The best stocks of 2020: Tesla, technology, e-commerce, chips gained in stock

Photographer: Angel Garcia / Bloomberg

In a historic year that meant a rapid immersion in the territory of the bear market and a rapid recovery in the area of ​​bulls, high-flying technological actions and pioneers in electric vehicles Tesla Inc. they were outstanding operations.

The S&P 500 index went from high to low inside 175 days in which investors initially shied away from most stocks in response to Covid-19 blockades and fears of a prolonged recession, but then piled on beneficiaries of staying home. Since its pandemic-driven low, the benchmark has risen 68%, destroying old records and adding approximately $ 14 trillion in value.

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Here’s a look at some of this year’s highlights:

Tech Titans

Large-cap technology stocks: led by Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc. i Netflix Inc. – caused the major U.S. stock market indices to peak in 2020, taking advantage of online shopping and a wider shift in the digital world.

An e-commerce spending boom caused Amazon to grow 76%, while Apple became the first $ 2 trillion company amid strong demand for its iPhone 12 models and optimism about their efforts in autonomous cars. Consumers trapped at home spent more time airing TV shows and movies, causing a concentration of Netflix shares.

EV Boom

Tesla Tower

Tesla’s market capitalization dominates other automakers

Source: Bloomberg

Believers in billionaire Elon Musk helped bring about a 743% increase in shares in Tesla Inc., boosting the company’s market value to a staggering $ 669 billion. Investors’ enthusiasm for the incorporation of the electric vehicle manufacturer into the S&P 500 and the prospect of greater growth for the sector as more consumers and policymakers adopt clean energy also helped fuel its meteoric rise. year:

Chips

The pandemic increased the demand for semiconductors and caused a 122% increase in shares of Nvidia Corp., the manufacturer of graphics processors that are used in everything from games to data center servers and artificial intelligence. This is more than double the lead in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Nvidia’s gaming business, which Morgan Stanley analysts have called “exceptional,” is expected to help boost momentum until 2021 after quarterly sales crushed Wall Street expectations throughout the year. year.

E-commerce

The drive to shop from the comfort of the couch fueled the gains PayPal Holdings Inc. and their digital payment partners. Traders expect stocks to continue to rise after a record year, with consumer demand continuing to shift online and move away from retail.

Messaging actions

Rising online shopping and the rush to roll out vaccines across the country helped fuel delivery service companies such as FedEx Corp. i United Parcel Service Inc. FedEx, which has jumped 72%, reported quarterly sales that exceeded expectations four times in a row, which helped raise its market value above $ 79 billion earlier this month. Meanwhile, UPS managed to reduce one-day delivery times by 10% of its land packages. Shares have risen 44% this year.

Left behind

However, about 39% of companies listed on the S&P 500 have fallen this year as economic growth fell and the pandemic boosted the business, education and leisure plans of millions of people trapped at home.

Cruise passengers Carnival Corp i Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. was one of the biggest losers of the S&P 500, which lost about 60% of its shares while the aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. was the worst stock Dow Jones Industrial Average. The problems for the airlines were marked by the loss of market value of almost 10 billion dollars United Airlines Holdings Inc.

The biggest losers

Cruise operators, airlines and energy stocks were the worst performers of 2020

Source: Bloomberg

The pandemic also affected the energy sector. With nowhere to go and several industries working with reduced capacity, demand for oil fell, dropping the shares of oil and gas producers and refiners. The S&P 500 energy index plunged 37%, its worst year in at least three decades.

– With the assistance of Divya Balji, Kristine Owram and Jeran Wittenstein

(Updates with closing prices everywhere.)