The Weirdest Bull Market in Decades

  • Record share of S&P 500 stocks underperforming the index in 2023
  • Weirdest bull market in decades
  • Striking divide between market ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’
  • Concerns over top-heavy market driven by megacap stocks
  • S&P 500 outperforming equal-weight index by 12 percentage points
  • Nasdaq-100 up over 54% in 2023

The S&P 500 index is closing in on a fresh record high, but many of its constituents are still below their highs from January 2022. This has created a striking divide between the market’s ‘haves’ and ‘have nots,’ leading to what experts are calling the weirdest bull market in decades. The share of S&P 500 stocks underperforming the index is on track for a record in 2023, reaching 72%. This divergence has been a hot topic on Wall Street, with concerns over a top-heavy market driven by a handful of megacap stocks. These stocks, including Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms, have driven most of the index’s gains. As a result, the S&P 500 has outperformed its equal-weight sibling by more than 12 percentage points. The Nasdaq-100 has also seen significant gains, rising over 54% in 2023.

Public Companies: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), Tesla Inc. (TSLA), Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Alphabet Inc. (null), Meta Platforms Inc. (null)
Private Companies:
Key People: Callie Cox (), Torsten Slok (), Jim Cramer (CNBC’s analyst)


Factuality Level: 7
Justification: The article provides information about the performance of the S&P 500 index and the divide between its top-performing constituents and underperformers. It mentions the concerns about the market being top-heavy and driven by a few megacap stocks. The information provided is based on data from FactSet.

Noise Level: 3
Justification: The article provides some analysis of the divergence between the performance of the S&P 500 index and its constituents. It mentions the concern of the market becoming top-heavy and the performance of specific stocks. However, it lacks in-depth analysis, evidence, and actionable insights. It also includes some irrelevant information about the Nasdaq-100 index.

Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: The article discusses the performance of the S&P 500 index and the divide between its top-performing constituents and underperformers.

Presence of Extreme Event: No
Nature of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating of the Extreme Event: No
Justification: The article focuses on the performance of the stock market and does not mention any extreme events or their impacts.

Reported publicly: www.marketwatch.com