The top 20 S&P 500 companies accounted for 52.3% of Q2 2024 buybacks, an increase from Q1 2024’s 50.9%, and above the historical average of 47.5% and the pre-COVID historical average of 44.5%.

With bullish signals emerging across the board, let’s examine five key charts that illustrate how the S&P 500 has defied ...

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Let’s start with the historical perspective. Most of the time the stock market has earned positive returns Figure 1 in the chart below shows the annual return in the S&P 500 since 1926 ...

But that does not necessarily mean the S&P 500 will be down one year from now, nor does it mean the index will be down three years from now. The chart below shows the range of historical outcomes ...

Lastly, I’ll analyze whether a third consecutive strong year for the S&P 500 is within the realm of historical possibilities. The table below breaks down S&P 500 yearly returns since 1950.

The top 20 S&P 500 companies accounted for 53.2% of Q3 2024 buybacks, a marginal rise from Q2 2024’s 52.3% and above the historical average of 47.6% and the pre-COVID historical average of 44.5%.

The S&P 500 gained more than 20% for the second year in a row in 2024, the first time that's happened since the late 1990s. The index has carved out a head and shoulders pattern, a classic chart ...

Tim Smith has 20+ years of experience in the financial services industry, both as a writer and as a trader. The S&P 500 gained more than 20% for the second year in a row in 2024, the first time ...