#sp-500

#sp-500

The current pressure is largely driven by tensions in the Middle East, as signals from the U.S. and Iran remain conflicting. While the U.S. has indicated that negotiations are ongoing, Iran has firmly denied any talks, increasing uncertainty around the prospects of de-escalation.

By the numbers: The S&P 500 climbed 15.7% between Trump's second inauguration day and last Friday, which marked the final trading day of his first year in office. It was up 24.1% during the first year of his prior term, and up 19.3% during Biden's first year. Obama outperformed them both with a 35.9% gain. Zoom in: Other indices were kinder to Trump 2.0, at least compared to his Democratic predecessors.

Live Coverage Updates appear automatically as they are published. Live Updates Most of the major indices are green again. The S&P 500 0.17%, as it nears record highs. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF ( SPY) is up about 0.14%. The Dow is down a fraction of a point, with the Nasdaq also up half a percent. The S&P 500 could easily hit 7,000 today, which is just a few points off.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF ( NASDAQ:SMH) is one of the best-performing ETFs of the last five years and has gained 53% in the past year, beating the S&P 500. It jumped over 220% in the past five years and is exchanging hands for $378 today. As the semiconductor sector boomed, this ETF had some of its best days. It is set for another winning year and could beat the S&P 500 again.

The S&P 500 is currently on track to close out 2025 in just under 10 days with a 16% gain, marking three years in a row of double-digit returns, something investors have taken full advantage of. Following 2023's 24.2% return and 2024's 23.3% surge, the index will likely end up with a three-year cumulative gain of around 77.5%. If you were an investor who has stuck to the course, even through all of the early tariff madness, you've likely done pretty well.

The S&P 500 closed up 0.46% yesterday to hit a new record of 6,909.79. The index is now up 17.48% for the year. With only the quiet Christmas week left before the end of the year it's likely that investors will mark this down in their spreadsheets as a very good year.Unless, of course, they have a friend who bought gold at or before the beginning of 2025.

Market concentration has reached levels not seen in decades. The three largest U.S. stocks now represent over 20% of the S&P 500's total value, and the top 20 account for roughly half. iShares Top 20 U.S. Stocks ETF ( NYSEARCA:TOPT) offers a direct bet that this 'winners keep winning' trend will continue. The Portfolio Role: Concentrated Megacap Exposure TOPT tracks the S&P 500 Top 20 Select Index, holding the 20 largest U.S. companies by market cap. The index rebalances quarterly, automatically rotating holdings to reflect which companies remain in the top tier. This creates a momentum-adjacent strategy where recent winners that grow into the top 20 get added, while those that fall out get removed.

He's taking 25% of the money he previously invested in S&P 500 index funds-a meaningful chunk for a self-made millionaire -and moving it into a more diversified set of assets, including: S&P 500 value index funds, which tilt toward companies with lower valuations and less AI-driven hype. Mid-cap stocks, which he believes could benefit if smaller firms catch more of AI's productivity gains. International index funds, offering exposure outside the U.S. tech-heavy market.

With a good deal of momentum, the S&P 500 could easily test 7,000 before the end of 2025. All thanks to momentum, the potential for more interest rate cuts, and a possible Santa Claus rally. Other analysts, including Fundstrat Global Advisors' Tom Lee, say we could reach 7,300. In fact, he just told CNBC, "7,000 is only 2% for S&P. From here, I think 5% or maybe even 10% is possible in December," as quoted by Seeking Alpha.

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The S&P 500 is currently trading around 6,850 points, near its all-time high, after edging up 0.06% on 12 November 2025 and gaining roughly 12% over the past 12 months. This advance reflects expectations of corporate earnings growth and the Federal Reserve's monetary-easing cycle. However, the underlying picture is more complex: the U.S. macro backdrop remains resilient, valuations have entered elevated territory, and policy risks-particularly the longest government shutdown in history-continue to pose threats.

For now, it's... not. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF ( NYSEMKT: VOO) is actually looking pretty healthy so far, up 0.2% premarket. And why is that? Perhaps investors are thinking all these layoffs, caused by cheap AI replacing expensive workers, and allowing corporate profits to rise. Or investors could be encouraged by the way oral arguments went before the Supreme Court yesterday, with the Justices apparently doubtful of President Trump's ability to legally and unilaterally impose tariffs on imports without Congressional assent.

This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates. October ended with a 2.3% gain for the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF ( NYSEMKT: VOO). As the first trading day of November dawns, the ETF is up 0.3% premarket. What's driving the stock market's gains? Earnings season, for the most part. Roughly 60% of the 500 companies making up the S&P 500 have reported so far, and 80% of those "beat earnings."

The S&P 500 is starting to pick up speed going into late-October after experiencing a bit of volatility on the back of the government shutdown, new Trump tariff threats, and a few early quarterly earnings fumbles. Despite the temporary setbacks, the dip-buyers have been more than willing to brave the dips, and that's made it tough to score anything more than a 2% or so dip from the S&P's all-time highs.

The futures are trading higher on Tuesday after a strong start to the week on Wall Street. Traders were buoyed by positive news on the potential for a trade agreement with China and the potential resolution of the TikTok issue. With Wall Street ready for a deluge of earnings this week, the most important of which come from technology giants in the Magnificent 7, it may remain a task for the momentum-driven rally to keep moving higher. Still, with strong retail participation and new money pouring into the market from overseas, the run to 7000 on the S&P 500 is on and humming.

Perhaps one of the most important metrics long-term investors can forget about when building their portfolios is the cost of constructing these groupings of stocks. Indeed, whether it's outright cost (in the form of an expense ratio for owning an ETF) or the cost associated with the time and effort to research individual stocks and input them into one's portfolio (even if there are no associated trading fees for these moves), investing can be an expensive exercise.

Amazon led the way after jumping 10.3%. The retail giant was by far the strongest force pushing upward on the market after reporting profit for the latest quarter that blew past analysts' expectations. CEO Andy Jassy said growth for its booming cloud-computing business has reaccelerated back to a pace it hasn't seen since 2022. Because Amazon is so massive, worth roughly $2.4 trillion, its stock movements carry more weight on the S&P 500 than almost any other company's.

Income investors rarely chase the loudest headlines. They look for companies that mail out checks, no matter what the talking heads predict for next quarter, and the S&P 500 is still the most convenient hunting ground for that kind of reliability. The index has been shifting more towards growth due to the mega-cap stocks doing extremely well over the past three years, and then being joined in by a new group of AI stocks that have ballooned into the top rankings.