The S&P 500, an index of 500 publicly traded companies in the United States, closed at 5,881.63 points on the last trading day of December 2024. What is the S&P 500? The S&P 500 is a stock market index that tracks the evolution of 500 companies. In contrast to the Dow Jones Industrial Index, which measures the performance of thirty large U.S. companies, the S&P 500 shows the sentiments in the broader market. Publicly traded companies Companies on the S&P 500 are publicly traded, meaning that anyone can invest in them. A large share of adults in the United States invest in the stock market, though many of these are through a retirement account or mutual fund. While most people make a modest return, the most successful investors have made billions of U.S. dollars through investing.

Between March 4 and March 11, 2020, the S&P 500 index declined by twelve percent, descending into a bear market. On March 12, 2020, the S&P 500 plunged 9.5 percent, its steepest one-day fall since 1987. The index began to recover at the start of April and reached a peak in December 2021. As of December 29, 2024, the value of the S&P 500 stood at 5,942.47 points. Coronavirus sparks stock market chaos Stock markets plunged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with investors fearing its spread would destroy economic growth. Buoyed by figures that suggested cases were leveling off in China, investors were initially optimistic about the virus being contained. However, confidence in the market started to subside as the number of cases increased worldwide. Investors were deterred from buying stocks, and this was reflected in the markets – the values of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite also dived during the height of the crisis. What is a bear market? A bear market occurs when the value of a stock market suffers a prolonged decline of more than 20 percent over a period of at least two months. The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe concern and sent stock markets on a steep downward spiral. The S&P 500 achieved a record closing high of 3,386 on February 19, 2020. However, just over three weeks later, the market closed on 2,480, which represented a decline of around 26 percent in only 16 sessions.

The S&P 500 index dropped significantly between January 3 and September 9, 2022. As of January 3, the index stood at 4,796.56 points, and it dropped approximately 15 percent by September 2022. In February 2024, the daily value of the S&P 500 increased over 5,500 and reached 5,842.47 as of October 16 of the same year.

As of August 2020, the S&P 500 index had lost 34 percent of its value due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Great Crash, which began with Black Tuesday, remains the most significant loss in value in its history. That market crash lasted for 300 months and wiped 86 percent off the index value.

Throughout the 1920s, prices on the U.S. stock exchange rose exponentially, however, by the end of the decade, uncontrolled growth and a stock market propped up by speculation and borrowed money proved unsustainable, resulting in the Wall Street Crash of October 1929. This set a chain of events in motion that led to economic collapse - banks demanded repayment of debts, the property market crashed, and people stopped spending as unemployment rose. Within a year the country was in the midst of an economic depression, and the economy continued on a downward trend until late-1932.

It was during this time where Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was elected president, and he assumed office in March 1933 - through a series of economic reforms and New Deal policies, the economy began to recover. Stock prices fluctuated at more sustainable levels over the next decades, and developments were in line with overall economic development, rather than the uncontrolled growth seen in the 1920s. Overall, it took over 25 years for the Dow Jones value to reach its pre-Crash peak.

The annual returns of the Nasdaq 100 Index from 1986 to 2024. fluctuated significantly throughout the period considered. The Nasdaq 100 index saw its lowest performance in 2008, with a return rate of -41.89 percent, while the largest returns were registered in 1999, at 101.95 percent. As of June 11, 2024, the rate of return of Nasdaq 100 Index stood at 14 percent. The Nasdaq 100 is a stock market index comprised of the 100 largest and most actively traded non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. How has the Nasdaq 100 evolved over years? The Nasdaq 100, which was previously heavily influenced by tech companies during the dot-com boom, has undergone significant diversification. Today, it represents a broader range of high-growth, non-financial companies across sectors like consumer services and healthcare, reflecting the evolving landscape of the global economy. The annual development of the Nasdaq 100 recently has generally been positive, except for 2022, when the NASDAQ experienced a decline due to worries about escalating inflation, interest rates, and regulatory challenges. What are the leading companies on Nasdaq 100? In August 2023, Apple was the largest company on the Nasdaq 100, with a market capitalization of 2.73 trillion euros. Also, Alphabet C, Alphabet, Amazon, and Broadcom were among the five leading companies included in the index. Market capitalization is one of the most common ways of measuring how big a company is in the financial markets. It is calculated by multiplying the total number of outstanding shares by the current market price.

In 2024, 62 percent of adults in the United States invested in the stock market. This figure has remained steady over the last few years, and is still below the levels before the Great Recession, when it peaked in 2007 at 65 percent. What is the stock market? The stock market can be defined as a group of stock exchanges, where investors can buy shares in a publicly traded company. In more recent years, it is estimated an increasing number of Americans are using neobrokers, making stock trading more accessible to investors. Other investments A significant number of people think stocks and bonds are the safest investments, while others point to real estate, gold, bonds, or a savings account. Since witnessing the significant one-day losses in the stock market during the Financial Crisis, many investors were turning towards these alternatives in hopes for more stability, particularly for investments with longer maturities. This could explain the decrease in this statistic since 2007. Nevertheless, some speculators enjoy chasing the short-run fluctuations, and others see value in choosing particular stocks.

Between January 1971 and March 2024, gold had average annual returns of 7.98 percent, which was only slightly behind the return of commodities, with an annual average of eight percent. The annual average return of gold in 2023 was 13.1 percent. What is the total global demand for gold? The global demand for gold remains robust owing to its historical importance, financial stability, and cultural appeal. During economic uncertainty, investors look for a safe haven, while emerging markets fuel jewelry demand. A distinct contrast transpired during COVID-19, when the global demand for gold experienced a sharp decline in 2020 owing to a reduction in consumer spending. However, the subsequent years saw an increase in demand for the precious metal. How much gold is produced worldwide? The production of gold depends mainly on geological formations, market demand, and the cost of production. These factors have a significant impact on the discovery, extraction, and economic viability of gold mining operations worldwide. In 2024, the worldwide production of gold was expected to reach 124 million ounces, and it is anticipated that the rate of growth will increase as exploration technologies improve, gold prices rise, and mining practices improve.

As of December 2024, U.S. stocks had an average 10-year return rate of 13.1 percent, whereas gold had a return rate of 8.33 percent. Gold mining overview In light of recent technological advancements shaping the gold mining market, global gold production has been rather stable in the last few years, hovering around 3,000 metric tons since 2020. Among nations, Australia holds the highest gold production, surpassing countries with the highest mine gold reserves. Gold as a financial security Known for its ability to provide diversification to investment portfolios, gold has exhibited a positive trend in its Gold’s return rate was particularly high in the early 2000s, and, despite experiencing a decline during the pandemic, it demonstrated a remarkable recovery since. Furthermore, gold serves as a valuable asset for a nation's economic stability, with the United States holding the highest amount of