The U.S. stock market has gotten off to a very strong start in 2024. In the first six months of the year, the S&P 500 stock index gained 14.5%. Since 1953, the average performance of the S&P 500 in the first half of the year is just 4.72%. The tech-heavy NASDAQ index — which contains Big Tech heavyweights such as NVIDIA, Alphabet (Google), Meta (Facebook) and Tesla, among others — rose 18.1%.
Mark M. Grywacheski
In 2023, the S&P 500 gained 24.2% while the NASDAQ rose a hefty 43.4%. Much of last year’s stellar performance was driven by the Magnificent 7. This is the collective name given by Wall Street to seven U.S. companies that have become the industry leaders within the artificial intelligence (AI) movement: NVIDIA, Meta, Tesla, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Apple. These companies either directly create AI technology or are expected to significantly benefit from AI technology. In 2023, each of these seven companies’ stock rose an average 111.3%. The best performer of the group was NVIDIA, whose stock rose 239% last year.
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So far in 2024, AI continues to be a major catalyst for the U.S. stock market. Five of the Magnificent 7 companies — NVIDIA, Meta, Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft — accounted for 63% of the S&P 500’s 14.5% gain in the first half of the year. These five companies, all heavily imbedded in the AI movement, are symbolic of the global rush by companies to develop AI and machine-learning applications. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, global spending on AI hardware, software and services is expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2032, compared to just $40 billion in 2022. This equates to a compound annual growth rate of 42% on AI-related spending.
But there are several uncertainties that Wall Street must navigate through in the second half of this year. First, is the Nov. 5 presidential election, now less than four months away. Though former-President Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, who exactly will represent the Democratic party is now in a state of flux. Calls for Biden to drop out of the campaign have steadily increased since his June 27 debate performance. If Biden does drop out of the race, who might replace him could further complicate the political and economic landscape.
And then there’s inflation. On Thursday, the Department of Labor released its Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of June. On the positive side, consumer prices fell by 0.1% from May — the first monthly decline in 49 months. The national inflation rate, which represents the rise in consumer prices over the past 12 months, was reported at 3%. This was below the 3.1% that Wall Street had forecast and below the 3.4% inflation rate reported in May.
Despite the good news, inflation still remains a significant challenge for most Americans. Since February 2021, the start of the inflationary cycle, consumer prices have risen a cumulative 19%. The cost of shelter, which accounts for a large portion of consumer take-home dollars, is still 5.4% higher than 12 months ago. Energy prices, another major household expense, also remains a highly volatile sector.
How the inflationary landscape pans out over the next six months will ultimately determine how fast the Federal Reserve can begin lowering interest rates. Between March 2022 and July 2023, the Fed raised the benchmark fed funds rate from near-0% to its current level between 5.2%-5.5%. This is the highest fed funds rate in 43 years.
The Fed rapidly raised the fed funds rate to help tame soaring inflation. The Fed hopes that by raising interest rates, it will help reduce spending by making it more expensive for consumers and businesses to buy goods and services on credit. As spending falls, inflationary pressures should likely ease.
After Thursday’s better-than-expected CPI report, Wall Street now projects a 91% chance of at least one 0.25% cut to the fed funds rate at the Fed’s September meeting. This would lower the fed funds rate to a range between 5%-5.25%. Wall Street further expects an additional one to two 0.25% rate reductions by the end of the year.
No one knows for sure how the stock market will perform during the second half of the year. But, so far, investors have been handsomely rewarded.
Walgreens, a key player in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, is set to close over 2,000 of its 8,600 locations as part of a strategic business overhaul. With its stock price halved to just above $12, the company is facing intense pressure, particularly from competitors like Amazon. CEO Tim Wentworth revealed that around 25% of their least profitable stores are slated for closure. This decision not only affects Walgreens shareholders and leadership but also poses significant implications for the commercial real estate sector nationwide. Ironically, the GLP prescriptions that were expected to attract customers are contributing to financial losses, leading to a paradox where a potential business booster is instead causing a drag. Consumers who depend on Walgreens for their pharmaceutical needs may soon have to seek alternatives. The situation is exacerbated by issues such as increased theft, which competitors like CVS are also grappling with, leading to extensive security measures. These closures reflect broader economic challenges and hint at underlying issues within the consumer market.
The 50 places where homes are taking the longest to sell
The 50 places where homes are taking the longest to sell
The pace at which homes sell in the U.S. tends to ebb and flow over the calendar year, with homes selling fastest in the summer and slowest in the winter. But high home prices and mortgage interest rates are keeping many potential buyers on the sidelines.
Spring is the start of peak season for buying and selling homes, and this year, buyers may have to make decisions more quickly. The median number of days a home spent on the market in April was 35, two days fewer than the year before.
When homes take longer to sell, it can indicate a given market is more buyer-friendly. It can also signal a mismatch between purchasing power and market conditions.
Stacker compiled a list of metros where homes took the longest to sell in April, using data from Redfin. Metros, which include the main city as well as its surrounding towns and suburbs, are ranked by the median number of days a home was listed before it sold. In the case of ties, metros with the most home sales overall were ranked higher. Metros with more than 300 home sales were included.
#50. Green Bay, Wisconsin
– Median days on market: 46
– Median sale price: $315,000
– Total homes sold: 301
#49. Elgin, Illinois
– Median days on market: 46
– Median sale price: $350,000
– Total homes sold: 763
#48. Greenville, South Carolina
– Median days on market: 46
– Median sale price: $325,000
– Total homes sold: 1,079
#47. Beaumont, Texas
– Median days on market: 47
– Median sale price: $214,900
– Total homes sold: 321
#46. Austin, Texas
– Median days on market: 47
– Median sale price: $465,000
– Total homes sold: 2,797
#45. Chicago
– Median days on market: 47
– Median sale price: $349,250
– Total homes sold: 7,051
#44. Kingsport, Tennessee
– Median days on market: 48
– Median sale price: $250,000
– Total homes sold: 331
#43. Montgomery, Alabama
– Median days on market: 48
– Median sale price: $230,500
– Total homes sold: 399
#42. Knoxville, Tennessee
– Median days on market: 48
– Median sale price: $371,500
– Total homes sold: 1,125
#41. Birmingham, Alabama
– Median days on market: 48
– Median sale price: $282,500
– Total homes sold: 1,248
#40. Nashville, Tennessee
– Median days on market: 48
– Median sale price: $468,945
– Total homes sold: 2,928
#39. Phoenix
– Median days on market: 48
– Median sale price: $468,000
– Total homes sold: 6,430
#38. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
– Median days on market: 49
– Median sale price: $265,000
– Total homes sold: 805
#37. Prescott Valley, Arizona
– Median days on market: 50
– Median sale price: $590,000
– Total homes sold: 354
#36. Lafayette, Louisiana
– Median days on market: 50
– Median sale price: $232,250
– Total homes sold: 410
#35. Asheville, North Carolina
– Median days on market: 50
– Median sale price: $454,500
– Total homes sold: 542
#34. Deltona, Florida
– Median days on market: 50
– Median sale price: $354,400
– Total homes sold: 1,417
#33. Naples, Florida
– Median days on market: 51
– Median sale price: $683,500
– Total homes sold: 1,103
#32. Pittsburgh
– Median days on market: 51
– Median sale price: $230,000
– Total homes sold: 1,968
#31. North Port, Florida
– Median days on market: 51
– Median sale price: $468,995
– Total homes sold: 2,365
#30. Hickory, North Carolina
– Median days on market: 53
– Median sale price: $290,000
– Total homes sold: 370
#29. Daphne, Alabama
– Median days on market: 54
– Median sale price: $392,000
– Total homes sold: 526
#28. Tucson, Arizona
– Median days on market: 54
– Median sale price: $376,600
– Total homes sold: 1,321
#27. Jacksonville, Florida
– Median days on market: 54
– Median sale price: $381,197
– Total homes sold: 2,547
#26. Killeen, Texas
– Median days on market: 56
– Median sale price: $265,000
– Total homes sold: 576
#25. Charleston, South Carolina
– Median days on market: 56
– Median sale price: $440,000
– Total homes sold: 1,510
#24. Cape Coral, Florida
– Median days on market: 56
– Median sale price: $405,000
– Total homes sold: 2,093
#23. Spartanburg, South Carolina
– Median days on market: 57
– Median sale price: $285,000
– Total homes sold: 478
#22. Clarksville, Tennessee
– Median days on market: 57
– Median sale price: $299,950
– Total homes sold: 494
#21. Kennewick, Washington
– Median days on market: 58
– Median sale price: $425,000
– Total homes sold: 309
#20. Augusta, Georgia
– Median days on market: 58
– Median sale price: $279,900
– Total homes sold: 734
#19. Huntsville, Alabama
– Median days on market: 59
– Median sale price: $325,110
– Total homes sold: 773
#18. Tallahassee, Florida
– Median days on market: 60
– Median sale price: $308,000
– Total homes sold: 403
#17. Palm Bay, Florida
– Median days on market: 60
– Median sale price: $374,000
– Total homes sold: 1,160
#16. New York City
– Median days on market: 60
– Median sale price: $720,000
– Total homes sold: 4,160
#15. Punta Gorda, Florida
– Median days on market: 61
– Median sale price: $351,250
– Total homes sold: 695
#14. San Antonio
– Median days on market: 61
– Median sale price: $310,000
– Total homes sold: 2,863
#13. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
– Median days on market: 63
– Median sale price: $445,000
– Total homes sold: 2,667
#12. Miami
– Median days on market: 66
– Median sale price: $555,000
– Total homes sold: 2,570
#11. Port St. Lucie, Florida
– Median days on market: 67
– Median sale price: $406,635
– Total homes sold: 1,026
#10. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
– Median days on market: 68
– Median sale price: $320,000
– Total homes sold: 321
#9. McAllen, Texas
– Median days on market: 68
– Median sale price: $240,000
– Total homes sold: 373
#8. Crestview, Florida
– Median days on market: 68
– Median sale price: $436,250
– Total homes sold: 713
#7. Honolulu
– Median days on market: 69
– Median sale price: $740,000
– Total homes sold: 703
#6. New Orleans
– Median days on market: 69
– Median sale price: $285,000
– Total homes sold: 1,061
#5. West Palm Beach, Florida
– Median days on market: 71
– Median sale price: $510,000
– Total homes sold: 2,665
#4. Pensacola, Florida
– Median days on market: 73
– Median sale price: $329,900
– Total homes sold: 876
#3. Panama City, Florida
– Median days on market: 74
– Median sale price: $375,000
– Total homes sold: 399
#2. Sebastian, Florida
– Median days on market: 75
– Median sale price: $412,500
– Total homes sold: 381
#1. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
– Median days on market: 84
– Median sale price: $349,400
– Total homes sold: 1,854
The 50 places where homes are taking the longest to sell
Mark Grywacheski is an expert in financial markets and economic analysis and is an investment adviser with Quad-Cities Investment Group, Davenport.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Any prices or quotations contained herein are indicative only and do not constitute an offer to buy or sell any securities at any given price. Information has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but we do not guarantee that the material presented is accurate or that it provides a complete description of the securities, markets or developments mentioned. Quad-Cities Investment Group LLC is a registered investment adviser with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.
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