TOPLINE
The S&P 500 is officially out of its 2020 bear market after hitting a new record high on Tuesday, and the massive rebound has been led by energy, homebuilding and retail companies whose shares have more than doubled over the last five months, according to Bloomberg data.
Whirlpool’s logo on the front of a washing machine.
Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
KEY FACTS
The top-performing stock in the benchmark index is energy company Halliburton, which has risen 218% since the market’s coronavirus low point on March 23 thanks to a resurgence in oil prices.
Fashion retailer L Brands, owner of flagship brands like Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, has similarly skyrocketed 209% as investors cheered its cost-cutting plan and business overhaul amid the pandemic.
Homebuilders like Lennar (162%), PulteGroup (160%), D.R. Horton (149%) and home appliance company, Whirlpool (186%), have all jumped amid strong demand for new homes as Americans move out of cities and into the suburbs.
Other home-related stocks also make the list of top stocks of the last five months: heating and air conditioning company Carrier Global (153%) and home fixtures manufacturer Fortune Brands Home & Security (142%).
Arizona-based mining company Freeport-McMoRan is another high-flying stock since the market’s low point in March: Its shares are up 181%.
Rounding out the list is United Rentals (151%), the world’s largest equipment rental company which is geared toward construction and industrial companies.
Tangent
Other notable stocks in the S&P 500 that have soared since March include media conglomerate ViacomCBS (138%), retailers like Gap (138%) and Lowe’s (133%), chipmaker Nvidia (131%), casino operator MGM Resorts (129%) and digital payments company PayPal (128%).
Surprising fact
Only six stocks are in the red and have fallen since the market rebound starting on March 23. Beauty company Coty, down 24%, is the worst-performer in the S&P 500 during that period. Electric utility company FirstEnergy is down 14%, while biotech Gilead Sciences, which is one of several companies at the forefront of efforts to find a coronavirus vaccine, is down 9%. The second-largest pharmacy store chain in the U.S., Walgreens, has fallen 7% amid the pandemic. Rounding out the list is Wells Fargo (down 4%) and Intel (down 2%).
Key background
The S&P 500 reached a critical milestone on Tuesday: Not only did the index fully recover its losses during the coronavirus pandemic, its rebound has officially ended the 2020 bear market. The index finished above its old record-closing-high of 3,386 set back in February, while also surpassing its previous intraday high of 3,393 earlier in the day. In March, the index tumbled over 30% from its February record as the coronavirus pandemic sent the economy into a recession.
Further reading
S&P 500 Closes At New Record High, Fully Recovering Losses From Coronavirus Pandemic (Forbes)
Apple Becomes First U.S. Company Worth More Than $2 Trillion (Forbes)
Goldman Predicts ‘At Least One’ Vaccine Approval Before The End Of 2020, Raises GDP Estimate (Forbes)