdaq Index increased by 29.81% for the year, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 12.96%. Technology stocks stood out particularly, benefiting from rapid developments in areas such as AI, with major tech stocks like NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Apple seeing significant price increases. The Fed's rate-cutting cycle and the resilience of the US economy also provided strong support for the stock market. Despite concerns over geopolitical issues and economic recession, the US stock market has maintained a strong growth momentum overall.

The "Trump trade" is hot, with investors pouring 140 billion dollars into U.S. stock funds in the past month.

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Since the end of the USA elections in early November, investors have poured about 140 billion US dollars into US stock funds, as traders bet that Donald Trump's administration will introduce comprehensive tax cuts and reforms that will be Bullish for US businesses.

According to data provided by EPFR, since Trump's victory on November 5, US stock funds have attracted an inflow of $139.5 billion. This buying frenzy made November the busiest month for inflows since records began in 2000. The influx of new funds has driven US major stock indices to continuously set historical highs.

Trump threatened to impose tariffs on trade partners, which could lead to inflation rising again in the USA, thereby affecting the Federal Reserve's future rate cut path.

"The growth agenda proposed by Trump is receiving comprehensive support," said Dec Mullarkey, managing director of fund management company SLC Management. Mullarkey added that the senior government personnel selected by Trump are "quite beneficial to the market."

Tesla's stock price hit a new high, SpaceX's valuation soared, and Musk became the first person to break through 400 billion dollars in wealth.

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Since Trump's victory in the 2024 USA presidential election, Musk's net worth has continued to soar as a major donor behind him. His collaboration with the elected president, Donald Trump, has taken his career to new heights. As the head of multiple companies including Tesla, SpaceX, the social media platform X, and Neuralink, xAI, and Boring Company, Musk's influence is expanding. Additionally, he will co-lead the newly formed "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) with Vivek Ramaswamy, further extending his business reach.

Recently, internal stock sale trades have pushed SpaceX's valuation to approximately 350 billion USD, adding nearly 20 billion USD to Musk's personal wealth. In this transaction, SpaceX and its investors agreed to purchase up to 1.25 billion USD of internal shares, further boosting the company's value.

On December 12th, Musk's personal net worth reached 447 billion USD, making him the first person in history to break the 400 billion USD barrier, accounting for 1.5% of the USA's gross domestic product. This milestone achievement once again highlights Musk's leading position on the global billionaire list. On that day, Tesla's stock price surged by 6.14%, closing at 463.02 USD, setting a new historical high, with Musk's wealth increasing by 19.2 billion USD overnight.

Not NVIDIA? This year's top-performing stock in the S&P 500 Index: Palantir.

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In the wave of Technology in 2024, when reflecting on the "brightest star" in the USA stock market, people often first think of NVIDIA. With its dominant position in the AI chip field, it has been advancing rapidly. However, upon closer examination of the standout companies in the S&P 500 Index, it is surprising to find that the Big Data analytics software company Palantir has emerged, rightfully becoming this year's top-performing stock.

From the beginning of the year to now, Palantir has risen by 396%, claiming the championship for the highest increase among S&P 500 Index component stocks. Palantir is not a company that is widely recognized in the traditional sense. The key to the company's remarkable increase this year lies in its precise alignment with multiple hot sectors such as AI and national defense.

Apple's market cap approaches 4 trillion USD as investors remain bullish on AI development.

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Apple's market cap is approaching the historic $4 trillion mark, a significant increase primarily due to investors' positive response to the company's AI-enhanced capabilities, which are seen as key to reviving the recently sluggish iPhone sales. During the process of reaching this milestone, Apple has surpassed NVIDIA and Microsoft, becoming the focus of market attention.

Since early November, Apple's stock price has risen about 16%, resulting in an increase of approximately $500 billion in market capitalization. According to Maxim Group Analyst Tom Fort, the recent rise in Apple's stock price reflects investors' enthusiasm for AI and expectations for driving iPhone into an upgrade super cycle. Currently, Apple's market cap is approximately $3.85 trillion, a figure that far exceeds the total market capitalization of major stock markets in Germany and Swiss Franc.

As a leader in the Technology industry, Apple has faced criticism for not timely laying out its AI strategy. However, in recent years, the company has begun to accelerate its presence in the AI field. In June, Apple announced plans to integrate generative AI technologies into its application suite, and in early December, it began integrating ChatGPT from OpenAI into its devices. These moves are seen by the market as significant breakthroughs for Apple in the AI space and are important drivers of its continuous market cap growth.

NVIDIA has become the most popular stock among retail investors in the U.S. stock market this year, attracting $30 billion in capital.

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AI (Artificial Intelligence) chip leader NVIDIA has surpassed Tesla to become the stock with the largest net buying volume among retail investors in 2024.

Recently, data from research firm Vanda Research shows that as of December 17, 2024, retail investors' net buying amount for NVIDIA stocks has reached $29.8 billion, making NVIDIA the company with the highest influx of retail funds this year. This amount is nearly twice that of the second-ranking SPDR S&P 500 Index Fund (SPY), while Tesla, which was the stock with the largest net buying volume last year, ranks third with $14.7 billion.

Marco Iachini, senior vice president at Vanda, stated: "From a certain perspective, NVIDIA is the only stock capable of overshadowing Tesla, because its price increase is astonishing. Its stock performance speaks for itself."

As of the market close on December 30, NVIDIA's increase in 2024 has exceeded 178%. On December 30, NVIDIA's stock price rose by 0.35% to $137.49 per share, with a total market cap of $3.37 trillion.

Data from Vanda shows that the net inflow of retail funds into NVIDIA has increased by 885% in 2024 compared to three years ago. Since the beginning of this year, NVIDIA's share in typical retail investors' holdings has rapidly increased from 5.5% at the beginning of the year to 10% at the end of the year, becoming the second largest holding for retail investors after Tesla.

U.S. debt exceeds $36 trillion, and the debt spiral brings severe challenges.

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The latest data released by the U.S. Treasury Department shows that the total U.S. national debt has for the first time exceeded $36 trillion, setting a new historical record.

Since breaking through $33 trillion in September 2023, the growth rate of U.S. national debt has sharply accelerated. In 2024, the national debt scale successively broke through the thresholds of $34 trillion and $35 trillion, and by the end of November, it had soared to over $36 trillion. Compared to just $907 billion 40 years ago, the size of U.S. national debt has increased by more than 38 times.

Maya MacGuineas, chair of the U.S. Federal Budget Accountability Committee, warns that while the total debt figure of $36 trillion is "shocking," what is more concerning are the potential fiscal challenges.

The Executive Director of the Economic Policy Program at the Center for American Progress, Shea Akabas, stated: "It is clear that the current scale of debt is putting upward pressure on interest rates, including mortgage rates." He believes that households will increasingly feel the costs of housing and groceries, which will adversely affect the USA's economic outlook in the future.

Although the 2024 USA election has already concluded, its debt issue continues to worsen rapidly. Michael Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, warned: "This debt spiral must be stopped, and the new government and Congress will face severe financial tests in 2025."

Crazy accumulation of Bitcoin makes MicroStrategy the "largest Bitcoin whale in the USA stock market."

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Michael Saylor, co-founder and honorary Director of the commercial software company and the world's largest Bitcoin enterprise buyer MicroStrategy, stated earlier this year that Bitcoin will surpass Gold and become the most valuable Commodity in the world. At that time, Saylor did not provide a timeline for when he believed Bitcoin would overtake Gold, but as early as 2022, he predicted this would happen sometime in the 2020s. His calculations are based on the idea that Bitcoin will soar to $0.5 million.

This business intelligence software supplier is known for its "distractions" and mad accumulation of Bitcoin. MicroStrategy currently holds a total of 444,262 Bitcoins worth about $41.3 billion, making it the "largest Bitcoin whale" in the USA stock market.

With Bitcoin experiencing an "epic" market this year, MicroStrategy's stock price has astonishingly quadrupled within the year and has been included in the NASDAQ 100 Index.

Recently, Saylor compared Bitcoin to New York City and its economy, calling it "Cyber Manhattan," and stated, "I will continue to buy, every day is a good time to buy Bitcoin."

The Japanese giant's acquisition of United States Steel faces the strongest opposition, with both Trump and Biden firmly against it.

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In the current context of global economic integration, cross-border mergers and acquisitions between companies are commonplace. However, a 2024 cross-border merger case—Japanese steel giant Nippon Steel's attempt to acquire the United States Steel Corporation—encounters unprecedented strong resistance.

The elected president of the USA, Trump, and the current president, Biden, surprisingly stand on the same side, jointly opposing this acquisition, making the outlook for the deal filled with uncertainty.

As early as last December, Japan Steel announced plans to spend about 14 billion dollars to acquire United States Steel, but due to significant political resistance, this transaction has yet to materialize.

The steel industry is regarded as a core component of American manufacturing and is crucial for national defense construction and infrastructure development. Therefore, any foreign capital involvement is considered a potential threat to national security interests.

325.2 billion USD! The 'Oracle of Omaha' Berkshire's cash on hand hits a record high.

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Every move made by "stock god" Warren Buffett serves as a benchmark in the Capital Markets. As of the end of the third quarter of this year, the cash on the books held by Berkshire under Buffett's management rose to $325.2 billion, setting a new historical record. Meanwhile, the company further reduced its Shareholding in key holdings such as Apple and Bank of America in the third quarter.

This figure not only highlights Berkshire's strong financial strength but has also triggered widespread reflection on Buffett's investment strategy. Some analysts claim that Berkshire's large accumulation of cash reflects Buffett's concerns about current US stock valuations and the US economic situation.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of any specific investment or investment strategy. Read more
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