The year 2020 has been rewarding for Wall Street with the key equity gauge the S&P 500 returning 14.6% so far despite the deadly COVID-19 outbreak and the resultant lockdowns. Though the first quarter of the year has been hazardous with Wall Street slipping into the bear market, markets recoiled from the second quarter on ultra-easy fiscal and monetary policies. Along with many economies in the world, the Fed also cut rates to the rock-bottom level and re-launched a QE policy.
Then the fourth quarter of the year came across as extremely upbeat. There were the all-important efficacy reports of coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca. Then Joe Biden won the U.S. presidential election and the results brought along a divided Congress (read:
4 Best Sector ETFs of Q4
).
The quarter has also seen a tug-of-war between the Democrats and Republicans on the second round of a COVID-19 relief bill. It is only in December that Democratic and Republican leaders have clinched a new relief deal worth
around $900 billion comprising a second round of stimulus checks
and further unemployment benefits.
Though the size of the deal this time is much smaller than the earlier ones, any kind of fiscal stimulus is good news. Quite expectedly, stocks soared in Q4 on vaccine and stimulus hopes. Wall Street hovered to around an all-time high level.
Against this scenario, if a Santa Claus rally grips Wall Street in the final days of December, the S&P 500 would manage to notch up decent gains even in this tough scenario. President Trump signed legislation on Dec 27 evening that offers all-important government spending and
$900 billion
in pandemic-related stimulus. Hence, it would be intriguing to note the best-performing stocks of the
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
SPY
in the year 2020.
Top-Performing Stocks of SPY
Tesla
TSLA
– Up 690.1%
Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) electric vehicle maker Tesla has evolved into a dynamic technology innovator. The company’s flagship Model 3 accounts for about half of the U.S. EV market.
Etsy Inc.
ETSY
– Up 329.6%
The Zacks Rank #3 company Etsy is primarily an e-commerce service provider, operating a two-sided marketplace platform called Etsy.com.
NVIDIA Corporation
NVDA
– Up 120.9%
The Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company NVIDIA Corporation is the worldwide leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the graphic processing unit, or GPU.
PayPal Holdings Inc.
PYPL
– Up 120.6%
The Zacks Rank #3 company is the largest online payment solutions providers on the back of its strong product portfolio and two-sided platform that enables it to offer smooth and secure transaction facility to both customers and merchants.
L Brands Inc.
LB
– Up 115.01%
The Zacks Rank #1 company has evolved from an apparel-based specialty retailer to a segment leader focused on women’s intimate and other apparel, personal care, beauty and home fragrance products.
Albemarle Corporation
ALB
– Up 104.9%
The Zacks Rank #3 company Albemarle Corporation is a premier specialty chemicals company with leading positions in attractive end markets globally.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
AMD
– Up 100.2%
The Zacks Rank #3 Advanced Micro Devices has strengthened its position in the semiconductor market on the back of its evolution as an enterprise-focus company from a pure-bred consumer-PC chip provider.
ServiceNow Inc.
NOW
– Up 96.2%
Zacks Rank #3 company provides cloud computing services that automate digital workflows to accelerate enterprise IT operations. The company’s Now Platform enables enterprises to enhance productivity by streamlining system processes.
Cadence Design Systems Inc.
CDNS
– Up 93.2%
The Zacks Rank #3 Cadence Design Systems offers products and tools that help customers to design electronic products.
IDEXX Laboratories Inc.
IDXX
– Up 90.4%
The Zacks Rank #2 company is a developer, manufacturer and distributer of products and services primarily for the companion animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, water testing and dairy markets.
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