One of the U.S. stock markets best-performing indexes reached a new psychologically significant mark on Thursday, as the major indexes head to year end with the best gains in years.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.78%, closed at 9,000 for the first time ever Thursday, finishing above 9,022.
Its recent climb largely reflects gains for growth stocks, including Microsoft MSFT, +0.82% and Apple Inc. AAPL, +1.98%, which have helped to buoy the broader market also.
The Nasdaq climbed to 8,000 at the close on Aug. 27, 2018 and gains from some of the tech behemoths have helped the index to generate a return of about 36% so far this year.
Shares of Microsoft have gained more than 44.8% since August of 2018, while those for Apple have gained 33% over the same period.
It took 335 trading days to traverse 1,000 points for the index.
However, the Nasdaq’s rally also benefited from a number of stocks that aren’t always associated with the stock benchmark’s outperformance.
| Nasdaq Composite Milestone | 1st close at level | Nasdaq closing level | # of trading days to next milestone (from 1st close) |
| 1000 | July, 7, 1995 | 1005.89 | 6,171 |
| 2000 | July 16, 1998 | 2000.56 | 758 |
| 3000 | Nov. 3, 1999 | 3208.51 | 329 |
| 4000 | Dec. 29, 1999 | 4041.46 | 38 |
| 5000 | March 9, 2000 | 5046.86 | 49 |
| 6000 | April 25, 2017 | 6025.49 | 4,308 |
| 7000 | Jan 2, 2018 | 7006.90 | 174 |
| 8000 | Aug. 27, 2018 | 8017.90 | 164 |
| 9000 | Dec. 26, 2019 | 9022 | 335 |
| Source: Dow Jones Market Data |
Indeed, the tech-related companies comprising the so-called FAANG group, including Facebook FB, +1.30%, Apple AAPL, +1.98%, Amazon.com AMZN, +4.45%, Netflix NFLX, -0.17% and Google-parent Alphabet GOOGL, +1.34%, have performed relatively poorly since the Nasdaq last gained 1,000 points.
For example, shares of Facebook are up about 16.6%, but those for Amazon.com are down 4.2% since late August of 2018, and Netflix’s stock is down 8.7% over the past 16 months, while Class A shares of Alphabet are up a comparatively meager 7.7%.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.37% is up nearly 23% thus far this year, gaining 9.87% since late August of 2018, while the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.51% boasts a year-to-date advance of about 29.2% and about 11.85% over the past 16 months.
Although, the ascent for the Nasdaq underscores an advance of some trendy tech names, a few of the best performers arguably lie outside of the traditional FAANG cohort, and include some microchip companies and a group of decidedly non-tech names: Lululemon Athletica LULU, +0.93% and Starbucks SBUX, -0.50%.
Shares of athletic apparel company Lululemon have soared more than 67.3% since last August and shares of coffee retailer Starbucks have enjoyed a similar runup, up more than 66.3%. Charter Communications CHTR, +1.01% stock has gained nearly 60%, while shares for Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD, +0.19% have climbed about 85%, NXP Semiconductors NXPI, -0.40% shares have gained 39.4%, and Apple-supplier Lam Research LRCX, +0.15% has seen its stock up 67.4% during the same period.
Overall, gains for the Nasdaq have been nearly unceasing, with the index booking its 11th straight positive return on Thursday, marking its longest win streak since 2009. Its 10th consecutive record matched the longest string of all-time closing highs since 1997.
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